The restaurant company that owns the Café Rouge and Strada chains has completed a bank refinancing that removes the risk that it might breach its covenants and gives it the capacity to continue expanding.
Tragus Group, which is backed by Blackstone, is to press ahead with plans to open as many as 15 new restaurants in the next year after its banking syndicate, led by Barclays, agreed to a refinancing deal that cuts its net debt from £240 million to £219 million.
As part of the deal, Tragus will repay the banks £15 million of the £40 million of cash on its balance sheet, while Blackstone has agreed to convert £14 million of “second lien” debt into equity. The rate of interest on its debt,