Tortilla acquires Chilango in £2.75m deal
For the 52-week period to 26 December 2021, Chilango delivered revenue of £7.3m and loss before tax of £0.2m
Tortilla, the fast-casual Mexican restaurant group, has announced the acquisition of Chilango Limited for a total consideration of up to £2.75m from investment firm RDCP Group Ltd.
Chilango is a fast-casual restaurant chain specialising in Mexican food including burritos, salads and tacos. The business operates from an estate of eight location UK sites, which offer both eat-in and take away options, as well as through its delivery channel supported by delivery kitchens.
Tortilla said the Acquisition “strengthens Tortilla’s position as the UK’s leading fast-casual Mexican chain” and accelerates the group’s expansion across the UK, a “key pillar” of its long-term growth strategy.
The acquisition also further bolsters Tortilla’s presence in central London, with six of the eight units positioned in Zone 1.
As outlined at its IPO in October 2021, the group plans to open 45 sites over the next five years. It added the acquired Chilango sites are additional to the target of 45. The Acquisition also adds a complementary, premium brand to the group, enabling Tortilla to “capitalise on the popularity of the Chilango brand” and the widespread growing demand amongst consumers for fast-growing sector trends including healthy eating, convenience and ethnic and customisable cuisine.
For the 52-week period to 26 December 2021, Chilango delivered revenue of £7.3m and loss before tax of £0.2m.
Tortilla said the acquisition is expected to contribute EBITDA (pre-IFRS-16) of c.£0.1mto the group for the remainder of FY22 and FY23 EBITDA onwards of c.£1.0m.
Richard Morris, CEO of Tortilla, said: “We are delighted to announce Tortilla’s acquisition of Chilango. Chilango is a highly complementary brand that, similarly to Tortilla, provides a fantastic value-for money proposition and embraces popular and growing sector trends for healthy, customisable food from an estate of restaurants situated in premium locations in London and Manchester.
“This acquisition accelerates our ambitious plans to further expand the Tortilla brand and these sites are in addition to our initial target of opening 45 UK restaurants over the next five years, helping us to surpass this target. It also adds another brand to the Tortilla Group, enabling us to further strengthen our leading position in the UK’s fast-casual dining market.”
He added: “We’re very excited about this acquisition and look forward to leveraging our combined knowledge and expertise within the Mexican fast casual dining sector.”
