Dubai - Mubasher: The Abraaj Group signed a definitive agreement to fully acquire Java House Group from private equity firm Emerging Capital Partners (ECP) and Java’s founder and chairman Kevin Ashley, according to a statement.
In 2012, ECP acquired a majority stake in Java, with Ashley retaining a minority stake.
“ECP has helped Java House grow from 13 shops in Nairobi into East Africa’s largest casual dining brand, building an ‘eat-out’ culture. Today, it has an unrivalled regional footprint of 60 stores across ten cities in Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda,” the statement added.
“Africa’s rapidly expanding middle class, sustained population growth, and increasing urbanisation is creating compelling investment opportunities in multiple sectors, and we believe Java House is ideally positioned to benefit from these trends,” managing partner and global head of Private Equity at The Abraaj Group Mustafa Abdel-Wadood stated.
Java House currently provides services for over 320,000 guest checks per month, offering food and drinks covering 25 different food categories, and employs 2,000 people.
The company has three flagship brands, namely coffee-led, all-day casual dining concept Java House, the region’s first self-service frozen yogurt chain Planet Yogurt, and Italian pizzeria concept 360 Degrees Artisan Pizza.
