Coffee Snobs Limited which operates 14 lucrative Costa Coffee franchises in the affluent commuter belt of north-west London and the Home Counties has been sold to Kout Food Group in a multimillion pound deal advised on by Smith Cooper Corporate Finance.
Smith Cooper project managed the transaction for the Sellers, Paul Messenger and Juliet McGuigan, compiling a comprehensive information pack, valuing the business, identifying and negotiating with the Buyer, liaising with the Franchisor, and providing a full and rigorous deal management service throughout the sale process.
This was the second significant transaction in the Costa brand, the first being the sale of South West Coffee last summer – a sale process Smith Cooper also managed.
Paul and Juliet were one of the first franchisees to join the Costa franchise system in 2004 with a single store in Berkhamsted and developed the Coffee Snobs business significantly into an operation with 14 stores employing nearly 150 members of staff.
Kout Food Group is a Kuwaiti based company (part of the Al Homaizi Group) whose portfolio of brands in the UK includes Little Chef, Burger King, KFC, Cha Cha Moon and currently extends to more than 170 stores.
Commenting on the deal, Paul and Juliet said “It was a massive step and one which I don’t think we’d have got through without Smith Cooper’s help and support. Smith Cooper are a great team and we wouldn’t hesitate in recommending them”.
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Completed:
Jul 14
Smith Cooper Team
John Farnsworth
David Crump
