SSP Ownership and Future
By April 2006, Compass had spun off its motorway service stations to Moto bought by Macquarie Bank of Sydney, Australia. Its specialist airports and railways division SSP was sold for GB£1,822 million to EQT Partners of Sweden (who also own Findus). Harry Ramsden's was sold with the SSP business.
Under the early years of SSP ownership the business had to compete with other SSP brands for investment.
In 2008 SSP recruited industry turnaround specialist Chris Sullivan as Managing Director. During 2009 Sullivan led a radical revision of the food on offer improving quality, reducing wait times and removing menu items which were more pub-restaurant than chip shop. The strategy delivered a marked improvement in sales in the food court and seaside restaurant business of Harry Ramsden's, promping parent company SSP to market the business for sale.
On 19 January 2010 SSP sold Harry Ramsden's to Boparan Ventures Limited. BVL is the private investment vehicle of Ranjit Boparan.
Commenting on the deal, SSP CEO Andrew Lynch praised the turn around in performance by Chris Sullivan and his team and said:
"We took the decision to sell Harry Ramsden's some time ago to enable us to focus on our core business in travel locations, and we are delighted that this deal has now been completed. Harry Ramsden's is an iconic brand with an impressive heritage. We're certain that its success will continue under its new owners, who have plans to further develop the brand in the future".BVL plans to open another 100 units in the next five years and create 600 new jobs.
On 29 November 2011 it was announced that the original Harry Ramsden's restaurant in Guiseley, Leeds is to close down due to claims from the owners that Harry Ramsden's that the restaurant was losing money and that any refurbishment to the restaurant to make it profitable would be unviable. The restaurant closed on Monday 19 December 2011. In February 2012 it was announced that the Guiseley restaurant had been sold to the Whaler group and that it will re-open on the same site under a different name.
Read more about this topic: Harry Ramsden's
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