Portobello Pub Company acquires Darwin and Wallace
The deal will see Marriott step down from day-to-day operations, with the enlarged group led by Richard Stringer, managing director of Portobello Pub Company
The Portobello Pub Company has acquired London-based bar-restaurant business, Darwin and Wallace for an undisclosed sum.
The acquisition will add seven “high-volume” venues located in some key London ‘villages’ including Battersea Power Station, Clapham Old Town, Wimbledon and Richmond.
Darwin and Wallace will continue to operate under the same name, and continue to provide guests its all-day drinking and dining offer that has become revered for its “high standards and award-winning design, as well as its sustainability credentials and commitments”.
The acquisition means the Portobello Pubs business now comprises 27 sites, with plans to further grow the group, including the Darwin and Wallace collection, via selective acquisitions.
Darwin and Wallace was founded by Mel Marriott in 2012, backed by private equity firm Imbiba and approximately 200 smaller individual shareholders, via the government’s Enterprise Investment Scheme.
The deal will see Marriott step down from day-to-day operations, with the enlarged group led by Richard Stringer, managing director of Portobello Pub Company. The rest of the existing Darwin and Wallace senior team will remain in place.
Mark Crowther, chairman of Portobello Pub Company, said: “This is a fantastic acquisition for Portobello, bringing an extremely successful and high-quality business under our umbrella. It represents a fantastic opportunity for us to blend our existing high-quality estate of pubs and restaurants with a collection of truly excellent and premium high-street hospitality venues.
“Mel and her team have done an extraordinary job in creating and building the business over the past decade, and we’d like to thank her for trusting us to be careful custodians; we are looking forward to taking Darwin and Wallace to the next level. We’d also like to thank the teams at both Imbiba and Zetland for supporting this deal, enabling us to start this exciting new chapter at Portobello.”
Marriott, founder and managing director of Darwin and Wallace, added: “I am incredibly proud of what we’ve built at Darwin and Wallace and am immensely grateful to everybody who has been a part of this journey. While it’s the end of an era for me, what we have created is truly special and I am looking forward to watching the business continue to flourish under the stewardship of Mark, Richard and the Portobello team.”