Giraffe has bought a clutch of Tootsies sites after the troubled chain was placed in administration by owner Clapham House Group.
The world-themed café brand, backed by Risk Capital Partners and 3i, has entered into an agreement to acquire 11 of the 21 Tootsies branded restaurants for a cash consideration of £2.5m.
Clapham, which also operates Gourmet Burger Kitchen, said it had appointed BDO as administrators after deciding to withdraw support and funding for the business, as it believed that there was little prospect of Tootsies generating a profit in the near future.
Clapham said GBK and the Real Greek chains were unaffected by this action and that its bank facilities would not be affected by the changes.
The Tootsies sites Giraffe is acquiring are located in London, Norwich, Bury St Edmunds, Weybridge and Portsmouth and the acquisition brings the company’s portfolio to 36 restaurants plus five airport franchises, of which three are at London’s Heathrow.
Giraffe said that it would continue to run the sites under licence as Tootsies for the next few months before rebranding them.
Luke Johnson, chairman of Giraffe, said: “This is a deal that will transform Giraffe and it shows how ambitious we are for the business.”
BDO said that the sale of the sites to Giraffe would preserve 25 full time and 250 part-time jobs, and that it was looking at opportunities to dispose of the remaining 10 Tootsies and Dexters sites.
David Page, chairman of The Clapham House, said: "We have taken the steps described in this announcement with great regret, having spent considerable time researching alternative strategic options for Tootsies.
“We believe that this is the best course of action to protect shareholder value whilst minimising job losses.
"Looking to the future the management team will focus on building the excellent reputation and strength of its two core brands, Gourmet Burger Kitchen and The Real Greek."
Coffer Corporate Leisure brokered the Giraffe deal.
