Thu, 13 May 2010 | BUSINESS SALE
The company behind the Chez Gérard chain of restaurants is expected to be put up for sale, as rumors mount that its chief executive and chairman are about to resign.
Executive Chairman of Paramount Restaurants, Sir David Michaels, and chief executive, Mark Phillips, are apparently planning to resign over a difference in strategy to the controlling banks, the Times is reporting.
Michaels took up his position less than six months ago.
The sale would mark the latest upset for Paramount, which was forced into a financial restructuring in July last year that ended the involvement of Silverfleet Capital, the private equity firm that had backed the 2006 £107 million buyout.
A debt-for-equity swap erased around £55 million of Paramount’s £120 million debt, with Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC, Barclays and Bain Capital’s Sankaty credit unit each holding stakes.
A plan to sell off some of the other restaurants in Paramount's portfolio – including Bertorelli, Livebait and Caffè Uno – and focus resources on about ten Chez Gérard and 30 Brasserie Gérard outlets, was not enough for the banks.
They wanted a more drastic sale, leaving the group with as few as 20 of the larger restaurants.
The impending departures could attract substantial interest from buyers attracted by the chance to rejuvenate the brand. Tragus Group, the Café Rouge and Strada operator, has been mooted as a possible bidder.
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