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Veeraswamy owner MW Eat sold to Canadian firm

London group behind India-focused restaurants was sold as expansion plans advance.

Camellia Panjabi and Ranjit Mathrani receiving AA Restaurant of the Year award in 2023. / Chutney Mary

An Indian restaurant group that owns London’s Michelin-starred Veeraswamy has been sold to Canada-based Fairfax, marking a major shift for one of the city’s most prominent South Asian dining operators.

MW Eat, which runs Veeraswamy along with Chutney Mary, Amaya and the four-location Masala Zone chain, confirmed the sale this week. The companies did not disclose financial terms. The deal includes plans for what MW Eat described as significant investment to open new restaurants worldwide and develop additional formats.

MW Eat was founded in 1990 by Namita Panjabi and Ranjit Mathrani with the launch of Chutney Mary in St James’s. Camellia Panjabi, a former main board member at Taj Hotels, joined in 2001. All three founders will continue working with Fairfax during the transition.

Fairfax already holds several major investments in India, including Bangalore International Airport, Thomas Cook India and Sterling Holiday Resorts. It also owns Recipe Restaurant Group, Canada’s largest full-service multi-brand restaurant operator with more than 1,200 locations.

Veeraswamy, opened in 1926 and owned by MW Eat since 1997, is currently involved in a dispute over plans by the Crown Estate to end its Regent Street lease as part of a redevelopment project. The change would force the restaurant to close.

 

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