Toot, toot Tootsies good buy
SHELL company Urban Dining is gobbling up burger bar chain Tootsies for £31m, and it already has its eye on the next course.
The company, run by ex-PizzaExpress executives John Metcalf and Glen Tomlinson, is thought to be lining up a bid for the Ma Potter's chargrill eateries.
The Tootsies acquisition, funded by a £29m rights issue, will become a much larger company - 100 outlets compared with 24 - in the next couple of years. The takeover is the first since Urban Dining floated on the stock market in May.
Finance director Tim Woodcock said the company was looking at several deals in connection with Ma Potter's. Urban Dining shares rose 2p to 62 1/2p.
The first Tootsies restaurant was opened in the early 1970s in Notting Hill Gate, west London, by two friends who could not find 'a genuine burger' at any restaurants nearby. Tootsies claims to sell 'the best burger you've ever eaten'.
The concept expanded to other High Streets until it was sold in 1999 to Andrew Bonnell, who had previously spearheaded the expansion of the Pitcher & Piano brand while at Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries. Bonnell will step up to the board as managing director of Tootsies.
Metcalf said: 'We intend to use the cash generated by the business, together with our expertise, to accelerate the roll-out of the Tootsies format.'
