Investor reportedly called for TRG to sell brands except Wagamama

An activist investor has reportedly presented the Restaurant Group’s chairman and chief executive with proposals to sell all its brands except for Wagamama.

The Sunday Telegraph has reported that TMR Capital wants the Restaurant Group (TRG) to expand Wagamama before taking it private in a sale.

The row among TRG investors escalated late last week when a hedge fund accused the company of withholding information from shareholders. Oasis Management Company, which holds a 12.3% stake, has been involved in an increasingly bitter fight with TRG's chairman Ken Hanna over its strategy and pay package.

Investors will be asked to vote on the policy tomorrow at the group’s AGM, but Oasis and several others plan to vote against the pay package for chief executive Andy Hornby, who received £792,000 last year.

Royal London Asset Management (RLAM), which owns just under 5% of TRG, will reportedly vote in favour of the board and pay policy and TRG's largest shareholder Columbia Threadneedle Investments, which holds a 19% stake, said earlier this month it would back Hornby and Hanna.

TRG owns more than 400 UK restaurants under brands including Frankie & Benny's, Chiquito, Coast to Coast, Firejacks, and pub group Brunning & Price. It acquired Wagamama for £559m in 2018.

The company’s first quarter trading update showed like-for-like sales had risen across its brands although earlier this year the group revealed plans to reduce its leisure estate by around 30%, after its losses more than doubled to £86.8m.

The Restaurant Group and TMR Capital have been contacted for comment.

Photo: Shutterstock / Eddie Jordan