Majority stake in Press Up hospitality group ‘to be taken by London equity firm’

“We are not going to comment on this,” said a spokeswoman for Press Up, in response to a report in the Business Post. It said Cheyne Capital, an alternative investment manager, is finalising a refinancing deal with the Irish company.

Press Up is the owner of well-known restaurants such as Captain America’s, Elephant and Castle and Angelina’s in Dublin. Other assets include the Stella Cinema in Rathmines, and bars such as the Workman’s Club, Ashton’s and the Lucky Duck.

It was thought to be on the look-out for extra capital ever since it abandoned a plan in late 2019 to raise up to €50m through the disposal of a 45pc stake through an IPO.

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Last November, Press Up announced it was making almost one third of its head-office staff redundant, citing tough trading conditions. It also sold a majority stake in its portfolio of eight signature hotels.

Last night a spokeswoman for Cheyne, which has previously been a finance partner of Press Up’s, also declined to comment on the reports.

Cheyne launched it first fund in 2000, after being launched by the former Morgan Stanley executives Stuart Fiertz and Jonathan Lourie. Cheyne specialises in real-estate debt, corporate credit and convertible bonds.

According to its website, Cheyne “seeks to identify opportunities presented by market dislocations” and it looks for “uncrowded and under-researched investments and will dedicate the time to understanding complex situations”.

Last year it provided an €80m senior loan to the Petersen Group and Hines to refinance their existing loan facility on the Central Plaza in Dublin.

The site of the former Central Bank on Dame Street, the eight-storey building only recently got its anchor tenant when WeWork finally opened its flagship office there.

According to the Business Post report, Press Up’s executive team will continue to run the day-to-day operations of the hospitality business after Cheyne takes the majority stake.

As well as the Press Up group, Mr McKillen Jr and his business partner Matt Ryan run the Oakmount property development company.

Recently some long-time business associates of Mr McKillen Jr’s father, Paddy, were appointed as directors at four businesses within the Press Up Group. Liam Cunningham and Ronnie Delaney Jr were appointed to Amber Horizon, Rustic Way Ltd and Sanphase Ltd.

All three companies are connected to the Lucky Duck pub on Dublin’s Aungier Street. The restored Victorian pub has been on the market with CBRE since 2022.