Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) has acquired the 22-strong Ha Ha Bar & Grill from Bay Restaurant Group for £19.5m.
After the deal completes on 3 October 2010, the bar/ restaurant chain with locations across England will eventually be converted into M&B brands, including 12 All Bar One sites and six Browns restaurants with the remaining four operating as other M&B brands.
Adam Fowle, chief executive of M&B, said: “Whilst small, this acquisition illustrates our ability and our strategy to develop sites to create value for Mitchells & Butlers shareholders. It will also provide an excellent opportunity to grow significantly two strong brands, All Bar One and Browns.”
Bay Restaurants first marketed Ha Ha in May along with its 70-strong tapas restaurant chain La Tasca, but withdrew the group from the market in August after failing to attract offers at the right level.
One remaining brand
Bay now intends to invest a proportion of the proceeds into a two-year refurbishment programme for its remaining brand La Tasca, starting with the Manchetser Deansgate, Brighton and Leeds sites.
Ian Payne, chairman of Bay Restaurants, said: “As anticipated, there was significant interest in the Ha Ha brand portfolio and I am delighted to see both the business and all of its employees going to such a good home within the Mitchells & Butlers stable where I have every confidence it will flourish.
"I am pleased that we have successfully achieved an attractive offer for the business which creates value for our shareholders.”
The Ha Ha brand comprises three locations in central London plus outlets in Bath, Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Guildford, Kingston, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Norwich, Nottingham, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Reading, Sheffield, Windsor and York.