Loungers shareholders approve £354.4m Fortress takeover
The shareholders of Loungers have backed a takeover by American private equity firm Fortress Investment Group which values the café and bar operator at over £350m.
Fortress’ offer values the entire issued, and to be issued, ordinary share capital of Loungers at approximately £354.4m, with an enterprise value of around £366.6m.
Loungers operates over 280 sites across the Lounge, Cosy Club, and Brightside brands.
Fortress previously said it believes it is a strong partner for Loungers, its management team, its employees and its other stakeholders in the next stage of its 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.
An initial agreement between Loungers and Fortress – which also owns the Poundstretcher and Majestic Wines brands – was reached in November 2024, valuing Loungers for almost £340m. However Fortress submitted a higher offer earlier this month.
Speaking in November, Alex Reilly, chair of Loungers, said: “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.”