Staff to receive up to £2,000 each following £559m takeover by Restaurant Group
Wagamama staff are to receive Christmas bonuses of up to £2,000 each after the £559m sale of the restaurant chain.
Around 4,000 staff will share in a £4m bonus pot as part of a payout ordered by the outgoing chief executive, Jane Holbrook, and Wagamama’s former private equity owner Duke Street.
Head chefs and managers will bank £2,000 each, while waiting staff will pocket £1,000, provided they have worked at Wagamama for more than 12 months.
It is understood that the bonus is meant as a token of appreciation from Holbrook and Duke Street, which will receive a massive windfall from Wagamama’s sale.
Duke Street acquired Wagamama in 2011 for £215m and last month sold the chain to Frankie & Benny’s owner, the Restaurant Group.
The Restaurant Group chief executive, Andy McCue, plans to accelerate the rollout of Wagamama across the UK, expand concessions and pilot pan-Asian cuisine “food-to-go” offerings.
The firm will also explore international growth opportunities for Wagamama.
As part of the deal, Emma Woods will replace Holbrook as chief executive and the chairman, Allan Leighton, will join the Restaurant Group board.
When it was first announced in October, the deal raised eyebrows as it comes at an increasingly challenging time for the eating-out sector, which is suffering from a slowdown in consumer spending.