Cooking with private equity cash, Gordon Ramsay plans to open 100 new restaurants

Gordon Ramsay, the shouty British chef who famously called someone “an idiot sandwich” on television, is partnering with a private equity firm to open 100 new restaurants across the U.S. within the next five years.

Ramsay, who already has five eponymous restaurants in Las Vegas and three others across the country, told Forbes he started seeking a partner a year ago to invest equity in his restaurant business.

That led to a deal with Lion Capital, with offices in Los Angeles and London, to invest $100 million over the next five years in restaurants bearing his name. Lion has acquired 50 percent of Gordon Ramsay North America, and Ramsay himself retained the other 50 percent.

In the United States, Ramsay plans to introduce two restaurant concepts, Gordon Ramsay Street Pizza and Gordon Ramsay Bread Street Kitchen.

He already has opened restaurants under the Gordon Ramsay Bread Street Kitchen brand – which he describes as a “modern Cheesecake Factory” – in Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai and London.

Slated for expansions are three of his existing Las Vegas restaurants: Gordon Ramsay Steak, Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill and Gordon Ramsay Fish & Chips. His London operation, which has had three starts for nearly 20 years, is not affected by the deal with Lion Capital. [Forbes.com] – Mike Seemuth