According to Bloomberg, the increasingly prolific food service and food service technology-focused investment firm is seeking to pre-empt a sale process for Gail’s, which was founded in 2005 and now operates over 130 sites.
Last month it was revealed that the owners of Gail’s had hired Goldman Sachs to handle a sale that could value the premium bakery chain by as much as £500m.
At the time, banking sources said the appointment was likely to lead to a partial or full exit for the company’s existing backers.
In 2021, Gail’s parent company, Bread Holdings, secured new investment from Bain Capital Credit and McWin in a transaction valued at £200m.
Hospitality investor Luke Johnson, who engineered the sale, remained as an investor through his private equity arm, Risk Capital Partners, and as a board member.
Earlier this month Gail’s CEO Tom Molnar told The Sunday Times that the business was aiming to open between 30 and 40 new sites in the coming year.
Gail’s was founded by Yael Mejia as a bakery in the 1990s. It began its rollout in 2005 with its first high-street store opening in Hampstead by co-founder Molnar, who joined in 2003.
It operates more than 150 sites across UK.
