KPMG cooking up refinancing plan for Little Chef
Roadside restaurant chain calls in Big four firm's corporate finance experts in bid to avoid bankruptcy by putting a rescue plan on the table
KPMG has been called in
to advise the owners of
Little Chef as the
restaurant network tries to stay afloat.
The People’s Restaurant Group (PRG) acquired the business in 2005 for £52m,
but is now conducting talks with a American consortium in a last-ditch bid to
save the chain from bankruptcy. This latest development unfolded less than a
week after PRG entered into crunch talks with its landlord and othert creditors
over cash issues.
PRG suffered problems after a £60.3m sale and leaseback deal of 65 sites in
February with Israeli property investment group
Arazim
Investment. Trading picked up after the transaction, but not as quickly
as PRG had expected.
KPMG envoys joined PRG at the negotiation table as talks began with the
US group to hammer out a deal that would safeguard Little Chef’s future
and galvanise its market presence with a package of funds to enhance its network
of about 235 outlets.
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