Neil Perry selling Rockpool and Spice Temple but remaining in business
Rockpool and Spice Temple restaurants might be for sale, but word is that founder Neil Perry will stay in the business.
Sydney chef and entrepreneur Neil Perry was down in the basement of David Jones’ Sydney food hall yesterday selling $14 sandwiches by the fist-full, his latest venture as a high-profile food consultant.
But the man behind the Rockpool brand has bigger deals on his mind.
It’s understood a deal that will see most of the chef’s impressive empire of restaurants and food businesses purchased by Quadrant Private Equity, the company behind restaurant group Urban Purveyor Group, is as close as two weeks from signatures. Quadrant, through UPG, has been on a massive expansion and acquisition program during the past 18 months, opening new restaurants under its own brands, subsuming the Fratelli Fresh group earlier this year, and launching new projects under the Fratelli umbrella.
However fans of the Perry style, concerned by a private equity buyout of restaurants including three Rockpool Bar & Grills, two Spice Temples, one Rosetta and the Burger Project chain of seven (and counting) can presumably relax.
The Australian understands that Perry plans to remain in the business after it is sold, collecting a wad of cash along the way and a new role that will see him remain hands-on with the existing restaurants he built and taking a part in the evolution of the existing UPG brands.
And Perry’s signature Sydney restaurant Eleven Bridge Street, formerly Rockpool, will remain a Perry business, shared with his cousin and long-time business partner Trish Richards. The deal will be payday for Perry’s American business partner, David Doyle, who it is understood has long wanted to realise his Australian investments. Perry will also maintain his consultancies with Qantas and David Jones.
It has previously been reported by Fairfax Media that the process of due diligence by Quadrant has begun. Perry said yesterday it was premature to discuss the deal, or its potential value. But it has been widely reported in the past that Quadrant paid just under $200 million for the Urban Purveyor Group.
For the record, The David Jones Food Hall Sandwich Bar’s “Italian” is a $14 baguette filled with a variety of cured meats, provolone cheese and salad and, as it should feed two for lunch, actually pretty good value for money.