News Article Published:
Wednesday, 11 July 2007
Category:
Financial Services
Private equity firm R Capital has insisted that any deal to sell the Little Chef restaurant chain would be contingent on the buyer retaining the branding, including the name and logo.
Italian motorway restaurant chain, Autogrill, which is owned by the Benetton family, had been negotiating a £25 million deal with R Capital for the chain.
In an unusual piece of PR for a private equity firm, which are usually seen as rather ruthless, R Capital appears to have become quite sentimental towards 'Fat Charlie' and the Little Chef brand name.
A source told the Telegraph: "R Capital wants to sell to a buyer who cares as much for the heritage of Little Chef as they do. The firm is still at the table with Autogrill seeking assurances that it won't change the name of these restaurants and rid the country of a British institution."
However, it may be that R Capital does not want Autogrill to lose the marketability of the logo. "Its appeal is in its quirkiness," the source said. This is understandable as the chain itself has put a lot of work into marketing the brand in the UK.
Little Chef's marketing manager, Cathy Stevenson, said: "Little Chef is an iconic British brand and a lot of our staff have invested a great deal of time and effort to revitalise the logo over the years."
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