Burger King NZ posts small loss in first full-year under Blackstone ownership

Tuesday 19th November 2013

The operator of Burger King in New Zealand posted a small loss in 2012, the first full year under the ownership of US private equity firm Blackstone Group.

Tango Holdings, the New Zealand parent of the burger chain operator, Antares Restaurant Group, had a net loss of about $1.88 million in calendar 2012 on sales of $174.9 million.

It recorded a loss of about $6.9 million on sales of $16.5 million for 2011, though this would have been for a part year as Tango was incorporated in October 2011, the month Blackstone acquired Antares from Australian buyout firm Anchorage Capital Partners

Antares has the New Zealand franchise development rights for Burger King as well as having some 80 stores, making it the second-largest hamburger chain after McDonald's. Royalty payments amounted to about $8.7 million last year and it spent $8.5 million on promotions, the accounts show. Its biggest costs were $55 million for raw materials and consumables and $50.6 million on wages.

Burger King New Zealand's results for 2012 were in line with expectations, Antares chief executive John Hunter said in an emailed statement.

"We remain confident in our investment in New Zealand and will continue to invest in Burger King through new restaurants (seven restaurants opened in the last two years), a restaurant refurbishment programme, the addition of free WiFi, Timeout and ongoing menu innovation," Hunter said. "These will all contribute to continued growth in revenue and market share."

Anchorage, whose investments include Dick Smith Electronics, teamed up with management shareholders to buy Burger King NZ's owner, then named TPF Restaurants, in 2009.

Under its ownership, earnings doubled as it embarked on a 'back-to-basics' turnaround. It sold the business to Blackstone for about $104 million, according to notes to Tango's accounts.

The company declined to comment on a subsequent event in the notes, which said another subsidiary called Tango New Zealand was in talks with its lenders over banking facilities worth $95 million "in advance of a potential breach of one of its bank covenant requirements for the March 2013 quarter."

It subsequently restructured the facilities, renegotiating the covenants and making a partial capitalisation through the issue of $16 million of redeemable preference shares. Key terms of the debt restructuring were agreed on Oct. 30 this year.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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