Goldex Investments Limited, until recently the largest franchised Costa Coffee store operator in the UK, has just sold 14 of its 60 stores to AM Coffee Holdings Ltd in a multi-million pound transaction. The stores were all owned by subsidiary, Goldex (Surrey), which operates stores in shopping centres and high streets in the Surrey area.
Goldex Investments Limited, which also operates the Kaspas desserts brand as well as Costas, is owned by Diljit and Satnam Brar who turned to specialists at Smith Cooper Corporate Finance to assist them with the sale. Since the opening of the Bromley and Orpington stores in 2006, the owners have developed an excellent, autonomous management team to operate the Surrey business, which employs around 120 staff who will remain with the business.
AM Coffee Holdings Ltd is owned by Ajaz Mirza and Ahsan Munir, seasoned businessmen with multiple business interests including, until recently, the operation of Domino’s franchises in the London area.
Head of Corporate Finance, John Farnsworth, commented: “We are delighted to have had the opportunity to secure the sale of this Surrey business on behalf of Diljit and Satnam, whom we have known and held in high regard for many years. The transaction reflects the quality of the business which they built up, and at an exemplary pace”. Corporate Finance Senior Manager David Crump added “Ajaz and Ahsan are highly experienced buyers and intend to develop the Costa brand; we wish them every success with that”.
Commenting on the deal, Diljit Brar said “I’ve known John and David of Smith Cooper Corporate Finance for years and, being well-known for their expertise in this field, appointing them to this important transaction was a natural choice. They were professional, showed dogged determination to achieve our objective, and were good fun to work with. I doubt we would have achieved the deal without them on our team and have no hesitation in recommending them.”
Completed: October 2018
