Close Brothers was appointed by the shareholders of the Company in May 2005 to investigate a possible sale or IPO in order to provide liquidity and maximise value for shareholders. This dual track advisory role included:
• advice on the overall process and timing of the transaction;
• advice on the overall positioning of Carluccio's in the context of the transaction;
• running a dual track process to test the value on a sale to private equity against the value achievable on an IPO;
• advice on capital structure, board structure, incentive schemes and numerous technical issues in relation to the IPO; and
• making recommendations to the Company and assisting in the appointment of other professional advisers and assisting the Company in agreeing the scope of their work.
Carluccio's is a high quality, value for money concept with an outstanding track record and strong roll-out potential. The first Carluccio's caffè and food shop opened in 1999, since which time the portfolio has grown to 24 stores. In the financial year ending September 2005, Carluccio's generated EBITDA of £4.5 million on turnover of £36.8 million.
Stephen Gee, Chairman of Carluccio's, commented: “We are delighted with the outcome of the IPO and are pleased to have benefited from Close Brothers’ expert guidance. They ran an efficient, well-controlled dual track process, drawing on their experience of running auction processes, private equity, IPOs and the restaurant sector, which resulted in a high level of interest from both private equity and the public markets.”
Alka Bali, Director of Close Brothers Corporate Finance, commented: “Carluccio’s is a strong business with an exciting future, which will continue to prosper as a quoted company. Good companies like Carluccio’s will always have a number of exit options open to them including an IPO”.
The Carluccio’s team at Close Brothers was Alka Bali, Michael Dubois and Euan O’Sullivan. To contact them please call Close Brothers on +44 (0)20 7655 3100