RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Jadwa Investment has fully acquired the UAE-based food and beverage provider Black Spoon Group, as it aims to expand across the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. 

It is the company’s second acquisition in the consumer sector this year after Gissah Perfumes Co., and the 16th private equity investment since its inception. 

BSG has 10 branches under three brands, including its flagship Allo Beirut, all of which have been acquired by Jadwa Food and Beverage Opportunities Fund. 

Allo Beirut holds a leading market share in the Lebanese casual dining segment in the UAE, with a large and growing customer base since its inception in 2018, Jadwa said in a statement to Argaam. 

The expansion will include franchising over 30 new Allo Beirut locations across GCC countries over the next five years with a primary focus on Saudi Arabia. 

Tariq Al-Sudairy, managing director and CEO of Jadwa Investment, said: “This investment is an extension of our strategy to capitalize on the increasingly attractive consumer sector across the GCC, which has begun to reap the fruits of transformational government initiatives, a young and growing population, and rising income levels.” 

Elie Elkhoury, head of private equity at Jadwa Investment, emphasized that Black Spoon represented an attractive opportunity in the restaurant industry given that it is at a pivotal stage in its upward growth trajectory. 

He said: “We look forward to working with Black Spoon’s management in executing their vision and expect this investment to pave the way for further promising F&B acquisitions under the Black Spoon umbrella.” 

Charbel Mhanna, CEO of Black Spoon Group, said: “We are delighted to partner with Jadwa Investment and to leverage their expertise to accelerate our growth. Our goal is to make Black Spoon Group an F&B leader at the regional scale, and our partnership with Jadwa Investment will prove instrumental to the success of this aspiration.”