CMS advises on Tortilla IPO

International law firm CMS has advised long-term restaurant client and Quilvest backed, Tortilla Mexican Grill plc (Tortilla), on its successful listing and admission to trading on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange, by way of a placing of new and existing ordinary shares at a price of 181 pence per share. 

Tortilla is the largest and most successful fast-casual Mexican restaurant group in the UK. 
The IPO is expected to raise approximately £23m for selling shareholders, and £5m from the placing of new shares, giving Tortilla a market capitalisation of £70m on admission. 

The proceeds from the listing will be used to accelerate its growth plans and execute on strategic opportunities in line with its long-term growth strategy. This includes accelerating its UK rollout, developing and executing on scalable franchise opportunities, expanding its cloud kitchen portfolio and other strategic initiatives. It will also provide access to capital should additional financing be required in the future to further expand the business.

Tortilla CEO Richard Morris comments: “We know CMS have a huge presence in restaurants and are one of the leading IPO firms in the country so we found their combination of skills to be compelling. The whole team worked tirelessly and were an integral part of what we feel has been a very successful debut in the listed environment.”

The transaction was co-led by the head of the firm’s leisure practice David Roberts and CMS’s head of Equity Capital Markets Alasdair Steele, with significant input from a team of corporate associates led by corporate senior associate Harriet Serpis and specialists drawn from all over the firm.

David Roberts, comments: “Tortilla is a great example of a business that started slowly and accelerated later, once it had established a clear culture and identity, having simplified its model in readiness for scale. It’s a great testament to its founder Brandon Stephens and to the team, now led by Richard Morris and Andy Naylor.

“Alasdair and I would like to congratulate them, and to welcome Emma and Lawrence to the board (and say farewell to long-term client Paul Campbell) of what will hopefully be a very exciting journey from here. This transaction has demonstrated the strength of the CMS corporate team, combining our deep restaurant sector skills with our market-leading listed company experience.”