Risk Capital Partners has sold its minority stake in restaurant company Giraffe through a deal with an enterprise value of £48.6 million.

The deal represents an 8x multiple of Risk Capital Partners’ original valuation and comes after the investment firm grew the chain from seven central London locations to 48 sites around the UK.

Giraffe was founded in North London in 1998 by Juliette Joffe, Russel Joffe and Andrew Jacobs. In 2006, the chain received a £10 million investment from 3i in deal which valued the business at £24 million. The capital was then used to develop the brand nationally.

With Tesco now acquiring Giraffe, Jacobs, alongside husband and wife team Russel and Juliette Joffe, will remain in place.

Under the ownership of Risk Capital Partners, which holds interests in bakery chains GAIL’s and Patisserie Valerie, and 3i, Giraffe has expanded into UK airports, train stations, north of the border to Scotland and in Dubai.

Russel Joffe, managing director and founder of Giraffe, comments, ‘We’re very much looking forward to working with Tesco.

‘This move will allow us to introduce Giraffe to a wider audience, presents great opportunities for growth and for the team to be involved in an exciting stage in our brand’s development.’

Risk Capital Partners, Russel Joffe says, gave Giraffe the ‘confidence’ to become a larger business.

Tesco says that it will, where possible, open new Giraffe restaurants next to its larger stores as part of an effort to make shopping easier for families.

Kevin Grace, group commercial director at Tesco, adds, ‘We invest in businesses that add value for our customers online or offline; as we’ve done with Harris + Hoole, Euphorium, [movie streaming service] blinkbox, and now Giraffe.

‘We have the opportunity to develop some of the space in our larger stores to create retail destinations that offer customers even more choice.’