The Leisure Sector’s first dedicated mergers & acquisitions advisor was this week unveiled with two major transactions. Coffer Corporate Leisure (CCL) has been launched to capitalise on the mounting activity and sophistication of transactions in the sector.

Built on more than 35 years at the forefront of leisure property industry, CCL draws on an unparalleled network of specialist contacts, intelligence and in-depth market knowledge to offer a range of services to the leisure sector; a marketplace currently subject to unprecedented levels of investment.

CCL seeks to understand its clients businesses and helps them recognise ways to crystallise value from them. Its services include corporate disposals, acquisitions, deal management, MBO and MBI, providing strategic advice for operators and vendors, OpCo-PropCo structures, due diligence, fundraising and corporate management/operator sourcing.

CCL is headed by David Coffer – one of the best known names in the Leisure Sector- and corporate leisure specialist Mark Sheehan. Chairman and managing director respectively, the pair has advised on well over £2 billion worth of deals between them.

CCL recently advised on its first two transactions, involving one of the US’ largest leisure operators as well as one of the UK’s best-known eateries:

CCL handled the sale of the UK franchise rights of Chili’s – one of America’s strongest casual dining brands, boasting more than 1,000 units – back to parent company Brinker International; Brinker now plans an aggressive expansion in the UK.

CCL also advised the owners of Villandry – the renowned boutique central London food emporium, bar and restaurant business – on its sale to a consortium headed by Hush owners Jamie Barber & Geoffrey Moore.

Currently, CCL is actively working on disposal and acquisition transactions in the pub, restaurant and health and fitness sectors with a combined value well over £500 million, in addition to working on three sale and leaseback portfolios worth over £300 million.

In his role as Chairman of leisure property specialist Davis Coffer Lyons, David Coffer has dealt with the sale of businesses such as Little Chef, Caprice Holdings and The Pelican Group Plc, amongst many others over his 35 years at the apex of the sector.

He said “Coffer Corporate Leisure represents the next step in the evolution of the leisure property sector. Never before has the marketplace seen so much corporate activity fuelled by private equity houses and venture capitalists. With experience and intelligence from the cutting edge of this dynamic sector, CCL is able to provide a truly unique range of services to operators and investors alike.”