Richard Caring is said to be close to signing a £1 billion deal for the sale of his Ivy Collection restaurants.
The billionaire businessman, dubbed the ‘King of Mayfair’, began exploring an auction in late 2023 and is now ‘weeks away’ from finalising the sale, according to Sky News.
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The buyers are little-known London firm Si Advisers, which lists its two directors as Hamza Ben Abderahmen and Ameel Somani. Somani serves on a number of boards and previously worked for Helios Investment Partners, the Africa-focused private equity firm, reports suggest.
Sources said the deal, which will see Caring offload close to all of his stake, is expected to value the business at around the £1 billion reported over the last eight months. Other shareholders, including a Qatari fund, are also expected to sell.
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The deal would mark a massive windfall for Caring, who has built his Mayfair empire from the ground up.
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Born in Finchley in 1948, the businessman began working at a shopping centre development company when he was 16 and later joined his father’s dressmaking business. He subsequently set out on his own and made his first fortune in the same industry, building up International Clothing Designs, which manufactured clothing in Hong Kong for the UK market.
His major move into high-end members’ clubs and hospitality came in the 2000s. Caring took over the Ivy in 2005 as part of his acquisition of Caprice Holdings, once owned by restaurateur Jeremy King, which owned J Sheekey and Daphne’s, as well as the eponymous Le Caprice. In 2007 he bought the Birley Group, home of Annabel’s, Mark’s Club and others, shortly before the death of Mark Birley.
[See also: Bacchanalia Mayfair: the bare cheek of Richard Caring’s newest restaurant]
Seeing value in the strength of The Ivy name, Caring expanded the restaurant (and adjoining restaurant) into a chain, introducing brasserie-style dining to dozens of locations across the UK. The Ivy Asia brand followed.
The investments have been successful. Caprice Holdings’ parent company noted excellent turnover and profits in its latest Companies House filings.
Richard Caring will remain the king of London’s nightlife scene even after the sale goes through. His Mayfair portfolio, which centres around Berkeley Square, includes flashy restaurants Bacchanalia and Sexy Fish, as well as the Birley prize jewels.
