Investment group agrees £340m Loungers takeover deal
An investment group which owns the Majestic Wines and Poundstretcher brands has agreed a deal to acquire hospitality group Loungers for almost £340m.
Fortress Investment Group has agreed to pay 310 pence per share for Loungers, which operates the Lounge, Cosy Club, and Brightside restaurant and bar concepts.
This offer values the entire issued, and to be issued, ordinary share capital of Loungers at approximately £338.3m, with an enterprise value of around £350.5m. This represents a premium of 30.3% compared to Loungers’ closing share price before the bid was made.
Fortress – which acquired Poundstretcher in April – said it believes it is a strong partner for Loungers, its management team, its employees and its other stakeholders in the next stage of the group’s growth journey. The investment group added that it believes in Loungers’ growth prospects, and the future of experience-led retail and hospitality offerings in the UK market.
This comes as Loungers announces its results for the first half of the 2025 financial year, during which it recorded an increase in revenue of 19.2%, bolstered by 4.7% like-for-like sales growth and a net increase in sites of 35.
The group – which operates over 280 sites – also saw a year-on-year increase in operating profit of 31.8% to £10.2m.
Alex Reilley, chair of Loungers, said: “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.
“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.”
Domnall Tait, managing director at Fortress, added: “Fortress is pleased to present this offer for Loungers, a company we believe holds a strong and differentiated position in its industry. Loungers’ directors have delivered impressive increases in the number of locations, same-store sales and revenues over the past several years – in spite of the recent challenges faced by the wider hospitality sector. This growth, and management’s continued commitment to the business, give us confidence in the company’s growth potential and in the opportunity to increase value.
“Fortress brings to the table a successful track record of investing in consumer-focused businesses across the globe, particularly in the UK. For example, Fortress’ investment in Majestic Wines and Punch Pubs & Co. has helped drive the growth of each of those companies. Today’s announcement further strengthens Fortress’ commitment to the UK market, and to being a responsible steward of and investor in UK businesses.
“Fortress has a high conviction in the future of experience-led retail and hospitality, and believes this is highly complementary to Loungers’ business model, strong operational performance, and impressive management team. Fortress looks forward to partnering with Loungers’ management and to providing them with support to drive the business through its next stage of growth.”