Bowmark Capital announces sale of its interest in Living Ventures

Living Ventures is the operator of the The Living Room bar and restaurant chain. The Living Room is a casual dining restaurant and piano bar, which provides a quality product combined with the highest levels of service, to a broad customer base. The company currently operates 15 units, 11 trading as The Living Room, 2 as Prohibition bars, and 2 as Bar & Grill.

Since Bowmark invested in the company in April 2001, the number of sites has grown from 2 to 15, and EBITDA has increased from approximately £0.5 million to £3.3 million in the year ended March 2005. During this time, Bowmark actively contributed to the development of the business, and was represented on the board of the company.

The proceeds received from the sale by Bowmark-managed funds represent a return of 3.9x cost on its investment, and an IRR of 44%.

Ron Pearson, a Director of Bowmark commented: “We have very much enjoyed working with Tim Bacon and Jeremy Roberts over the past few years. They have successfully grown the business from start-up to an estate of 15 units with significant further growth potential, and have proved themselves to be outstanding operators in this sector. We wish them every success with the further development of the business, including the Est Est Est chain”.