Wagamama owner exploring sale of transport concessions unit - report

(Sharecast News) - Wagamama owner The Restaurant Group is reportedly exploring a sale of its transport concessions division amid tough high street trading conditions. According to Sky News, the company is working with bankers at Lazard to assess prospective buyers' appetite for the unit, which trades from sites at Heathrow, Gatwick and other major British airports and rail hubs. The division operates roughly 40 sites and employs about 2,000 people.

Sources told Sky that the company, which is owned by the private equity firm Apollo Global Management, had not definitively decided to sell the transport concessions business.

"They are thinking through their options," said one hospitality industry insider.

TRG's shares traded on the London Stock Exchange until late 2023, when the company was taken private in a £500m deal.

The concessions arm was established more than 30 years ago and trades under more than 20 different brands, including Giraffe and Wagamama. It also operates under individual site brands curated for airports.

A spokesman for The Restaurant Group declined to comment to Sky.