Billionaire restaurateur dubbed the ‘King of Mayfair’ Richard Caring is set to sell The Ivy restaurants in a £1bn deal, according to reports.
London-based investment firm Si Advisors is close to a deal to buy Ivy Collection, which manages dozens of sites across the UK, Sky News reported.
The Ivy has been at the centre of London’s social scene for the past 100 years and has seen hundreds of stars and businessmen pass through its doors.
Caring owns a majority stake in the company, which runs the original Ivy in west London, its spin-off restaurant chain and the Ivy Asia sites, alongside Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani, the former prime minister of Qatar.
The couple put the business up for auction earlier this year, with the Sunday Times first reporting that they had set a valuation of £1bn.
Ivy restaurants are close to being sold in a £1bn deal, according to reports
Billionaire restaurateur nicknamed the ‘King of Mayfair’ Richard Caring (pictured in 2018) is looking to sell the business to London-based investment firm Si Advisors.
The Ivy has been at the centre of London’s social scene for the past 100 years and has seen hundreds of stars and businessmen pass through its doors. Mr Caring (pictured with Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber) began his career in the clothing industry, before buying the Caprice Holdings group for £31.5m in 2005 to start his catering business.
Both are expected to sell their stakes as part of the deal.
However, the deal will not include Caprice Holdings, the group behind Mr Caring’s other restaurants including Scott’s, Sexy Fish, J Sheekey in London or the private clubs Annabel’s and Mark’s Club in Mayfair.
Mr Caring and the Ivy Collection declined to comment on the reports.
The identity of Si Advisors’ buyers will come as a surprise given the list of prominent sovereign and private investors who have considered bidding for The Ivy Collection.
The Ivy was founded in Covent Garden, central London, in 1917 by Abel Giandolini and Mario Gallati, before the couple opened the popular restaurant Le Caprice.
In 2005, Caring purchased the Caprice Holdings group, before spinning off the Ivy Collection division to rapidly expand the restaurant brand.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe dined with his key advisers Sir Dave Brailsford and Jean-Claude Blanc at The Ivy in Manchester in May.
Richard Caring, Goldie Hawn, Lady Shakira Caine y Sir Michael Caine en Londres en 2016
Victoria and David Beckham leaving The Ivy in March 2001
Joan Collins and Mr Caring in 2011
A menu at The Ivy in 2017 included British classics such as Shepherds Pie at £19.50, calves liver, £23.50 and even fish and chips with mushy peas, £19.
Since then, she has embarked on a wildly successful expansion of The Ivy brand, taking it to dozens of locations across London and the South of England, with a few locations also in the North, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland.
The most recent accounts from Companies House showed the firm made profits of £54.8m and turnover of almost £303m for the year to January 2023.
Caring has also been a shareholder in the company that owns the Soho House chain of private clubs. The businessman is widely regarded as the most successful investor in luxury hotel assets of his generation.
The Ivy has continued to go from strength to strength, with the top end of London’s hotel industry proving resilient despite the generally sluggish British economy.
The venue remains a hotspot for stars, with a pregnant Margot Robbie spotted in July making sure to show her fans a good time when she treated them to a round of drinks at The Ivy Chelsea Garden.
The 34-year-old actress, who is pregnant with her first child, was joined by husband Tom Ackerley at the restaurant as they treated diners to their Papa Salt Coastal Gin.
Earlier this summer, Sir Michael Caine, 91, was spotted pushing a walker as he joined his wife Shakira, 77, for a night out at The Ivy.
The venue remains a hotspot for stars, with a pregnant Margot Robbie spotted in July making sure to show her fans a good time when she treated them to a round of drinks at The Ivy Chelsea Garden.
Earlier this summer, Sir Michael Caine, 91, was spotted pushing a walker as he joined his wife Shakira, 77, for a night out at The Ivy.
A flamboyant figure, Caring paid £150,000 in 2019 to dine with Boris Johnson at his own venue, Mark’s Club. He made the donation to the Conservatives during their fundraiser at the Hurlingham Club in Fulham, south-west London, where he sat next to then-Prime Minister Theresa May.
Caring began his career in the clothing industry before buying Caprice Holdings for £31.5m in 2005 to launch his catering business.
In 2020, Caring committed to feeding thousands of NHS workers and critically vulnerable people by opening its restaurant kitchens.
Mr Caring, along with his wife Patricia and The Caring Foundation, said they wanted to help feed those in need during this “tunnel of darkness”.
Around 5,000 meals a week were prepared in Annabel’s four kitchens and distributed to staff at London hospitals including Chelsea & Westminster, West Middlesex University Hospital, St Thomas’ and St Mary’s.
It also partnered with The Felix Project, London’s largest food redistribution charity, to help feed 20,000 isolated elderly people, families with no income and NHS workers.
STAR STORIES FROM THE IVY by former maître d’Fernando Peire
Sadie Frost (pictured left with Jude Law) shared a memorable dinner at The Ivy
FRENCH DAWN
One time, at lunchtime, I was with Jennifer Saunders and playwright Mary Agnes Donoghue when Brad Pitt walked in. I was having lunch with director Terry Gilliam, who I know. I faked a trip to the bathroom and wrote a note to Terry that said, “Make Brad kiss me like he adores me, or I will kill your family.” Done. Love, Dawn.
An hour later I found Brad Pitt’s lips on mine. He said something like, “Hi Dawn, it’s so nice to see you, God, you look beautiful.” Then he waved and left. I turned to Jennifer and Mary Agnes and found their jaws on the floor. As were the jaws of most of the diners.
SADIE FROST
I had worked with Lauren Bacall so Jude [Law, her former husband, pictured right with Sadie] and invited her to dinner at The Ivy. Smoking was banned by then, but that didn’t bother Mrs. Bacall, who lit a Marlboro Light without missing a beat. Soon, a nervous waiter politely asked Mrs. Bacall to put out her cigarette. “Fuck off,” she replied. He did.
And who would argue with her? So she sat smoking and told us stories about Humphrey Bogart while Jude and I hung on every word. But when she started talking about her second husband, Jason Robards, she took a long drag on her cigarette and looked at us. “Jason?” she said in her husky voice. “He was a real man now.”
DAVID WALLIAM
Early in my career, I saw my childhood hero Sir Roger Moore at a nearby table, and the late Sir David Frost, who I knew, introduced us. Sir Roger invited me to have a drink with him and his wife and it turned out he was a fan of Little Britain. As he left, he came over to my table and quoted one of my catchphrases to me. ‘I’m a lady!’ said Sir Roger. It was even funnier when he delivered it in his deadpan style.
JANE, LADY GIBSON
When I was working in television, I took Samantha Fox, the former Page 3 model, to dinner at The Ivy. As we sat down, I noticed a very elegant woman at a nearby table struggling to get up from her seat to gawk. It was Princess Margaret. There she was, in a two-piece and pearls, peering around a pillar to look at Samantha Fox. The Ivy is a true meritocracy.
