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Kwality Group, one of Delhi's oldest restaurant companies, is looking to raise private equity to fund its expansion plans, reports Business Standard. The company, set up in 1940, has revenues of Rs 78 crore from its ice-cream (Kwality Walls), bakeries, restaurants (Gaylord, Chopsticks), catering services and hotels businesses.

Kwality is now looking at setting up restaurants or express outlets in hospitals around the country, while it also plans to start more outlets of its Gaylord and Kwality restaurants in foreign cities like New York, Seattle and London. The company would seek private equity to fund these activities, according to Dhruv Lamba, Executive Director, Kwality Group. The company was set up by his grandfather P L Lamba.

Kwality runs Gaylord Restaurant in Delhi's Connaught Place, which is a landmark in the city, besides the Village Restaurant Complex in Siri Fort. It sold Kwality ice cream and Milkfood brands to Hindustan Lever in 1995. Of late, it has ventured into running restaurant outlets in hospitals - it already runs express restaurants in Delhi hospitals like Gangaram, Max and Apollo Hospital in New Delhi.

Besides Kwality, another Indian restaurants chain Speciality Foods, which owns chains like Oh! Calcutta and Mainland China, is also looking at private equity funding. This company is owned by Anjan Chatterjee.

In July last year, Nirula's, another Delhi-based restaurant and fast food chain had sold its business to Malaysian private equity group Navis Capital Partners for about Rs 90 crore or $20 million. Navis had also acquired majority stakes in Mumbai-based Sanjay Narang's Mars Restaurants and airline catering business Sky Gourmet, which were last month sold to a blank check firm India Hospitality Corp for $110 million.

Related:

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Navis Picks Up 74% In Sanjay Narang's Mars Restaurants

India Hospitality Corp Acquires Sanjay Narang's Mars & SkyGourmet Joints

Oh! Calcutta And Mainland China Owner Seeks Private Equity

Matrix Partners India Invests $5.5 Million In Yo! China