Barburrito has announced that it has successfully acquired, in a private transaction, Scottish chain Pinto Mexican Kitchen.

The Pinto Mexican Kitchen group comprises five Pinto restaurants, which are all positioned in high footfall locations in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

The operation will initially continue to operate under the Pinto brand and then will be rebranded under the new look Barburrito brand over the next six months.

The acquisition gives Barburrito a key strategic platform for further growth in Scotland. It is backed by growth capital provider BGF, which has provided a total investment of £11.35m to the business since March 2012.

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The total funding to date covers the business’s existing estate of 12 restaurants, supports Barburrito’s expansion plans, including the acquisition of Pinto and the continued roll-out of its restaurants across the UK – with plans to increase the number of sites Barburrito operates to 25 over the next 18 months.

Morgan Davies, CEO of Barburrito, said the board was “thrilled to have acquired the Pinto business”.

”It is a well-run operation with 5 great locations in Scotland, a key focus area for us,” he continued. “Having grown up in Scotland, I am personally delighted that we are expanding here.

“We are serious about establishing Barburrito as a UK wide operation and this key acquisition in Scotland, affirms our position as the leading burrito bar operator outside of London. As the UK’s first burrito bar we are now proud to be operating 17 restaurants across 8 major cities.”

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