Wagamama
Coverage focuses on the performance, expansion, and brand strategy of the UK’s leading pan-Asian casual dining chain, known for its open kitchens, communal seating, and fast-casual service model. Reporting includes new site openings, delivery and click-and-collect rollouts, vegan and seasonal menu innovation, tech-enabled ordering, and group-level developments under parent company The Restaurant Group. Insight is designed for operators tracking high-volume branded dining, consumer health trends, and competitive movement across the mid-market segment.
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Oct- 2023 -12 OctoberNews
Today’s news in brief – 12/10/23
TRG, the operator of brands like Wagamama, is set to go private through a £506m deal with Apollo Global after facing financial struggles and investor pressure. TRG, which owns about 400 UK restaurants and pubs, cited falling margins due to rising costs and a sluggish post-pandemic recovery. The deal offers…
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12 OctoberBusiness
Wagamama owner to go private in £506m deal
The Restaurant Group, the operator that owns Wagamama, has agreed to be taken private by Apollo Global for £506m after a year of financial struggles and investor pressure. The owner of about 400 restaurants and pubs across the UK has struggled with falling margins, which it attributed to soaring costs…
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Sep- 2023 -12 SeptemberNews
TRG offloads leisure business to Big Table Group
TRG has announced that it has entered into an agreement for the proposed sale of its leisure business comprising 75 trading sites and associated restaurant and management team employees to the Big Table Group. As part of the transaction, TRG will pay a cash contribution of £7.5m to the Big…
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8 SeptemberNews
The Restaurant Group chairman to step down
The Restaurant Group has announced that the company’s chairman, Ken Hanna, has decided to step down due to personal reasons. The board will now initiate a comprehensive search process to identify a new chairman and will update the market as and when appropriate. Hanna will remain with TRG as chairman…
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6 SeptemberRestaurants
TRG revenues rise 10% to £467.4m in H1
The Restaurant Group (TRG) has reported that total sales in the first half of the year rose by 10% to £467.4m, compared with £423.4m the prior year. Its adjusted EBITDA was also up 15% to £36.3m on a pre-IFRS 16 basis versus the VAT adjusted basis of £31.4m in H1…
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Jul- 2023 -25 JulyRestaurants
TRG investor considering bid for pub and leisure arms
An investor in The Restaurant Group (TRG) is considering a bid for the company’s pub and leisure arms, according to reports from The Telegraph. TMR Capital, which holds a 1.75% stake in TRG, is looking to acquire the Brunning and Price pub arm and the group’s leisure division, which includes…
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21 JulyRestaurants
Wagamama reopens Noodle Lab in SoHo
Wagamama has opened its new Noodle Lab at the Great Marlborough Street restaurant, marking its return to Soho. The UK. Noodle Lab will act as the ‘chef’s playground’, a space for recipe and idea testing. The Noodle Lab menu will be 50% plant-based and will feature Wagamama dishes such as…
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19 JulyRestaurants
Wagamama sales boost Restaurant Group trading in H1
The Restaurant Group has welcomed a period of strong trading in the first half of the year, with sales at Wagamama and its Pubs division up by 5% and 9%, respectively. Wagamama continued to trade strongly in the period, with outperformance of the market in Q2, and like-for-like sales up…
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12 JulyRestaurants
Wagamama shareholder calls for chairman to be replaced
Irenic Capital Management, minority shareholder in The Restaurant Group which owns Wagamama, has called on the board of the company to replace chair Ken Hanna. Irenic, which owns a shareholding of 2.6% in TRG, wants Hanna replaced due to his “documented disregard for the best interests of all shareholders”. Alongside…
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Jun- 2023 -28 JuneComment
Why plant-based menu items don’t need to reinvent the wheel
It’s time for restaurants to look more critically at their plant-based menus, specifically when it comes to meat-alternatives. You only need to visit your local high street chains to see that while some serve a decent array of vegetarian and vegan options, most fall short in their meat-alt offering, where…
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