Former Wagamama backer buys majority stake in Loungers for £137m: Private equity firm Lion Capital, the former backer of Wagamama, has acquired a majority stake in cafe bar brand Loungers for £137m. Lion has bought exiting backer Piper’s stake in the company and a portion of the founders’ stake. Loungers operates two brands – Lounges and Cosy Club. It was founded in Bristol in 2002 by a trio of longstanding friends, Alex Reilley, Jake Bishop and Dave Reid. Piper invested in Loungers in April 2012 when the business comprised 20 Lounges and three Cosy Club sites across the UK. Over the past four years, the company has more than quadrupled the number of sites to 94, opening 20 sites a year since 2014 and creating employment for almost 2,000 people. The business is planning to open its 100th site by April 2017 and has a further 20 in the pipeline for the following year. The team behind the business will continue their involvement for the next stage of its growth. Alex Reilley will stay on as chairman of the group. Nick Collins, who joined as finance director in 2012 and became chief executive in 2015, will continue to lead the business together with Justin Carter who joined as chief operating officer in 2015. Jake Bishop will remain as managing director of Cosy Club. Lion Capital partner James Cocker said: “We have admired Loungers for several years as one of the most distinctive and scalable foodservice propositions in the UK. Its casual, all-day offering is well aligned with consumer trends and has been proven to trade successfully in an extraordinarily diverse range of locations. Alex, Jake, Nick and their team have built a first-class business with a wonderful culture. We are tremendously excited to partner with them for the next phase of the company’s development.” Piper managing partner Chris Curry added: “Loungers is an exceptional business with a highly driven and energetic management team. Its customers are incredibly loyal and love the casual, informal and slightly quirky style of the Lounges and Cosy Clubs, and the quality and value of what they offer. When we invested in the business we believed Loungers had the potential to fill the gap between pubs and coffee shops and we are proud to have proven that to be the case. There remains enormous scope for growth, with more than 500 sites identified in the UK for the Lounge brand alone.” Reilley said: “The Piper team have been absolutely brilliant for Loungers and we’ve enjoyed a wonderful and productive partnership with them over the last five years. It has been a real pleasure and a lot of fun sharing Loungers with Piper, who exit with the business in a truly excellent place. From these strong foundations we look forward to the next phase of growth with Lion Capital, who share our excitement and passion about the future and have the experience to help us continue fulfilling our potential. We have known the Lion team for some time, and their experience in working with Wagamama and other companies in the leisure, food and retail sector will be a huge benefit as we enter the next phase of our expansion.” Lion Capital was advised by Houlihan Lokey, Proskauer, PwC and OC&C. Piper and the existing shareholders were advised by GCA Altium, Burges Salmon and PwC.