Fri 31st Aug 2018 - The Restaurant Group buys Food & Fuel for £14.91m to add to Brunning & Price division The Restaurant Group buys Food & Fuel for £14.91m to add to Brunning & Price division: London gastro-pub operator Food & Fuel has sold the entire share capital of the business to The Restaurant Group’s Brunning & Price division for £14.91m. Food & Fuel, which operates an 11-strong estate of prime London gastro pubs, was started in 2006 by Karen Jones, Jo Cumming and Peter Myers. Its pubs span Richmond, Chiswick, Pimlico, Marylebone and Kensington and include the iconic Sporting Page in Chelsea. Karen Jones, executive chairman of Food & Fuel, said: “We have owned and operated our pubs for over twelve years and we love them as we love our people. The achievement of 12 years of like-for-like growth is due to their talent and their commitment. After a series of approaches over the past few years, we finally decided that the future for Food & Fuel was best secured under the umbrella of a larger and well-regarded company that shares our values. That company is Brunning & Price. We look forward to watching Food & Fuel flourish as part of their estate. It remains for me to say a heartfelt thank you to all our people for whom we feel the respect and closeness one reserves for family. And our very best wishes for the future to Brunning & Price whom it has been a pleasure to get to know.” Brunning & Price operates 64 pubs, at the moment mainly in rural location. Its owner-operator approach and firm focus on quality and consistency fit very well with Food & Fuel’s philosophy and the exceptional nature of the Food & Fuel estate offers a perfect opportunity for Brunning & Price to establish themselves in London. Brunning & Price / The Restaurant Group paid £14.91m or £15.4m, after working capital and liabilities, for Food & Fuel, representing 8.1x outlet profit of £1.9m. “We are delighted to be coming together with Food & Fuel, whose excellent people and unique pubs have impressed us on every visit,” said Mary Willcock, managing director of Brunning & Price. “It gives us an immediate strong presence in London and we are excited about the opportunities it provides.” Jones, Cumming and Myers will continue to operate and expand Frontier, the seven-strong joint venture with Ei Group and have established a new vehicle, Pioneer Hospitality. Karen Jones recently took the lead at Prezzo as executive chairman, alongside her chairmanships at Hawksmoor and Mowgli. Food and Fuel was advised by Coffer Corporate Leisure.