The restaurateurs behind some of London’s landmark dining outlets are lining up financial backing from a US-based fund that placed one of the most pandemic’s most lucrative bets by investing in Hertz, the car rental provider.
Sky News has learnt that Knighthead Capital Management is in talks with Corbin & King about providing tens of millions of pounds of funding amid a dispute with Minor Hotels, the hospitality group’s biggest shareholder.
Knighthead, which reaped a multibillion dollar paper gain by helping to rescue Hertz from bankruptcy, is said to have been in talks with Jeremy King, the company’s co-founder for months.
Corbin and King operates restaurants including The Wolseley, a former car showroom on Piccadilly which has become one of the capital’s go-to destinations for captains of industry and celebrities for the last 15 years, and The Delaunay on Aldwych.
Image: The Wolseley is located on Piccadilly in central LondonIts other sites include Colbert on Sloane Square and Fischer’s on Marylebone High Street.
AdvertisementThe founders sold a stake initially to Graphite Capital, a private equity firm, and then to Minor Hotels in 2017.
Relations between the two sides have been fractious for some time, culminating in a move last week by Corbin & King to bring in an independent monitor to prevent the company being placed into insolvency proceedings.
More from BusinessMinor had called in a £35m loan and lined up prospective administrators to the restaurant group, according to insiders.
Mr King said: “We have a legal dispute with one of our shareholders and we hope to sort that out soon.
“The good news is the restaurants are doing well and we are looking forward to a good 2022.”
The dispute with Minor is being played out against the backdrop of a separate legal case that has seen Corbin & King suing Axa for refusing to pay out a claim for loss of business during COVID-19 lockdowns.
Knighthead Capital has been contacted for comment.