Wagamama appoints financial adviser for possible stock flotation

Noodle bar chain Wagamama has reportedly appointed a financial adviser to advise it on a possible £200m stock market flotation.

The company, which was bought by Lion Capital for £102.5m two years ago, is understood to have chosen Numis Securities to look at a potential listing.

Sources told The Times that it was considering whether to list in the next few weeks or wait until its ambitious US expansion plans are further advanced.

Wagamama has 75 restaurants, of which 51 in the UK and two in the USA are owned by the company. The other outlets, in Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific Rim region, are franchises.

The report comes in the week Argentinean steakhouse chain Gaucho Grill revealed £100m plans to return a return to the London stock market.

Tragus Group, the owner of the Café Rouge, Bella Italia and Strada, is also considering a possible £500m-plus listing in the New Year.

Pret A Manger, the sandwich bar chain, is weighing up the possibility of floating the business as an alternative to a private equity sale.

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By Daniel Thomas

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