Travers Smith, one of Bridgepoint’s go-to firms, has sealed another mandate in the form of the private equity (PE) house’s acquisition of a raft of UK Burger King franchises.
The mid-market deal saw Travers advise its longstanding client, while Macfarlanes – itself no stranger to Bridgepoint – advised the management buy-in team. The acquisition from Burger King Europe (BKE) means Bridgepoint will now own Caspian UK Group, the franchisee of some 74 fast food outlets.
Travers has enjoyed a long line of deals off the back of its relationship with the PE house, which was crystallised in 2008 when the firm’s co-founder of the PE practice, Charles Barter, was hired as general counsel at Bridgepoint. The team on this deal was led by PE partner Ian Shawyer, while corporate and M&A partner Jessica Adam led the Macfarlanes team.
Travers and Macfarlanes have met numerous times on deals involving Bridgepoint, notably on its 2008 buyout from McDonald’s of ubiquitous UK sandwich chain Pret a Manger, where Travers acted for Bridgepoint and Macfarlanes advised the Pret management.
Other mandates for Travers include advising on Pret’s refinancing last year, a deal that involved securing £227m of new debt to replace shareholder debt and finance the company’s expansion. The firm also won a role on Bridgepoint’s £250m acquisition of Italian restaurant businesses ASK and Zizzi from Cinven in 2014.
However, Ropes & Gray’s recent acquisition of a new client in Bridgepoint – on the sale of Inspired Thinking Group – could pose a threat to Travers’ grip on the client.
Helen Croke, the private equity partner who led on that deal, joined Ropes last year from Travers, having herself forged a relationship with Bridgepoint over the course of a number of deals, including its sale of Quotient Clinical to GHO Capital, the acquisition of tastecard and Gourmet Society, and its investment in MVF.
As with the Pret acquisition, Bridgepoint plans to leverage the platform to roll out new Burger King outlets across the UK.
Martin Robinson, the non-executive chairman of Casual Dining Group, the parent company of high-street stalwarts Bella Italia, Café Rouge, La Tasca and Las Iguanas, is taking the helm of the management buy-in team and its expansion strategy across the UK.