India Resurgence Fund, an India-focussed investment platform promoted by Piramal Enterprises Limited and Bain Capital, on Monday announced an investment of Rs 550 crore in Impresario Entertainment and Hospitality Private Limited.
Following the transaction, IndiaRF has become the majority shareholder of Impresario.
“We plan to work alongside and augment the efforts of the management team, by leveraging on our deep operational engagement across multiple sectors. We believe that the next decade will see significant opportunities for Impresario as non-metro cities come up India’s aspirational curve and become major economic centres,” said Shantanu Nalavadi, Managing Director of IndiaRF.
The fresh capital will help fuel the further expansion of Impresario’s business, which also received an investment from L Catterton in 2017. Impresario currently owns and manages brands such as SOCIAL, Mocha, and Smoke House Deli which span over 60 locations across 17 cities in the country.
Impresario’s largest brand, SOCIAL has 35 outlets and is a spot for guests to socialise and network. It offers food and beverage and doubles up as a co-working space during the day, facilitating interaction and community engagement. The company’s other brands Smoke House Deli, Mocha, Slink & Bardot, and Salt Water Café provide contemporary formal and casual settings for friends and family to get together over delectable culinary offerings.
In the future, Impresario plans to double its number of outlets as India’s F&B market gets more organised, with growth in the high teens expected over the coming years. To serve the country’s burgeoning middle class, as well as millennial and Gen Z consumers who are looking for refreshing and engaging experiences as they dine out more often amid the market’s evolution, the company said it would enlarge its current geographical footprint from 17 to more than 30 cities as part of its expansion plan.
Riyaaz Amlani, Founder and Managing Director of Impresario, said, “While the journey through the pandemic was especially tough for the restaurant sector, we were able to not only sustain, but also strengthen our business. As we now begin a new chapter with IndiaRF, we look forward to a fruitful collaboration which we believe will propel Impresario to an exciting next stage of growth.”
Lodha Capital Markets was the exclusive financial adviser to L Catterton and Impresario on the transaction.
