Brasserie Bar Co, the operator of Brasserie Blanc, is in talks with Paramount Restaurants to acquire the Chez Gerard chain, which is valued at around £12m, M&C Report has learnt.
The 11-strong company, which is led by Mark Derry, recently raised £20m through an equity injection from backer Core Capital to fund its expansion, with plans to grow to 40 sites over the next five years.
Brasserie Blanc refused to comment on the speculation, however, a source close to the situation said: “The company would be mad not to look at the restaurants. It is currently strong outside London and it would like to supplement that situation in the capital.”
A successful deal would give the group, which currently operates a site in the City, a significant foothold in central London.
Paramount currently operates Chez Gerard's in Bishopsgate, Chancery Lane, Charlotte Street, Covent Garden, St Paul’s, the Southbank and near the Tower of London. It also operates the Le Petit Café under the brand below the Opera Terrace site in Covent Garden.
It is thought that the Chez Gerard estate has produced a positive like-for-like sales performance over the last 12 months.
A successful sale of the Chez Gerard sites would leave Paramount with 25 “high street” sites on the market, comprising 18 Brasserie Gerards, four Livebaits and three Bertorellis.
As revealed by M&C Report in August, Paramount has appointed Deloitte to look at its future options, including a sale of the entire business, which has a mooted price tag of around £25m, or a break-up of its estate.
It is thought that a number of operators have approached Deloitte about acquiring small groups or individual sites.
