Barburrito — Acquisition by The Restaurant Group plc
Established UK Mexican fast-casual restaurant chain operating 16 sites, acquired by The Restaurant Group plc, illustrating how a profitable multi-site restaurant operator with a recognisable brand and demonstrated expansion potential can command a multiple towards the upper end of the SME restaurant range.
Acquirer
The Restaurant Group plc
Year
2022
Acquisition Consideration
£7m
Revenue
16 sites (UK)
Adjusted EBITDA
~£1.6m expected next-12-month adjusted company-level EBITDA
Run-rate EBITDA Multiple
4.4×
Industry
Restaurants / Fast Casual
Transaction
In July 2022, The Restaurant Group plc acquired Barburrito Group Ltd for £7 million in cash on a debt-free and cash-free basis. Barburrito was an established Mexican fast-casual restaurant chain operating 16 sites across the UK in high-footfall locations including city centres, shopping centres and transport hubs. At the time of the acquisition, Barburrito was demonstrating strong trading performance, with year-to-date like-for-like sales approximately 20% above comparable 2019 levels, and its restaurants had historically generated returns on invested capital in excess of 30%. The Restaurant Group expected the existing 16 restaurants to contribute approximately £1.6 million of adjusted company-level EBITDA over the following 12 months. The buyer explicitly stated that the £7 million consideration represented a 4.4× next-12-month run-rate EBITDA multiple. The Restaurant Group also identified significant potential to expand the Barburrito brand, particularly in southern England, with an initial plan to approximately double the restaurant estate over four years.
Why the Premium?
- Established 16-site UK fast-casual restaurant chain
- Year-to-date like-for-like sales approximately 20% above 2019 comparables
- Historical site returns on invested capital exceeding 30%
- Recognisable brand with demonstrated expansion potential
- Strong recent trading performance and attractive site-level economics
SME Takeaway
Barburrito's revenue fell within the SME Multiples $1–$50M benchmark. The transaction provides a useful benchmark for a profitable, established multi-site restaurant operator with a recognisable brand and demonstrated potential for further expansion. The 4.4× run-rate EBITDA multiple sits towards the upper end of the SME restaurant valuation range, reflecting Barburrito's 16-site footprint, strong recent like-for-like sales growth, attractive site-level returns and potential to expand the concept into additional locations. The transaction demonstrates the valuation premium that can apply to restaurant businesses that have developed beyond a single-site or owner-dependent model into a repeatable, scalable multi-site operation, and illustrates why strong branded restaurant groups may command materially higher valuations than individual independent restaurants. The 4.4× multiple was explicitly disclosed by The Restaurant Group as the acquisition multiple, rather than being an independently calculated estimate.
Disclaimer: Case study figures are based on publicly available information and are provided for illustrative purposes only. Transaction values, EBITDA figures and implied multiples may reflect different reporting periods, definitions and deal structures, and some multiples are calculated from disclosed figures rather than reported by the parties. They are not formal valuations, investment advice or a substitute for independent professional advice.