The deal to buy Loungers, owners of the Novello Lounge in Telford, Floro Lounge in Shrewsbury and the Lupo Lounge in Wolverhampton values the firm at around £338 million.
The firm, which operates the Lounge, Cosy Club and Brightside brands, operates 277 venues across the country having opened its first site in Bristol in 2002.
Fortress Investment Group said it has made an offer for the UK hospitality group through a newly-formed investment vehicle, adding that Loungers has a “strong and differentiated position”, having grown its locations and sales in recent years “in spite of the recent challenges faced by the wider hospitality sector”.
It added that the group was supporting of Loungers’ existing plans, which will see the group continue to expand its number of locations and investing in its customer offering.
“Fortress has a strong belief in the future of experience-led retail and hospitality offerings in the UK market – underscored by its recent acquisition of Curzon, alongside the companies mentioned above,” said the group.
“Fortress recognises that Loungers’ portfolio of complementary brands resonate strongly with the UK consumer, and that this experience-led approach has helped Loungers grow from one brand and one site in 2002 to three brands and 280 sites as at 27 November 2024.”
Fortress has previously invested in British firms including Majestic Wines and Peach Pubs & Co.
Loungers chairman Alex Reilley said the group has “come a long way” since first opening.
“We remain very confident about Loungers’ future prospects and the half year results that we announced separately today clearly demonstrate the strong momentum that we have in the business,” he said.
“Loungers has come a long way since we opened our first site in Bristol in 2002, and we are hugely proud of the jobs we’ve created, the positive impact we’ve made on the UK’s high streets, and the outstanding hospitality our amazing teams have provided since then.
“We are more ambitious than ever and we see Fortress as being an ideal partner to help us take Loungers into the next phase of its growth journey. We believe that the Acquisition represents a compelling proposition for all of our stakeholders and will allow us to execute our ambitious growth plans even more decisively and effectively.”
Fortress has offered 310p for each Loungers share, which represents a premium of about 30% to its closing price on Wednesday. Loungers needs the approval of its shareholders for the acquisition to go ahead.