Sun Capital Partners, the Hugh Osmond-led investment vehicle, has placed a package of 16 Strada sites on the market, MCA has learnt.
The group, which acquired the then 43-strong Strada business for £37m in 2014, has appointed Colliers to sell the sites that include restaurants in Blackheath, Cobham and Highgate.
Osmond told MCA: “We have put a number of Strada sites up for sale, mainly on the grounds of size. All the sites are in prime trading locations but most are too small for the formats we wish to focus on. So, while selling the smaller units, we are in process of taking on four to five much larger new properties. In terms of the Strada brand, we are retaining a small number of prime Stradas, which we are modernising and upgrading, both in terms of menu and fit out. But the principal expansion will now be of Coppa Club.”
The sale of the sites would leave Sun with 17 Strada sites, including flagship locations at More London, St Katharine Docks and Royal Festival Hall.
Coppa Club, the group’s fledgling restaurant concept, has recently begun to build its pipeline for the coming year, with deals being put in place to open in Brighton and Maidenhead. It is also set to convert the Strada in Henley to the new brand.
The four-strong group hopes to open a 150-cover restaurant in Brighton Square, which will include a pod with a see-through roof.
The site will be in the property previously home to five shops, including Angel Food Kitchen and Giggling Giraffe.
At the same time, the company has to open on the ground floor of the Shanly’s Picturehouse development in Maidenhead.
Talking to MCA last year, the company said it was looking at a mixture of conversions of sister brand Strada and new locations to fuel its openings pipeline going forward.
The new concept, which is led by Tiffany Renwick, recently appointed Tom James as director of operations.
Formerly of Jamie’s Italian, James joined Strada as its operations director in 2015.
