A restaurant chain founded more than 40 years ago on the shores of Loch Fyne is at the heart of new takeover speculation.
Pub and beer giant Greene King is reportedly trying to sell the 34 Loch Fyne Seafood & Grill (LFSG) outlets amid UK market pressures which have already seen a string of rivals, such as Jamie’s Italian and burger chain Byron, struggling to stay afloat.
Suffolk-based Greene King did not respond to a request for comment yesterday.
But the group is believed to be seeking offers for the LFSG business for the second time in two years.
LFSG, previously Loch Fyne Restaurants (LFR), grew out of an oyster farming business – Loch Fyne Oysters (LFO) – established at Cairndow, in Argyll, in 1977.
LFO was founded by the late Johnny Noble, who owned Ardkinglas Estate, and his friend, Andy Lane, a biologist and fish farmer.
By 1987, the entrepreneurial duo had added a traditional smokehouse and a seafood restaurant, oyster bar and shop in a former cow shed at the site.
The restaurant became so popular they decided to take the concept south of the border, opening an outlet in Nottingham in 1997 and dozens more after that.
LFO was the subject of an employee buyout – backed by the St Andrews-based Baxi Partnership – in 2003, leaving LFR as a standalone restaurant chain.
There was a change of ownership for LFR in October 2005, when private equity firm Hutton Collins backed a £32million management buyout.
Greene King, which also owns Scottish brewer Belhaven and the Hungry Horse, Chef & Brewer, Farmouse Inns and Eating Inn restaurant chains, snapped up the business in August 2007, paying £68.1million in cash.