Signed significant deal with Bridgepoint.
Sky News was the first to report on the new partnership between Itsu and Bridgepoint.
The deal, they say, will secure tremendous growth for the restaurant group, including 100 new outlets, creating 2,000 jobs in the UK alone within the next five years.
The news marks a change in rhetoric for the sushi chain. Last September, founder Julian Metcalfe said that his sushi empire has been “completely decimated” due to lockdown measures.
Bridgepoint bought a stake in Pret in 2008 in a deal valuing the company at GBP 364 million. A decade later, it was sold for GBP 1.5 billion, having quadrupled revenues and profits, and making Bridgepoint more than six times its original investment.
In its newsletter, Propel News reported that founder Julian Metcalfe said that he was “thrilled to be teaming up with Bridgepoint again after our success together at Pret A Manger during the dynamic 2008-2018 era.
“We’ve spent months in lockdown working with it to ensure Itsu will be well-funded for long-term growth. Never before has enjoying healthy, nutritious food been so uppermost in customers minds. This is what Itsu does beautifully for about GBP 7 per head,” he added.
Bridgepoint partner Benoit Alteirac said that the private equity firm sees “a global opportunity for Itsu”.
“We recognise their time is now and their ambition, goals and purpose are so relevant in this post-pandemic era,” he added.
For its sushi, Itsu selects “superior grade fresh salmon sashimi fillets from Scotland and the crystal clear waters of Norwegian fjords.”
