Private equity partner, Helen Croke, has led a Travers Smith team in advising Bridgepoint Development Capital on the acquisition of restaurant discount card clubs tastecard and the Gourmet Society from Dutch group DIDIX for an undisclosed sum.

Rated as the UK’s number 1 and number 2 restaurant discount card clubs, tastecard and the Gourmet Society offer discounts to members at over 10,000 restaurants across the UK for an annual membership fee.  Dining club offers are available through the companies’ websites and apps, in conjunction with a membership card.  tastecard, which is the UK’s largest diners’ club with over three million members, works with some of the UK’s most popular chains, as well as independent restaurants. The Gourmet Society has over one million members in the UK.

Discounted dining is now a regular feature of the UK’s buoyant eating out market, which has seen the total consumer spend rocketing to £7.8 billion in 2014.

Travers Smith’s team was led by Helen Croke who was assisted by corporate associates Gemma Phillips, David Wall, Ed Pike and Lauren Causon.

The Travers Smith team also included: Head of Finance Matthew Ayre who was assisted by finance associates Jamie Parish and Daniel Domb and tax partner Jessica Kemp who was assisted by tax associates Andrew Callaghan and Tom Rickford.

The private equity house was also advised by Rothschild (corporate finance), Deloitte (tax) and OC&C (market).

The management of tastecard and the Gourmet Society instructed Grant Thornton, who advised on tax & finance matters, and Brabners, who provided legal advice on the transaction.