Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP (Freshfields) has advised Fajr Capital on its acquisition of UAE-based food and beverage platform Cravia Group (Cravia). Fajr Capital is a leading private equity investor in high-growth markets across the Middle East and Asia, and Cravia is one of the fastest growing food and beverage platforms in the Middle East.

Cravia was founded in 2001 and is the parent company of many of the Middle East’s most successful food and beverage franchises, including Zaatar w Zeit, Cinnabon, Seattle’s Best Coffee and Carvel ice cream.  Cravia also recently started operations for the U.S.’s Five Guys, in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar. The newly-opened Five Guys outlet in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is the burger chain’s largest branch worldwide and broke the record for the highest performing store by sales in the global network.

Fajr Capital’s investment will allow Cravia to both strengthen its position in the food and beverage industry in the long term and accelerate its expansion plans in the short term. It will also permit Cravia to expand into new markets in the region such as Bahrain and Qatar.

The Freshfields team was led by Dubai-based corporate partners, Rob Cant and Pervez Akhtar. Rob Cant said, ‘We were delighted to have been given the opportunity to advise the Fajr Capital team on another landmark transaction which represents one of the most significant transactions by financial investors to take place in the region this year. The franchises managed and operated by Cravia are some of the best known brands in the region and internationally. Food and beverage transactions have been a real growth story for us over the last year or two and this deal further demonstrates our market-leading position as the advisor of choice for the region’s leading private equity investors.’