NEWS
-
09/02/2023
ProNoïa, a major franchise partner of KFC in France, raises €85 million in financing to accelerate its development
ContextPierre TRITZ, President of ProNoïa, is a successful entrepreneur who has been operating KFC restaurants under franchise since 2013.Headquartered in Pau (64), ProNoïa has, by the end of January 2023, 26 KFC restaurants in the South-West, in Ile-de-France and in the Centre-East region, a number that has been growing rapidly for the last 2 years, with the opening of about 15 restaurants since mid-2021.With the support of a motivated and experienced team, ProNoïa has demonstrated its expertise in developing franchised restaurants as well as in the financial management of restaurants and the group.The French market continues to be a major growth segment for KFC, which specializes in chicken-based preparations and has a growing market share. KFC intends to continue to expand its network of restaurants in France, doubling its current number of restaurants to reach 600 within the next five years.ProNoïa, already the leading independent KFC franchisee in France, aims to capture more than a third of the brand's growth over the next three years.The growth of the KFC brand and the ProNoïa group is accompanied by the development of an ambitious CSR approach, focused in particular on reducing the carbon footprint in compliance with the Paris agreements, animal welfare with the signing of the European Chicken Commitment, eco-design of packaging, improvement of the nutritional qualities of recipes and the well-being of employees in the workplace.
The operationThis new expansion phase of ProNoïa represents an objective of opening more than 33 restaurants by 2025.Societex CF has been exclusively commissioned by ProNoïa to assist it in structuring the transaction and finding financial investors to ensure the continuity of its development in France.The financing of this transaction is mainly provided by a pool of banks composed of Crédit Lyonnais, coordinator and co-arranger, La Banque Postale and Crédit Agricole Aquitaine, co-arrangers, and Crédit Agricole Pyrénées Gascogne and BNP Paribas as participants.Cerea Partners, a leading player in the agri-food value chain, is providing €15 million in mezzanine financing.
TestimonialsCommenting on this transaction, Pierre TRITZ, President of ProNoïa, said: "ProNoïa was able to surround itself with the best advice and the best financing players to finance an ambitious development plan and contribute to the influence of the KFC brand in France. Beyond the purely financial aspect, we have succeeded in sharing values and a project that aspires to take our share of societal and environmental commitments that characterize sustainable growth."Hubert LANGE, Managing Partner, and Hugo FRADON, Investment Director at Cerea Partners, said: "We are delighted to invest in mezzanine to finance the development of the ProNoïa group, which has proven itself since the opening of its first restaurant in Pau in 2013 to become the first independent KFC franchisee in France and is now pursuing an ambitious opening plan. We were convinced by the group's solid fundamentals, but also by the strong social values promoted by Pierre TRITZ and his teams, as well as by the group's and the brand's CSR approach, which focuses in particular on optimizing a carbon footprint that is already very favorable in its sector, improving recipes and ingredients, and adopting best practices in terms of animal welfare."
.jpg)
