Accountants Serve Up Winning Advice in Restaurant Sale

Surrey accountants TWP Accounting LLP are looking forward to seeing one of the world’s best restaurants achieve even greater success after providing specialist advice in its sale.

Hakkasan, in London, was launched in 2001 by Alan Yau, who also founded Wagamama, and is consistently rated as one of the top 50 restaurants around the world.

Earlier this year, Hakkasan and Yauatcha, another of Mr Yau’s London restaurants, were sold to Tasameem, the property arm of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, for US$ 60 million. Mr Yau has now taken on the role of chief executive to oversee the expansion of the Hakkasan and Yauatcha brands abroad.

In the run-up to the sale, TWP managing partner Philip Munk and tax partner Andrew Goddon were asked to come on board by Hakkasan majority shareholder Sami Wasif to lend their respective corporate finance and tax expertise to the process and to advise on operational issues to enhance the business’s saleability.

Philip worked alongside Hakkasan’s auditors and accountants, Deloitte, and lawyers SJ Berwin on issues including due diligence while Andrew played a key role in the structuring of the sale by providing expert advice to create a favourable tax structure for the sale for shareholders.

Mr Wasif, a successful restaurateur whose own venues include three popular Eco pizzerias in London, said: “When a multi-million pound transaction is involved, it’s essential that every aspect of the deal is handled in the right way, by the right people, to deliver the right result.

“Knowing that Philip and Andrew were part of the team gave me real confidence that we would achieve the right result and their expertise and experience were crucial to bringing the sale to a successful conclusion.”

Philip Munk said: “It is always satisfying when we can use our expertise and experience to help achieve a successful result for a client. We are now looking forward to seeing the Hakkasan and Yauatcha brands delighting many more lovers of fine food around the world in the future.”

For further, information please contact TWP on 01932 704 700 or visit www.twpwealthmanagement.co.uk