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Tag: CVC

  • Costa Coffee China sales grows

    Costa Coffee China sales grows

    UK’s Costa Coffee says sales in China have underpinned solid growth in its Asian operations.

    Costa has 459 stores in China, where sales rose 4.9 per cent in the first half year as Chinese continue to boost their coffee consumption.

    The company plans to open a further 100 stores in China before Christmas and is expanding its range to suit local tastes, after items such as Cold Brew and Character Roast performed well.

    Costa is also steadily expanding its network in other Asian markets, including Singapore where it has about 10 outlets, and Cambodia.

    Globally, Costa Coffee achieved a 5.2 per cent rise in first-quarter sales, helped by new store openings and the popularity of its Costa Express machines. However, like-for-like sales in its UK home market fell 2 per cent, reflecting the challenges faced by most retailers on high streets currently.

    Costa’s parent, brewer Whitbread, is considering options to spin the business off in a separate listing, but has reportedly since been courted by private equity firms seeing an opportunity to grow the business internationally.

    TPG, Bain Capital and CVC could pave the way for a sale of the brand realising as much as £3 billion.

    In the UK, Costa Coffee has 2467 stores, a mix of company-run and franchised stores. As it encounters trouble on high street locations, the company is shifting focus to high-traffic locations such as airports and petrol stations.

  • Goldman Sachs linked to The Body Shop bid

    Goldman Sachs linked to The Body Shop bid

    Investment bank Goldman Sachs is reportedly preparing a £600 million bid for The Body Shop.

    Owner L’Oreal decided to put the ethical cosmetics brand on the market last month, apparently unwilling to invest in arresting falling sales and market share.

    The Body Shop bid price would fall considerably short of the £850 million L’Oreal is said to be seeking – a figure roundly considered as highly optimistic in the investment community.

    Private equity companies Carlyle, CVC Capital Partners, Advent International and Apax Partners have all been reported to have shown an interest in the business. L’Oreal paid £650 million for the business in 2006.

    Founded by Dame Anita Roddick and her husband Gordon in 1976, The Body Shop has grown to more than 3000 stores in 66 countries. The original concept was to create an ethical approach to cosmetics with fewer chemicals and no animal testing.

    Sales fell 3.2 per cent in the first half of 2016 and by 2.8 per cent in the third quarter. Another decline is expected to be reported when L’Oreal releases its results this month.

    Charlotte Pearce, an analyst with GlobalData, warns The Body Shop needs to freshen its offer or face its eventual demise.

    “The brand has become outdated and has failed to provide an innovative offer with exciting new products to entice customers into stores, causing the retailer to lose out to brands with more relevant beauty and skincare ranges,” said Pearce.

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  • KFC Malaysia parent plans IPO

    KFC Malaysia parent plans IPO

    KFC Malaysia parent QSR Brands (M) Holdings, is arranging an IPO next year expected to raise about US$500 million.

    The company, which has both KFC and Pizza Hut restaurant concessions in Southeast Asia,

    Citigroup, Credit Suisse Group and Malayan Banking will lead the offering. QSR has also chosen CIMB Group Holdings and RHB Bank to work on the share sale, reports the Business Times.

    The Kuala Lumpur-based company is seeking a listing after first-time share sales raised US$270 million this year.

    CVC, Employees Provident Fund and Johor Corp took QSR Brands private in 2013. It manages more than 730 KFC restaurants in Brunei, Cambodia, India, Malaysia and Singapore, as well as more than 450 Pizza Hut outlets in Malaysia and Singapore.

  • Tesco Korea technique paying off

    Tesco Korea technique paying off

    Tesco’s obvious technique to attract out bidders for its Korean Homeplus operation is already paying off.

    Whereas personal fairness gamers have been apparently despatched invites to bid, the best way the information of the as but formally unconfirmed sale plan has unfold, has drawn two public declarations of curiosity.

    One is decidedly mischievous – from snack maker Orion, well-known for its “Choco Pie” dessert bought in supermarkets throughout Asia. Simply the place it might discover £6 billion to purchase Tesco Korea is unclear.

    The opposite is from Korea’s Hyundai Division Retailer (no relation to the automotive firm). Hyundai is value about US$three billion, so the probability of it pulling off a reverse takeover in its personal proper is slim. However it might make a worthy companion for a personal fairness investor, comparable to KKR, Carlyle, Affinity Fairness Companions, CVC or MBK, all of whom have been formally invited to bid. Native information, overseas capital and the looks of native possession to a finicky native shopper base would show a strong basis for progress and capital achieve.

    The top results of these two declarations creates the looks that there’s robust curiosity and demand within the Tesco Korea operation which, whereas worthwhile, faces challenges in sustaining market share.

    At the very least one of many events says it has acquired an info memorandum which tends to place past doubt Tesco Plc’s intentions.

    Tesco CEO Dave Lewis has already confirmed at Unilever he was unafraid of robust selections. And he’s dealing with many in his new position – his largest but to place Tesco Korea on the block.

    With a worth of circa £6 billion, it brings an entire new definition to the time period ‘hearth sale’. But when consumers are in search of a reduction given Tesco’s UK operational woes, they’ll be disenchanted.

    The method has been managed by HSBC and an obvious collection of leaks to information media, which, to date, are working properly, presents a protected and risk-free technique of testing the water. If the bids are available and the provides appear affordable, Tesco has a excellent news story of a robust return, a big discount in its debt and a stronger monetary base with which to proceed its residence market reforms and strengthen market share and income. If nobody significantly bites, Tesco can break its silence, deny a sale was ever on – and blame the media and market hypothesis for a misunderstanding.

    Our prediction: Tesco will promote the Korean operation and it’ll get a great worth for it, as a result of one or two or extra of these personal fairness gamers, working with a Korean associate with information of the retail business, will be capable of extract worth out of the enterprise that has hitherto eluded Londoners pulling strings from afar.

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