Luke Johnson, the serial investor, has strengthened his position in the high-end bakery and cafe sector, with the acquisition of a majority stake in the parent company of the London-based Gail’s Artisan Bakery chain.
The nine-strong bakery and cafe chain was set up in 2005 by ex-city traders Ran Avidan and Tom Molnar in conjunction with Gail Stephens, founder of Baker and Spice.
Johnson has made the undisclosed investment in parent company Luxury Bread Factory through his vehicle Risk Capital Partners, which also backs Patisserie Holdings, the umbrella company for the Patisserie Valerie, Baker & Spice and Druckers chains.
It is unclear whether Gail’s will also be positioned as part of Patisserie Holdings.
On the back of the new investment Gail’s plans to open a further five sites this year, with another 10 mooted for 2012. The company has appointed property advisor Stephen & Matthews to find sites in “affluent areas of London.
The opening of second production kitchen is also thought to be part of the company’s plans for the coming year.
Patisserie Holdings currently operates an estate of 75 cafes in total including four Baker & Spice-branded units in London and 28 Druckers outlets. It recently opened a Baker & Spice unit in Selfridges Food Hall.
Patisserie Valerie, which is led by chief executive Paul May, has previously talked about taking the 43-strong chain to over a 100 sites in the UK, plus 15 in the Middle East, where it currently operates two franchise stores in Bahrain and Dubai respectively.
Speaking last year, Johnson said: “We intend to bring the luxury and quality of Continental artisanal patisseries to all the major cities of Britain.”
Risk Capital also backs Giraffe, while Johnson has stakes in the six-strong Feng Sushi business and new umbrella group 3Sixty Restaurants, which includes the Ego and Rocket restaurant chains.
Johnson is also thought to be one of leading the parties in the running to acquire the six-strong Real Greek chain.
