Rhubarb Hospitality Collection sold to US stadium operator for 'over £100m'

Events and fine dining caterer Rhubarb Hospitality Collection (RHC) has been acquired by a US-based entertainment group for reportedly over £100m.

Stadium operator Oak View Group (OVG), which also bought UK caterer Bovingdons in 2022, said it planned to use Rhubarb to improve the food and beverage offer at its arenas around the world.

This will include Manchester's Co-op Live, which is currently being developed by OVG and will be the UK's largest indoor concert venue when it opens next year.

OVG will also use Rhubarb to bid for catering contracts with other third-party clients.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed but people with knowledge of the matter told the Financial Times OVG had paid asset manager LGT at least £100m for the caterer.

Rhubarb has been trading for more than 25 years and operates restaurants, bars and event spaces across London, New York, and Berlin.

Its team of 2,000 caters for over five million people each year at venues including London's Royal Albert Hall, Sky Garden, Royal Ascot and at the immersive live entertainment experience Mamma Mia! The Party.

Rhubarb is also the catering partner for more than 70 venues and visitor attractions including London's Natural History Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum and Historic Royal Palaces.

The business said it was forecast to deliver nine-figure revenues in 2023.

OVG was founded by music industry heavyweights Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff in 2015 and has invested billions of capital into nine stadium projects worldwide.

Tim Leiweke, chairman and chief executive officer of OVG, said: "Rhubarb and OVG are the perfect partners to design and deliver the world's best hospitality at venues around the world."

Pieter-Bas Jacobse, chief executive of Rhubarb, said: "We have known the [OVG] team for many years, they understand our business model, and we all see best-in-class hospitality as essential to the value proposition between venues and their fans."