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Taste Holdings announced on Friday that it is selling its Starbucks
franchise business in South Africa for R7m.
It is being bought by a consortium of shareholders, including Rand Group, which is owned by Adrian Maizey, a non-executive director of Taste.
There are currently 13 Starbucks stores in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban. Taste opened the first Starbucks store in South Africa 2016.
Taste also plans to sell its other food brands – including Domino’s
Pizza, Maxi’s and The Fish & Chips Co – after the company calculated that
it would need at least R700m to generate a positive cash flow from these
businesses.
According to a statement, the Starbucks network would need to expand to between 150 and 200 cafés and Domino’s to between 220 and 280 restaurants
"After careful consideration, following months of operational reviews and canvassing potential partners and capital providers on this long-term objective, it has become evident that the capital investment required for this expansion strategy cannot be secured, given the current structure of the business and existing market conditions,” Taste said in a statement on Friday.
Following the deals, Taste will focus on its jewellery retailers NWJ, Arthur Kaplan and World’s Finest Watches.
Taste has been battling a large debt burden and cash flow issues over the past few years.
