Strada sold to Sun Capital Partners for £37m

Another five Strada sites will be sold to independent operators.

Tragus will now focus on developing its core brands, Bella Italia and Café Rouge, as part of the group’s financial restructuring plan​​.

Competition​

Tragus Group CEO Steve Richards said: “​We are very pleased to have agreed the sale of Strada, following an extremely competitive sale process. Sun Capital has significant experience in the consumer sector, which will allow them to continue growing the business. Strada remains an extremely popular brand with customers, at the heart of the fast growing UK casual dining market and we wish the team every success for the future.

“The sale of Strada marks a successful end to the Tragus Group restructuring process which created a more focused business, with 200 high-quality Café Rouge and Bella Italia sites across the UK.

“Next week Tragus will refinance with its financial sponsors and put in place the funding to enable it to grow to 500 restaurants over the medium term. The growth phase has already begun and we will open 12 new sites in the current year and have secured a further 18 in next 12 months.”

Expansion​

Hugh Osmond, partner at Sun Capital Partners, added: “This is a fantastic group of restaurants and we are very pleased to have completed this transaction. We have big plans for the business, including substantial investment and expansion.”

Tragus pointed out that trading in its Café Rouge and Bella Italia estate has remained solid since the launch of the company voluntary agreement (CVA) process in June 2014, and that plans for the signing of 12 Bella Italia sites in the next 12 months remain on track.