Rosa’s Thai Cafe primed for sale to US equity firm

The owners of London-based restaurant chain, Rosa’s Thai Café, could be about to sell a majority stake in its business to a US private equity firm, according to reports by The Sunday Times.

As reported by the paper, the chain, which operates 13 Rosa’s Thai restaurants and one Lao Café in London, is said to be positioned to sell a majority stake to US private equity group TriSpan.

According to the report, husband-and-wife team Saiphin and Alex Moore, who founded the restaurant in 2006, will remain involved in the company part-time, as minority shareholders, as the brand looks to expand outside of London.

The pair, who met in Hong Kong 17 years ago, opened the original on the site of an old greasy spoon in Spitalfields. Following its success, they sold their home in Hong Kong to open a second restaurant on Dean Street, in Soho, in March 2010.

The Rosa’s group now operated 13 sites across the capital, with Moore having authored two cookbooks: Rosa’s Thai Cafe, in 2015; and The Vegetarian Cookbook.

Its most recent opening was a 60-cover restaurant on Tooting High Street, and another in Ealing Broadway. It is set to launch its first site outside of the capital this summer on the UNESCO World Heritage waterfront in Liverpool’s Albert Dock.

New York-based Tri Span has bought several restaurant groups around the world this year. In April, it bought the New York-based Rosa Mexicano and in October last year made a “significant” investment in the Miami-based Yardbird Southern Table & Bar.

Details of the same are not confirmed, but the Sunday Times reports that the company posted sales of £8.2 million and “core earnings” of £1.4 million last year.

A full announcement is expected later this week.