Clapham House Group, the restaurant company set up by former PizzaExpress boss David Page, has made its third acquisition.

It has bought the Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK) chain, which has six outlets across London, for up to £10m.

The initial payment is £2.6m in cash on completion of the deal, followed by further "earn-out" payments of up to £7.4m, based on the chain's performance over the next two years.

Page: "controlled expansion"

GBK was founded four years ago with the aim of creating "a range of nutritious, delicious and sophisticated burgers using quality fresh ingredients."

The existing management team of GBK - Greg Driscoll, Brandon Allen and Adam Wills, will retain operational control of the business.

For the five months to 30 September, GBK's earnings were £373,000, on sales of £2.5m.

The chain's branches are in: Battersea, West Hampstead, Putney, Fulham, Chiswick and Bayswater. A number of further sites in London are under offer.

Its menus have been developed in conjunction with Peter Gordon, joint head chef and co-owner of the Providores restaurant on London's Marylebone High Street.

David Page, Clapham House executive chairman, said: "We have made three high-quality platform acquisitions a little over a year after coming to the stock market.

"Clapham House will now focus its resources on growing these three formats through controlled site expansion."

It also aims to make them more profitable.

To help with the drive to find new sites, Sarah Willingham, managing director of the Bombay Bicycle Club subsidiary, is to join the Clapham House board as development director.

News of the latest acquisition came as Clapham House announced its interim financial results for the six months to 30 September.

It made a net pre-tax loss of £58,000 on turnover of £2.7m.

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