The hospitality company which owns Wagamama is in talks to buy a chunk of Oakman Group, the pub and restaurant chain.
Sky News has learnt that The Restaurant Group (TRG), which is backed by the private equity firm Apollo Global Management, is in advanced discussions to buy some of the privately held company’s assets.
Industry sources said that Oakman and its advisers were negotiating with other prospective bidders about a sale of its remaining assets.
Oakman trades from more than 30 sites, and has been working with advisers from PricewaterhouseCoopers for several weeks on an auction.
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One insider said TRG was likely to acquire between one-third and half of Oakman’s sites if the deal was successfully completed.
The buyer, which is run by former Boots and Coral chief Andy Hornby, would then integrate them into its Brunning & Price pub estate, the insider added.
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Further details of the potential transaction were unclear on Monday afternoon, although it is likely to be worth somewhere between £50m and £100m.
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The Oakman sale process comes amid intensifying pressure on the hospitality industry, with recent tax rises and jittery consumer confidence triggering fresh warnings of job losses and business collapses.
Last week, Sky News revealed that RedCat, the pubs operator founded by former Greene King boss Rooney Anand, was in talks to swoop on his former employer to buy its pub-hotel operations.
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TRG and PwC declined to comment.
