Upper Crust owner SSP Group has struck a deal to buy an airport bar and restaurant firm in Australia to further expand its global footprint.
SSP – which runs food outlets at transport sites including airports and railway stations – has agreed to take over privately-owned Airport Retail Enterprises (ARE) for an undisclosed sum.
It will see SSP add ARE’s 1,500 staff and 62 sites across seven airports, largely bars, casual dining restaurants and cafes.
The deal will give SSP access to four new airports in Australia where it does not already have a presence – Canberra, Gold Coast, Townsville and Mount Isa.
The acquisition is expected to complete by the end of June.
SSP has been operating in Australia since 2007 and already runs 40 sites across seven airports and one railway station.
After the deal, it will run around 100 sites across 11 of the largest 19 airports in Australia.
Patrick Coveney, chief executive of SSP Group, said: “The acquisition will increase our portfolio of brands and concepts, give us entry into new prime air locations, enhance our position as a leading airport food and beverage operator in the country, and create significant value for shareholders.
“The Asia Pacific region offers a significant opportunity to build returns and drive growth for the group.”
ARE founder Peter Butts said: “This transaction is a major milestone for ARE and we are delighted that it will be joining the SSP Group, one of the leading food and beverage operators in travel locations globally.”
ARE was founded in 1971 and has annual sales of around 200 million Australian dollars (£100 million).
SSP’s recent trading update showed groupwide like-for-like sales rose 14.3% at constant exchange rates in the quarter to December 31.
In the UK and Ireland, it notched up a 17.1% jump in comparable store sales in the final three months of last year as it saw less of a hit from industrial action compared with a year earlier, when train strikes caused havoc in the run-up to Christmas in 2022.
But the group said it expects to see an impact from strike action continue throughout the first three months of 2024 across the UK as well as in Continental Europe.