LONDON-based operator... move to Manchester... regional UK growth strategy... 'always loved this city'... you know the score.
Founders Des Guneardena and David Loewi are said to be closing in on a Manchester site
Another week, another major London-based restaurant group with designs on the city; and who blames 'em? Earlier this month new research showed that over the last decade Manchester had surpassed all other UK cities in terms of new food and drink openings - read here
Now following the likes of Hawksmoor, Iberica, Burger & Lobster, Bill's, Cote, Byron, Wahaca, Be At One and Comptoir Libanais in the scramble for the Manchester pound is, reportedly, D&D: a well-heeled restaurant group operating 34 restaurants worldwide including a number of London's most revered establishments (the Michelin-starred Launceston Place in South Kensington, for one), two sites in the Leeds Trinity complex (Angelica and Crafthouse) and restaurants in Paris, Copenhagen, New York and Tokyo.
Des Guneardena and David LoewiD&D - named after founders Des Guneardena and David Loewi - started life in 1991 as Conran Restaurants, a group by famed designer, writer, restaurateur and notorious bon vivant, Terence Conran (who, interestingly, pioneered flat-pack furniture and the duvet). In 2006 Conran employees Gunewardena and Loewi led a management buyout of the group, with Conran's remaining stake later sold to private equity firm LDC for £50m in 2013.
Following the success of the Leeds sites, the group will look to branch out further into the North with the launch of their first Scottish restaurant at Buchanan Galleries in Glasgow, followed closely by Manchester.
Confidential have been in touch with D&D who have confirmed their intention to secure a Manchester site as soon as possible. Reports suggest a location in and around Spinningfields is 'highly likely'.
(headline image is Angelica, Leeds)
