Euro Garages plans Little Chef takeover

Independent forecourt operator, Euro Garages is reportedly in ‘advanced talks’ with Kout Food Group to acquire the roadside eatery brand, Little Chef, according to The Sun.

Kuwaiti-based Kout Food Group acquired Little Chef for £15m in 2013. Its UK arm, Kout Food Group Restaurants UK, operates brands such as Burger King, KFC and Maison Blanc.

With 70 Little Chefs restaurants currently operating, management is expected to assess each site on ‘a case-by-case basis’ should the deal go through.

A source told the newspaper: ‘The Little Chef employees have been informed. All the assets from Little Chef will be transferred to Euro Garages and all their terms and conditions will remain the same – meaning they will still be employed in their current roles.

‘Staff are worried that Euro Garages don’t operate their own brands [such as Starbucks, Subway, Greggs and Burger King] – they only operate partner brands. They fear this could mean the end for what is an iconic brand.’

In October, Euro Garages joined forces with European Forecourt Retail Group (EFR), creating a new holding group called Intervias and a combined board. Both businesses are owned by private equity firm TDR Capital, which bought a minority stake in Euro Garages in October 2015 in a deal that valued the company at £1.3bn.

The first Little Chef opened in1958 in Reading and the brand peaked at at nearly 450 branches in 2000.