Wagamama

Wagamama (stylised as wagamama) is a British restaurant chain, serving Asian food based on Japanese cuisine. History The first Wagamama was opened in 1992 in Bloomsbury, London, founded by Alan Yau, who subsequently created the Chinese restaurants Hakkasan and Yauatcha, and Thai restaurant Busaba Eathai. In June 2005, the restaurant's owner Graphite Capital sold the majority stake of 77.5% to Lion Capital LLP for £103million. In April 2011, the chain was sold to Duke Street Capital, for an estimated sum of £215million. As of January 2014, the chain included over 190 restaurants, with 130 being in the United Kingdom. The chain was acquired for £559m by The Restaurant Group, owner of Frankie & Benny's & Chiquito in October 2018. Other restaurants are located in Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Gibraltar, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Oman, Qatar, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the UAE, and the United States. A new restaurant has opened at the beginning of 2019 in France.