The billionaire businessman Richard Caring is close to clinching a sale of his collection of Ivy restaurants, paving the way for a new owner of some of London’s biggest celebrity haunts.
Sky News has learnt that Mr Caring, who began exploring an auction late last year, is on the brink of signing a deal with Si Advisers, a little-known London-based firm.
Sources said a deal could be formally struck within weeks and was expected to value at around the £1bn valuation mooted for the business over the last eight months.
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The deal will represent a coup for Mr Caring, dubbed ‘the king of Mayfair’ and owner of some of the world’s most expensive and exclusive restaurants and private members’ clubs.
It is expected to see him offloading close to all of his stake in The Ivy Collection, which now spans dozens of restaurants in affluent locations across Britain.
Other shareholders, including a Qatari fund, are also expected to sell.
The deal will not include Mr Caring’s other restaurants, which include London’s Scott’s, Sexy Fish and J Sheekey, or clubs such as Annabel’s and Mark’s Club in Mayfair.
The identity of the buyer will come as a surprise given the list of prominent sovereign and private investors who considered bidding for The Ivy Collection.
Si Advisers lists its two directors as Hamza Ben Abderahmen and Ameel Somani, who is described as “a private equity investor and keen supporter of the arts”.
Mr Somani serves on a number of boards and previously worked for Helios Investment Partners, the Africa-focused private equity firm.
The Ivy was founded at a site near Leicester Square in 1917 by two friends, Abel Giandolini and Mario Gallati, with the latter then going on to open Le Caprice, which was for decades one of the capital’s most popular restaurants among A-list celebrities before it was closed in 2020.
Mr Caring took over Caprice Holdings in 2005 in a deal which included many of London’s most prominent restaurants.
He has since embarked on a wildly successful expansion of The Ivy brand, taking it to dozens of locations across London and the south of England.
The businessman has also opened branches of The Ivy in Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester and York, as well as cities in Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
He has also focused on expanding The Ivy Asia, a newer concept which numbers fewer than ten restaurants but which he aims to expand.
Mr Caring’s investments have paid off, with record sales and profits in the latest year for which results have been published.
Accounts filed at Companies House for Troia (UK) Restaurants for the period ending 1 January 2023, which comprises The Ivy Collection, showed turnover of almost £303m, and adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of £54.8m.
Updated accounts are expected to be filed later this year.
In 2019, he sold a 25% stake in Caprice Holdings to Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, the former prime minister of Qatar, in a deal reportedly worth £200m.
Mr Caring has also been a shareholder in the company which owns the Soho House chain of private members’ clubs, and is now widely regarded as the most successful investor in upmarket hospitality assets of his generation.
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His initial wealth, however, was made in the clothing trade, and saw him become a long-term business associate of Sir Philip Green, the former Arcadia owner.
Selling a big stake in The Ivy Collection would crystallise a huge windfall for Mr Caring, with the top end of the London hospitality industry faring resiliently despite Britain’s stuttering economy.
A spokesperson for Mr Caring and HSBC both declined to comment, while SI Advisers could not be reached for comment.