Greene King places Loch Fyne on the market

Greene King is again set to test the market for its Loch Fyne Seafood & Grill business, after appointing advisers to oversee a sale of the 31-strong brand.

MCA understands that the company has appointed AG&G to market the business, which currently produces c£33m in annual turnover and c£3m of EBITDA.

It is thought that in light of the issues facing the wider casual dining market, Greene King is looking dispose of the chain and concentrate on its core pub and brewing business, which includes c3,100 pubs and hotels.

It is not the first time Greene King has explored a sale of the business it acquired in 2007 for £68m. Two years ago, it was understood that the Hungry Horse and Chef & Brewer operator was seeking offers for the then 38-strong chain. At the time, it was reported to be valued at £100m.

Greene King had stated its desire to double the number of sites of the brand on its acquisition in 2007, but more recently has been chipping away at the size of the business with a number of disposals, including its site in Beaconsfield to Brunning & Price.

It is thought that The Restaurant Group-owned Brunning & Price would be one of the interested parties in the business, which has been overseen by former Boparan Ventures chief executive Joe Teixeira since February last year. It may also prove attractive to private equity-backed casual dining group looking to provide some impetus to existing operations or looking to add a number of high-profile sites to their opening pipelines.

The majority of the restaurants are located in the south of the UK with the greatest concentration in the Home Counties. They are situated in a mixture of high street, town centre, leisure complex and shopping centre locations. Two restaurants are located in central London.

Most of the restaurants occupy character buildings, whilst three of the restaurants have letting bedrooms.

Speaking at the end of last year, chief executive Rooney Anand said: “In our view there is over-capacity in the eating out and casual dining arena after a period of large-scale capital and openings. We are now seeing the first signs of stress from this. That has inevitably led to significant discounting in that part of the market and that has an impact on anyone selling food.”