BELGIUM. Belgian holding company Carestel has said it will keep the catering services at ten European airports as a core asset after the sale of its fast-food restaurant chain Lunch Garden.
Last month Carestel accepted the offer of Belgian investment fund Verlinvest and the Dutch investment group Blue Fount Investment for the purchase of Carestel’s chain of 59 Lunch Garden restaurants. The company has confirmed the definitive agreement was signed on 3 May with regard to the sale.
As a result of this transaction, the Carestel group will incur a consolidated plus-value of €19 million. The net proceeds from the sale will enable Carestel to reduce its bank debts (of a total of €35 million) with an amount of €29.5 million In addition, the group said it had working capital available of approximately €5 million, which is influenced by the seasonal character of the trading.
Carestel is a listed catering group, which is now based on two core activities: motorway catering (Carestel Motorway Services) and airport catering (Restair). At the end of 2003, Carestel reported a turnover of €350 million (US$415 million).
From June 2003 to date, Carestel has succeeded to reduce its debt from €80 million through the sale of the catering service company Gourmet Events, vacuum food maker Hot Cuisine and hotel catering company Global Hotels.
Carestel operates catering services at Brussels International Airport, London City Airport, Stuttgart Airport in Germany, two airports in Denmark and five airports in France. Apart from airport food & beverage business, Carestel owns restaurants at motorway rest stops in Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg and Sweden.
