Activities

Paramount (formerly known as Groupe Chez Gérard) is a privately-owned company that operates a stable of restaurant brands, mostly in the London area.

Its two key brands are Chez Gérard, a Parisian-style brasserie, and the Italian Bertorelli chain. It also owns two fish brands, Livebait and Café Fish.

The group is experimenting with less formal brasserie and deli/café spin-offs of its two key brands that will spearhead its drive into the provinces.

In November 2005 the group - which had 22 restaurants and three delis - more than doubled in size with the acquisition of 53 Caffe Uno restaurants in high streets across the UK.

Timeline

• 1986: Groupe Chez Gérard (GCG) is founded when Neville Abraham and Laurence Issacson buy three Chez Gérard restaurants in London. The business partners also snap up the Bertorelli restaurant in Covent Garden, adding the original Bertorelli in Charlotte Street (which dates back to 1913) in 1995.
• 1987: GCG sets up the Soho Soho rotisserie and café bar. In the early 1990s, it acquires historic London seafood restaurant Scott’s (which was founded in 1851).
• 1997: In February, GCG buys London fish restaurant Livebait (which opened in Waterloo in 1995) for around £1.6m. In May, it acquires two St Quentin restaurants from the Savoy Group.
• June 1998: GCG buys the six London Richoux restaurants from Michael de Costa for £7.2m (the brand dates back to 1909). It also combines its new Café Fish brand with Livebait at a new site in Piccadilly.
• 2000: The group sells the two Richoux cafes to Madisons in February, followed by the four restaurants in August for £2.7m. In September, it announces plans to double in size to 40 outlets over the next two years and to expand into the provinces.
• October 2001: CGC puts the break on expansion in the wake of the economic slowdown, the foot-and-mouth epidemic and the terrorist attacks on New York.
• January 2002: The group closes its Livebait Chelsea restaurant as part of a trading review that is likely to result in further reductions to its 28-strong chain.
• March 2002: Abraham, who stepped down in 1999, returns as executive chairman weeks before the group reveals an 81% slump in pre-tax profits in the last six months of 2001 (from £1.6m to £300,000). He brings in Nick Basing as a temporary consultant to aid in the recovery plan.
• May 2002: GCG sells the Scotts seafood restaurant for £2.9m.
• September 2002: GCG unveils a £3.4m pre-tax loss for the year to June 2002. Its share prices slumps to 61p (from 350p in 1997).
• October 2002: Basing leads a hostile £20.6m bid for the 23-strong GCG on behalf of Paramount, a former pub operator that is now a cash shell.
• April 2003: Following the failure of a management buy-out plan led by Abraham, Paramount takes over GCG for £15.2m.
• June 2004: Paramount confirms that executive chairman Guy Naggar and business associate Peter Klimt are behind talks for a £28m buyout to take the company in to private ownership.
• August 2004: Paramount’s redevelopment of its flagship Chez Gérard in Covent Garden Piazza includes a new offer, Le Petit Chez Gérard patisserie/piazza café.
• September 2004: Paramount opens its first Caffé Bertorelli in Bristol, and its first Deli Bertorelli in London’s Charlotte Street.
• March 2005: Paramount acquires its first hotel concession when it opens a Chez Gérard in the Victoria Thistle hotel in London. It also takes on the hotel’s food and beverage operation.
• April 2005: Paramount puts in a bid for the Little Chef chain of roadside restaurants but in July, it is revealed the group is in exclusive talks with the co-founders of the Out of Town restaurant group.
• May 2005: The group converts its Cambridge site into the first Brasserie Chez Gérard. The offer from Naggar’s takeover vehicle, Craftbutton is declared unconditional and Paramount delists from the Alternative Investment Market in June.
• November 2005: Craftbutton agrees to buy 53 of the 58 Caffé Uno outlets from The Restaurant Group for £33m in a deal that more than doubles its size. The Restaurant Group retains five sites which are to be sold or rebranded, along with three derivatives of the brand in airports which it will continue to run under licence from Paramount.
  

Financial snapshot

Full year

Turnover: £31.8m (£32.9m)
Pre-tax profit: £1.8m (2003: -£230,000)

Half year

Turnover: £17.5m (2003: £15.9m)
Pre-tax profit: £730m* (2003: £890m)

Financial year end: 27 June 2004
Half-year end: 26 December 2004

* Interim pre-tax profit rose by 7.1% to £990,000 before subtracting opening costs of £162,000 and reorganisation costs of £101,000.

Operating data

Total number of restaurants: 75
Total number of delis: 3

Caffé Uno: 53
Chez Gérard: 12 - London (Belvedere Road, Bishopgate, Chancery Lane, Chandle Street, Covent Garden, Dover Street, St Pauls, Trinity Square, Victoria Thistle), Gatwick Airport, Heathrow Airport
Brasserie Chez Gérard:  one, in Cambridge
Le Petit Chez Gérard:  one, in Covent Garden, London
Bertorelli's: five – London (Charlotte Street, Fetter Lane, Mincing Lane, Floral Street, Frith Street)
Caffé Bertorelli: one, in Bristol
Deli Bertorelli: one, in Charlotte Street, London
Livebait: four – London (Covent Garden, Waterloo), Manchester, Leeds
Café Fish: one, in  Rupert Street, London

Number of employees: nearly 700

Strategy

"As the business moves into a new phase of expansion there are additional infrastructure and capital costs in building an enlarged portfolio. We remain convinced that this business will significantly enjoy economies of scale from its principal brands.

The company’s strategy for growth is being executed through four main themes: leveraging yield from the existing portfolio; in-filling new sites in central London; roll out of Bertorelli and Chez Gérard outside London; and the pursuit of world class hospitality standards.”

Source: Interim results for the six months ended 26 December 2004

Chief executive

Nick Basing

Key directors

Chairman: Guy Naggar
Chief operating officer: Alan Hand

Contact

8-10 Grosvenor Gardens
Victoria
London
SW1W 0DH

Tel: 020 7881 8870

Website: http://www.santeonline.co.uk

Commentary

Groupe Chez Gérard’s problems at the start the current century stemmed from high debt and over-rapid expansion into sometimes poor sites.

Chairman Neville Abraham’s attempts to turn the group around – cutting costs, closing underperforming restaurants, lowering menu prices and slashing debt from £10.8m to £3.7m - seemed to be bearing fruit. But then came Paramount’s hostile offer, led by former GCG consultant Nick Basing, and Abraham was unable to put together a management buy-out to match Paramount’s bid.

New chief executive Basing turned around the group’s fortune within a year and doubled its share price. In this time, he upgraded the portfolio, closed or converted unprofitable sites, increased the seating, overhauled the menus, extended the wine list, rationalised the supplier list and boosted the training budget fivefold.

The group is now ready for expansion but, as new openings temporarily reduce profitability, chairman Guy Naggar felt this could be done best as a private rather than a listed company. His investment vehicle Craftbutton bought the company in May 2005.

As well as filling in gaps in the London market, the group plans to expand its presence in the provinces, principally through Brasserie Chez Gérard and Caffé  Bertorelli. Both are more casual spin-offs of its two key brands that have been adapted for all-day trading. It has no plans to add more Livebaits or Café Fish restaurants.