Nando's seen as Clapham House suitor

Capricorn Ventures (CVI), the group that owns the Nando's peri-peri chicken chain, is behind the bid approach to burger restaurant Clapham House. CVI is said to have offered 69p per share valuing the restaurateur at £28m. Clapham House put out a statement yesterday saying it had received an approach, but did name the potential bidder. Reports today, however, citing sources close to Clapham House said that Capricorn is behind the approach. If accurate, the move will not come as a surprise to Clapham's management. Capricorn has steadily built up a 27% stake and Clapham's chief executive Paul Campbell forecast last year a takeover could be on the way. "Our task is to get our timing right, grow the company enough so they can't afford to buy us or, at least, force them to pay a realistic price for control," he said then. Clapham House has enjoyed major success with its 50-strong Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK) chain, though its Real Greek brand has taking longer to get going. Last year, Clapham also had to put its Tootsies chain into administration. Clapham House raised £2.2m in May to fund its GBK expansion programme.