Activities

La Tasca is a chain of authentic, fully-licensed Spanish tapas bars that is now part of the Laurel Pub Company portfolio.

The group was originally founded in the north-west of England by Neil Gatt and acquired by The Restaurant People Group in 2001 and Laurel owner R20 in May 2007. 

By that point, the group comprised 62 La Tasca restaurants (including four in the USA) along with eight upmarket La Vina and three Sam & Maxie's Grill and Smokehouse venues.

La Tasca also owned a production and distribution company, La Cocina, that supplied pasteurised sous-vide (under vacuum) products to the restaurants.

Timeline

• 1993: Neil Gatt founds the company and opens the first La Tasca tapas bar and restaurant in Manchester.
• September 2001: Horler and Barnes buy La Tasca Restaurants Holdings Ltd for £28.2m with backing from Penta Capital. The sixteen-strong group has 800 staff, sales of £22.3m and operating profit of £3m.
• November 2003: The first American La Tasca opens in Washington DC, followed by a second venue in Clarendon, Virginia, in February 2004.
• 2004: The group opens the first La Vina restaurant in Hale, Cheshire, in June, followed by Liverpool in November. The brand is aimed at an older, more sophisticated clientele and focuses on cuisine from inland Spain rather than the Costas.
• February 2005: La Tasca raises £19m by floating on the Alternative Investment Market at a market capitalisation of £54m. Penta Capital retains a 23% stake in the company.
• March 2006: The group opens its third US La Tasca in Baltimore, followed in June by a fourth outlet in Alexandria, Virginia.
• April 2006: La Tasca opens its first Sam & Maxie's at Stevenage Leisure Park, with more openings following in Manchester and Milton Keynes during 2006. It's a premium bar, grill and smokehouse concept aimed at families that targets the leisure park market.
• October 2006: The first London La Vina opens in Fulham.
• February 2007: La Tasca confirms that it is in preliminary takeover talks with an unnamed suitor.
• March 2007: Café Rouge owner Tragus Holdings tables a £96m bid for La Tasca, which is topped barely 24 hours later by a £98.6m offer from R20, the investment vehicle for Iranian property tycoon Robert Tchenguiz. Tragus ups its offer to £99.7m bid but R20 responds with a £104.2m bid. R20 completes its £123m takeover of La Tasca (including debt) in May, acquiring 62 La Tascas (including four in the USA), eight La Vinas, and three Sam and Maxie's Grill and Smokehouse venues.