Cote buys Jackson & Rye and Limeyard

12-Jan-2016 - Last updated on 12-Jan-2016 at 11:15 GMT

Jackson & Rye is now under the ownership of Cote

Related tags Concept Royal leamington spa

Cote, the BC Partners backed group, has acquired Jackson & Rye and Limeyard from Richard Caring for an undisclosed sum, with plans to roll out both fledgling concepts.

Jackson & Rye, the East Coast American style concept, currently has three sites in Soho, Richmond and Chiswick, while the South American influenced all-day dining Limeyard format operates out of one site in Ealing.

According to BigHospitality's sister publication M&C Allegra, Cote will continue to explore further M&A opportunities and the development of new concepts to work alongside its core 71-strong eponymous brand.

At the same time, Graham Ford, the chief executive of Jackson & Rye and Limeyard will remain with the company during the handover of the business.

M&C understands that Ford will then again work with Andy Bassadone and Chris Benians on a number of new projects including new formats for Bill’s. Jackson & Rye, along with the recently closed Grillshack concept, was originally led by Mark Askew, now working on Caring’s Ivy Collection, and former Hakkasan and ETM Group operations director Hannah Bass.

Cote chief executive Alex Scrimgeour said: “We are incredibly excited to bring two high-quality fledgling restaurant concepts under the Cote umbrella at such an early stage in their growth. Both cater to a new type of clientele for us and we see an opportunity to apply Cote’s proven front and back of house expertise to develop and expand both brands further.”

Caring recently admitted that the expansion of Jackson & Rye was on hold. He sold Cote to CBPE three years ago in a c£100m deal and was subsquently acquired by BC Partners last year for c£250m.

He said: “We’re not sure it’s something we want to spend our energy on. I’m not sure if it’s a unique enough concept. It’s trading from three sites and will remain at three sites for the foreseeable future.”

Cote recently added to its 2016 pipeline, by securing a site in Peterborough. The group, which plans to open up to 15 sites this year, has secured the former Santander bank premises on Church Street in the town. It will open its first site for 2016, and 72 nd in total, at the start of February in Leamington Spa. Further openings have been secured in Weybridge, Worcester, Woking, Harrogate and Lincoln. Openings next year will also include the group’s second site in Scotland and its first in Edinburgh.