Piper, a specialist investor in consumer brands, has invested GBP6 million in Hickory’s Smokehouse.
Hickory’s is an American style, family friendly smokehouse and BBQ restaurant chain. Meats are slow cooked for up to 12 hours on smokers specially imported from Memphis, Tennessee.
Hickory’s is the brainchild of Neil McDonnell, who founded the business in 2010 following extensive research into the smokehouse sector in the US. The chain operates from large 5,000 sq ft sites and has three units in Chester, West Kirby and Rhos-on-Sea. Hickory’s plans to open a further 10 restaurants over the next three to five years.
Piper is investing GBP6m to support the roll out – the fifth investment from its GBP107m, fifth fund. Three of these investments, Be At One, Loungers and Turtle Bay, are also in the hospitality space.
McDonnell says: “We are delighted to have selected Piper as our partner. I know we will benefit from the team’s extensive knowledge and experience of the sector, and have already seen the value they can bring to bear so I am confident that together we will continue to build Hickory’s into a uniquely valuable business.”
Peter Kemp-Welch, of Piper, says: ‘We have been tracking the BBQ segment for some time, and approached Hickory’s after learning about its outstanding reputation amongst customers. Hickory’s provides them with a truly authentic dining experience and Neil has already built a highly experienced management team around him to support the growth of the business. We believe there is an enormous market opportunity for the brand, with the potential for at least 100 Hickory’s sites across the UK.’
As part of the deal, industry veteran Paul Campbell, has joined as chairman, adding to his other non-executive interests in the hospitality space that include Hawksmoor, Vinoteca, Tortilla and New World Trading Company.
