Raymond Blanc’s Brasserie Bar Co restaurant group has been acquired for an undisclosed fee (estimated to be around £40 million) by British private equity firm Alchemy Partners.
Brasserie Bar Co started life in 1996 when Blanc opened Le Petit Blanc in Oxford, with the goal of bringing his brand of affordable French brasserie food to the masses. His famous Oxfordshire restaurant Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons had already held two Michelin stars for over a decade by this point, and Blanc was also a household name through his television shows and books.
It hasn’t always been plain sailing for the restaurant group, though - Brasserie Bar Co went into administration briefly in 2003, but it was rescued by Loch Fyne restaurant boss Mark Derry. Things were touch and go for Brasserie Bar Co during the COVID-19 pandemic too, as it was forced to sell five sites. ‘I honestly did not think we’d make it through the pandemic,’ Derry said. ‘Our insurers were refusing to pay out, we had more creditors than cash and quite a big debt burden.’
Since then, Derry and private equity firm Soho Square Capital have led Brasserie Bar Co back to the big time - the group has rebounded well from the pandemic and managed to keep 14 Brasserie Blanc and 18 White Brasserie Co sites open. Combined, the two serve about 34,000 customers a week, and Derry claims the group is now trading at 2019 levels again.
Alchemy Partners will provide the stimulus for Brasserie Bar Co to ramp up into an ambitious nationwide expansion. The plan is to grow Brasserie Bar Co into a gastropub juggernaut of 70 sites, which would more than double the group’s current portfolio.
‘Brasserie Bar Co do food-led pubs exceptionally well – a combination of their differentiated product and a very experienced team who know exactly what they're doing,’ says Thomas Boszko, a partner at Alchemy Partners. ‘This investment is all about backing that team with the capital they need to expand the estate, both in leasehold but also freehold. We are confident in the future of the industry and believe there couldn't be a better time to do this’.
As for Raymond Blanc, it’s understood that he will remain involved in the business, though he has freed up the minority stake he held in the group previously. Blanc is now 72 and his presence on our screens and in our homes is waning, but it looks like Brasserie Blanc and Brasserie Bar Co are here to stay.
If you have a penchant for good French food, take a look at our pick of the best French restaurants in London and book yourself a table, tout suite!