Mystery buyer swoops on in-administration V8 Gourmet
A mystery buyer has bought V8 Gourmet Group - owner of Indian restaurant chain Bombay Bicycle Club and Tiffinbites.
The buyer bought 100% of the share capital in the business, which was at one time 30% owned by Bollywood actress and Big Brother star Shilpa Shetty.
London-based turnaround specialist Re10, which brokered the deal late last month, also declined to reveal how much the troubled firm had changed hands for.
The deal, which included all trading sites as well as the concessions in Harrods and Selfridges, sees the group continue to trade and has secured the future of 264 employees, according to Re10.
Joint administrator Nimish Patel said: "From the time Re10 was appointed as administrator on 13 June, our prime concern was to secure the future of the business, including its 264 members of staff, which we thankfully did, just 10 days later".
The V8 Gourmet Group owned and operated the restaurant chains Bombay Bicycle Club, Tiffinbites, the restaurant and catering chain VAMA, as well as the airline catering arm Khana by VAMA and Silk Events.
The group acquired the Tiffinbites, Vama and Bombay Bicycle brands at the start of 2009 when it rescued Gourmet Restaurants from administration. Its most recent accounts filed at Companies House show that in 2009 it made a pre-tax loss of £2.6m, with sales of £10.4m.
V8 Gourmet collapses into administration >>
Gourmet Restaurants rescued from administration >>
Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty buys 33% stake in V8 Gourmet Holdings >>
By Neil Gerrard
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