L Catterton Asia, the Asian unit of the largest and most global consumer-focused private equity firm in the world, is pleased to announce an investment in Impresario Entertainment & Hospitality.
Founded in 2001 by ace restaurateur Riyaaz Amlani, Impresario has a strong track record of creating unique and resilient “experiential” Food and Beverage brands that resonate with a young and aspirational segment of the population – making it the leading player in multi-brand casual dining in India.
Its flagship brand, Social, is a unique concept at the intersection of café, workplace, casual dining and pub/bar space. Since the establishment of its first outlet in 2014, Social has quickly grown to 17 outlets across three cities with potential to scale to top 20 cities in India and select markets abroad.
Its brand portfolio also includes popular restaurants like Smoke House Deli, Mocha and the recently launched, wildly successful French bistro – Slink & Bardot.
Riyaaz Amlani, Founder and CEO of Impresario, stated: “We have been successful in pioneering several Food and Beverage brands in India and are thrilled to partner with L Catterton in the next leg of our journey especially as we scale up our Social and Smoke House Deli brands. We recognize that L Catterton is the leading global consumer growth investor with a long and deep experience in building some of the most successful Food and Beverage brands around the world such as Crystal Jade and Ce La Vi in Asia, Cigierre and Ole & Steen in Europe, and P. F. Chang’s, Outback Steakhouse and Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen in the U.S., among many others.”
Commenting on the transaction, Chairman and Managing Partner of L Catterton Asia, Ravi Thakran, stated: “We are delighted to partner with Riyaaz Amlani and Impresario Restaurants to build Social and Smoke House Deli into iconic food and beverage brands both in India and abroad. Social in particular is targeted at the millennials in India which is an attractive and growing segment.”
About L Catterton Asia
With over $14 billion of equity capital across six fund strategies in 17 offices globally, L Catterton is the largest and most global consumer-focused private equity firm in the world. L Catterton’s team of more than 160 investment and operating professionals partners with management teams around the world to implement strategic plans to foster growth, leveraging deep category insight, operational excellence, and a broad thought partnership network. Since 1989, the firm has made over 200 investments in leading consumer brands. L Catterton was formed through the partnership of Catterton, LVMH and Groupe Arnault. For more information about L Catterton, please visit http://lcatterton.com.
L Catterton Asia (previously known as L Capital Asia) was launched in 2009 and invests in select consumer lifestyle businesses that will benefit from growing discretionary consumption in Asian markets. It has offices in Singapore and Mauritius, with further regional advisory presence in Hong Kong, Mumbai, Shanghai and Sydney. L Catterton Asia leverages its strategic relationship with LVMH and Groupe Arnault across the entire investment process, from proprietary deal origination and industry-specific due diligence to post-investment operational value-add to its portfolio companies. L Catterton Asia’s investments include: Trendy International, Pepe Jeans, Crystal Jade, Clio Cosmetics, Gentle Monster and YG Entertainment—which is behind famous Korean singers and entertainers such as PSY and Big Bang.
About Impresario Entertainment & Hospitality
Impresario was founded in 2001 with Mocha as its first endeavour in the café format. Since then, it has expanded across brands (Smoke House Deli, Social, Slink & Bardot, Mocha), regions (Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Delhi and others) and outlets (45 as of date).
Riyaaz Amlani, the founder and CEO of Impresario was awarded as ‘Best Restaurateur’ in 2011 and has also served as the President of National Restaurant Association of India.
