Arab Investments acquires Coffee Republic

Arab Investments Ltd has today completed the acquisition of Coffee Republic with administrators KPMG.

Arab Investments intends to commit substantial capital into developing the Coffee Republic brand and will be embarking on further expansion of the branch network which currently includes 80 outlets, of which 20 are outside the UK, including Bulgaria and Saudi Arabia.

Richard Hill, joint administrator and KPMG partner, said: “I’m delighted that we have agreed the sale of Coffee Republic, rescuing a substantial part of the business and protecting 62 jobs. While coffee shops face tough competition on the High Street in these challenging economic times, the amount of interest we received in Coffee Republic is testament to the strength of the brand. I would like to thank the company’s employees and suppliers who have supported the business over the past three weeks, and helped us to achieve this successful outcome.”

Khalid Affara of Arab Investments, said: “We are delighted to have completed the acquisition of Coffee Republic today and we intend to start growing the business with immediate effect.

Coffee Republic has a very strong brand name and we are bringing additional investment into the company to expand the number of retail outlets in the UK and elsewhere.”

Arab Investments is a substantial privately owned property investment company based in London.

Arab Investments Ltd was advised on the acquisition by Fiona Hamilton, Business Recovery Partner and Head of Scottish Retail at King Sturge who said: “This deal is the UK’s largest coffee acquisition and we were delighted to be able to introduce our client to KPMG. We have provided operational and strategic acquisition advice and will continue to advise Arab Investments on strategy moving forward.”

Coffee Republic bought by Arab Investments

Arab Investments, a private property company best known for plans to build a London skyscraper, has completed the acquisition of Coffee Republic, the coffee shop chain, from administration.

The company, which is planning to build one of the tallest buildings in London at the Pinnacle in the City of London, will today confirm the acquisition for an undisclosed amount. Administrator KPMG has been in talks to sell the business to Arab Investments for two weeks.

Arab Investments said that it would commit “substantial capital” into developing the Coffee Republic brand, and will embark on further expansion of the branch network. Coffee Republic operates 80 outlets, of which 20 are outside the UK, including Bulgaria and Saudi Arabia.

Khalid Affara, who runs Arab Investments in the UK, said: “We intend to start growing the business with immediate effect.

“Coffee Republic has a strong brand name and we are bringing additional investment into the company to expand the number of retail outlets in the UK and elsewhere.”

Richard Hill, joint administrator and KPMG partner, said that a substantial part of the business had been rescued, protecting 62 jobs. He said: “While coffee shops face tough competition on the high street in these challenging economic times, the amount of interest we received in Coffee Republic is testament to the strength of the brand.”

Update on administration of Coffee Republic

Update on Administration

Further to the announcement of 13 July, the administrators of Coffee Republic and its subsidiaries have granted a period of exclusivity to the preferred purchaser of all or parts of the business. The terms of the exclusivity agreement and the identity of the potential purchaser are confidential.

Commenting on this development, Joint Administrator Richard Hill of KPMG LLP said: “As expected, the huge volume of enquiries from interested parties produced a very healthy level of offers. We have spent the last few days clarifying the terms of the most attractive offers and we have now identified our preferred purchaser. We have agreed a period of exclusivity to allow that party to carry out some limited due diligence which should enable us to agree the terms of the sale of the residual business as a going concern during the course of next week.”

All parties who submitted offers are being informed of the situation but no further information will be released until after the expiry of the exclusivity period.

A further update will be made in due course.

Arab Investments in exclusive talks to buy Coffee Republic

The property company behind plans for one of London’s tallest skyscrapers has emerged as the surprise potential buyer of Coffee Republic.

Arab Investments, a private property investment company best known for its proposed Pinnacle tower in the City of London, on Friday entered into an exclusivity agreement with KPMG, which is acting as administrator to the coffee shop chain.

If successful, Arab Investments intends to put money into developing the Coffee Republic brand in the UK and overseas, and will start expanding the branch network immediately after completing the deal. It is thought to be in talks to acquire about 80 outlets, of which 20 are outside the UK, in countries such as Saudi Arabia and Bulgaria.

Arab Investments is thought to see the chain as having a strong brand name, which can be grown to challenge larger chains such as Starbucks and Costa. The deal is thought to be largely opportunistic, with the owners of Arab Investments seeing the chance to buy a large chain of leasehold outlets at a cheap price. No financial details of the transaction were provided.

KPMG confirmed that it had granted a period of exclusivity to the preferred purchaser of Coffee Republic, but declined to comment on the identity of the buyer.

Joint administrator Richard Hill said: “As expected, the huge volume of enquiries from interested parties produced a very healthy level of offers. We have spent the last few days clarifying the terms of the most attractive offers and we have now identified our preferred purchaser.

“We have agreed a period of exclusivity to allow that party to carry out some limited due diligence, which should enable us to agree the terms of the sale of the residual business as a going concern during the course of next week.”

Coffee Republic PLC in administration

Coffee Republic (UK) Ltd (in administration), Coffee Republic Franchising Ltd (in administration), Goodbean Ltd (in administration) and Coffee Republic Plc (in administration)

Richard Hill and David Crawshaw were appointed Joint Administrators of Coffee Republic (UK) Ltd, Coffee Republic Franchising Ltd and Goodbean Ltd on 7 July 2009.

Richard Hill and David Crawshaw were appointed Joint Administrators of Coffee Republic Plc 10 July 2009.

The outlets which have ceased trading

York House, Manchester
Richmond
Staines
33 Northgate Street, Chester
Canterbury
The Mall, Ealing
Canary Wharf
George Street, London
Rathbone Place, London
Great Marlborough Street, London.

The firm’s outlet in Gloucester Road, London, closed shortly before the administrators were appointed.

The remaining nine coffee bars continue to trade as normal. The 70 outlets franchised through Coffee Republic Franchising Ltd and 97 concessions which operate within cinemas, retail outlets and hotels throughout the UK, are not in administration and are also continuing to trade as normal.

Richard Hill, KPMG partner and joint administrator said: “Following our assessment of the Coffee Republic (UK) Ltd-owned outlets we have had to take the decision to close those which are no longer viable to leave the profitable parts of the business remaining. We are now in discussions with interested parties with a view to selling the remaining business as a going concern. There has been huge interest already from potential purchasers and I remain confident of achieving a sale during the course of next week.”

Ten Coffee Republic outlets close

From the BBC
9 July 2009

Ten of the 20 outlets directly owned by coffee chain Coffee Republic have closed with the loss of 66 jobs, the firm’s administrators have said.

The news comes two days after the company went into administration.

Tuesday’s move has not affected the 167 Coffee Republic outlets that are either owned by franchisees or are concessions in cinemas and hotels.

Administrator KPMG said it was now in talks with potential buyers for the firm, and had received “huge interest”.

KPMG also confirmed that another one of the 20 directly owned stores, the outlet in London’s Gloucester Road, had already closed just before it was appointed.

It said the remaining nine would trade as normal while it continued discussions with potential buyers for the company.

“I remain confident of achieving a sale during the course of next week,” said KPMG partner Richard Hill.

Coffee Republic had directly employed 153 staff.

Coffee Republic to stay in town despite collapse

Coffee Republic in Maidenhead will be safe despite the coffee chain collapsing into administration.

The franchised branch of Coffee Republic, in the High Street, will not be affected. A member of staff at the coffee shop, said: “We have been told we will be safe. Even if the franchised coffee shops go, we are only using the brand so we will still be able to run it as a coffee shop.”

Although the chain has 187 outlets worldwide, only the 20 wholly owned by Coffee Republic are understood to be affected by the administration – while as in Maidenhead, the rest are owner-run franchise businesses.

Coffee Republic Franchising, the company which administers the franchises, has also collapsed but administrator KPMG said the franchised coffee shops are standalone businesses and will continue to trade normally.

KPMG planning to complete sale of chain by end of next week

KPMG said yesterday it was planing to complete the sale of the chain by the end of next week. KPMG said it had already received calls from interested parties, mainly other coffee-bar operators.

Jobs under threat as Coffee Republic goes bust

From Times Online
July 7, 2009
Catherine Boyle and Dominic Walsh

Coffee Republic, the British coffee shop chain, has gone into administration after weeks of speculation about its future.

Administrators KPMG said there would be “inevitable job losses” at the coffee company, which was founded by brother and sister team Bobby and Sahar Hashemi, near Bond Street, in central London in 1995.

Although the Coffee Republic Plc holding company has not gone bust, its three subsidiaries, Coffee Republic (UK), Coffee Republic Franchising Ltd and Goodbean Ltd have all been placed in administration.

KPMG hopes to sell on some of the company’s profitable franchises and outlets, although Mr Hashemi, who quit the company in 2006, is understood to have ruled out a return to his old company.

A source close to Mr Hashemi, who is now in private equity, said last night: “Never say never, but Bobby has moved on and is focused on other things.”

Richard Hill, restructuring partner at KPMG, said: “The recession is hitting discretionary spending on the high street and some of the less profitable bars with expensive leases have suffered.

“However, Coffee Republic has a strong brand and I expect considerable interest in the profitable parts of the business.”

The group has 153 directly-employed staff, 127 at 20 group-operated outlets. There are 187 Coffee Republic-branded cafes in total in the UK and overseas, including 70 franchises and a further 97 concessions in cinemas, retail outlets and hotels.

The company suspended its shares yesterday “pending clarification” of its financial position as administrators prepared to swoop on its UK business.