Goodwin’s London Private Equity, Real Estate and Tax teams advised Spice Private Equity Ltd as it completed its £25 million acquisition of a significant minority stake in LEON Restaurants Ltd, a UK-based naturally fast food chain, via both a transfer of shares from the management team and employee shareholders and a subscription for primary investment in shares. The investment in LEON represents a milestone for Spice as the first transaction following Spice’s new investment strategy focusing on direct investments.
Spice is an investment company that was founded in 1999 and is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange under the ticker symbol SPCE. Spice is ultimately managed by GP Investments, a leading alternative investment firm in Latin America with a strong presence in asset management, principally private equity funds. The firm's shares are listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange and trade on the Brazilian Stock Exchange. Since its founding in 1993, GP Investments has raised $5 billion from investors worldwide and has completed investments in more than 50 companies in 15 different industries.
The Goodwin deal team was led by partner Gemma Roberts and included partner Simon Fulbrook and associates Tessa Parkes, Simon Woodcock, and Katie Leah.
For additional details on the transaction, please read the press release.