Kevin Burke Sees Continued ‘Quality Opportunities for Buyers and Sellers’
Trinity Capital, the Los Angeles-based boutique investment firm, says that in 2015 the company assisted clients in the sale or recapitalization of more than 500 restaurants representing a mix of casual dining, quick service and grocery brands nationwide.
“We had a highly successful year of diverse and award-winning deals in the U.S and abroad,” said Kevin Burke, managing director of Trinity. “While the U.S. economy is beginning to shows signs of strain there are still quality opportunities for both buyers and sellers in the restaurant and foodservice industry – our specialty.”
On the buy side, Burke noted, “Buyers are looking for successful operations that come with a cache of equity, customer loyalty and continued growth potential. We saw high levels of interest in established and niche brands like Norms and Mother’s.”
Looking ahead, he said there’s a confluence of issues that have the potential to negatively impact the U.S. economy over the next one to two years, even though restaurant traffic continues to remain flat or slightly up in most segments of the industry. Equally important, the U.S. economy has consistently outperformed the rest of the world. Another factor substantially aiding the restaurant industry is the strong trend of Millennials’ aversion to having meals at home.
Capping off the year’s highlights, two of Trinity’s client transactions received the Franchise Times Magazine Dealmaker of the Year awards.
Deal highlights include:
- Trinity served as the exclusive financial advisor to QSR International as the master franchise developer divested its KFC locations in Costa Rica to Intelectiva Costa Rica SRL. This complex transaction was named Deal of the Year by Franchise Times and is considered the largest quick-serve transactions in Central America.
- Trinity served as the exclusive financial advisor to Pacific Bells, Inc. and World Wide Wings LLC for an auction process to identify a growth partner for the two companies while maximizing value for shareholders. Franchise Times Magazine also named this transaction Deal of the Year.
- Trinity served as the exclusive advisor to Norm’s Restaurants, Inc. in the sale of 18 iconic Norm’s family-style restaurants and its continued real estate divestment throughout Southern California.
- Trinity served as the exclusive financial advisor to Las Cal in its sale of the State of Nevada Taco Bell market to A&C Ventures.
- Serving as the exclusive advisor to Mother’s Market & Kitchen, a nationally recognized chain of seven natural foods markets, Trinity guided the company through the recapitalization process.
- Trinity served as the exclusive advisor to Team Schostak Family Restaurants in the sale of the company’s 60 Burger King franchised locations.
Trinity also assisted Jodika Enterprises, Inc. and Sun Coast Ventures in the sale of their Taco Bell franchised restaurants and G.F. Enterprise LLC to secure a new credit facility.
Trinity Capital provides financial advice to middle market businesses regarding mergers and acquisitions, leveraged and management buyouts, debt restructuring and private placements of debt and equity. The firm, a FINRA-regulated financial advisor, combines Wall Street experience and investor relationships with boutique client service and has deep sector expertise in restaurants, consumer/retail, food and beverage, and other industries. Trinity is headquartered in Los Angeles with offices in Boston. For more information visit http://www.tcib.com.
