YO! Sushi owner raises its turnover
Quilvest, the private equity firm behind the buyout of Japanese restaurant company YO! Sushi, more than doubled its turnover last year.
The UK arm of Quilvest, which is headquartered in Luxembourg, generated revenues of £1.2m – up from £503,000 in 2007.
However, accounts filed at Companies House show Quilvest UK turned a profit of just £112,000 in 2008, an increase from £46,000 the year before. No dividend was paid.
The latest figures relate to the year Quilvest bought into YO! Sushi for a rumoured £51m. In March 2008 Quilvest, which was set up to invest on behalf of German immigrant-turned-Argentine beer magnate Otto Peter Bemberg, bought into the chain famous for its conveyor belts of food. The deal landed YO! Sushi founder Simon Woodroffe a multi-million pound windfall.
Axelle Strain, the dealmaker who masterminded the takeover of YO! Sushi, was the highest-paid director with £200,000 in emoluments.
Quilvest also owns stakes in three US restaurant groups – Outback Steakhouse, Chop’t and Pasha’s.