Wagamama

British restaurant chain specialising in Japanese style cuisine

Wagamama Limited

Formerly| China Diner Limited (1991–1992)
Company type| Private
Industry| Restaurant
Genre| Japanese-inspired Chinese restaurant + noodle bar
Founded| 29 April 1991; 34 years ago (1991-04-29)
Founder| Alan Yau
Headquarters|

London

United Kingdom

Number of locations

| 190+

Area served

| Global

Key people

| Mark Chambers (CEO)
Owner| Apollo Global Management
Website| wagamama.com
Wagamama, in Streatham Street, London. On its opening day. 22 April 1992

Wagamama Limited (stylised as wagamama) is a British restaurant chain. The brand is inspired by fast-paced, Japanese ramen bars and offers a celebration of Asian food.

## History

[edit]

Wagamama Limited was incorporated on 29 April 1991 as China Diner Limited,[1] and their first restaurant 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.[2] In June 2005, the restaurant's owner Graphite Capital sold the majority stake of 77.5% to Lion Capital LLP for £103 million.[3] In April 2011, the chain was sold to Duke Street Capital, for an estimated sum of £215 million.[4]

The chain was acquired for £559m by The Restaurant Group, owner of Frankie & Benny's & Chiquito in October 2018.[5] In October 2023 The Restaurant Group was taken over by Apollo Global Management[6] in a deal worth over £700m.

In September 2024, The Restaurant Group (TRG) announced plans to increase the number of UK restaurants from 161 to 200-220.[7]

Wagamama has taken the brand global with franchised restaurants in 22 countries across Europe and the Middle East.[8] There are also 8 company owned locations in the US.[9]

Previous countries served by the Wagamama brand include Australia from 2002 to 2014,[10][11] New Zealand until 2019,[12] and Belgium from 2005 to 2024.[13]

Wagamama has released three cookbooks in order to further extend its brand.

The first site on Streatham Street, Bloomsbury, London, closed permanently on 19 June 2016.[14]

## Brand

[edit]

The word wagamama (わがまま) is Japanese for "self-indulgent", "self-centred", “picky”, “fussy”, "disobedient", or "wilful".[15] Wagamama brands itself as following the process of kaizen.[16]

## News items

[edit]

### Environmental record

[edit]

In November 2015, the chain was named by the Marine Conservation Society as one of seven restaurants surveyed that failed to meet a basic level of sustainability in its seafood.[17] However, this was later retracted, as Wagamama revealed more information about the origin of its seafood.[18]

### Employment rights

[edit]

In December 2017, Wagamama apologised after it was revealed some workers in Finchley were warned they would face disciplinary action if calling in sick over Christmas. The manager of the North Finchley branch asserted it was the responsibility of staff members, according to their contracts and handbook, to find somebody to cover their shifts. Wagamama said this was an isolated incident, not part of its employment policy.[19]

### Covid/quarantine losses

[edit]

During the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent quarantine, Wagamama’s owner, The Restaurant Group closed 250 restaurants, with a loss of nearly 4,500 jobs.[20]

## See also

[edit]

* List of Japanese restaurants

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Wagamama Limited overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". Companies House. 29 April 1991. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
2. ^ "about wagamama". Wagamama. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
3. ^ Brendan Scott (4 November 2010). "Investcorp and Morgan Stanley to tuck into Wagamama". Real Deals. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
4. ^ "Duke Street buys Wagamama from Lion Capital". unquote.com. 1 April 2011. Archived from the original on 5 February 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
5. ^ "Wagamama sold to Frankie & Benny's owner – BBC News". BBC. 30 October 2018.
6. ^ ""Wagamama owner agrees takeover in £701m deal"". The Independent. 12 October 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
7. ^ Witts, Sophie (5 September 2024). "Plans for Wagamama to reach 200 UK restaurants". the caterer.com. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
8. ^ "wagamama.com/franchise". wagamama.com. 7 January 2025. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
9. ^ "restaurant locator | Wagamama". wagamama.us. 7 January 2025. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
10. ^ Eloise Keating (30 September 2014). "Wagamama Australia goes into liquidation as all stores close". SmartCompany.
11. ^ "Noodle chain collapses". InsideRetail. 29 September 2014.
12. ^ Ireland Hendry-Tennent (3 July 2019). "Wagamama closes New Zealand restaurants". Newshub. Archived from the original on 3 July 2019.
13. ^ Rompaey, Stefan Van (19 November 2024). "Wagamama déclarée en faillite en Belgique". RetailDetail BE (in French). Retrieved 24 November 2024.
14. ^ "restaurants – wagamama".
15. ^ "wagamama translation". Jim Breen's JMdict. Archived from the original on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
16. ^ "about wagamama".
17. ^ Smithers, Rebecca (18 November 2015). "More than half of UK's family restaurant chains serving unsustainable seafood". The Guardian.
18. ^ "Wagamama open up and jump up the ratings - Fish2Fork". Archived from the original on 29 November 2016. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
19. ^ "Wagamama apology for 'don't be sick' staff notice". BBC News. 24 December 2017.
20. ^ "Wagamama owner slumps to £235m loss due to Covid lockdown". The Guardian. 6 October 2020.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wagamama.

* Official UK website
* Official US website

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* Angus Steakhouse
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* Belgo
* Bella Italia
* Bill's
* Brewers Fayre
* Byron Hamburgers
* Café Rouge
* Carluccio's
* Chiquito
* Côte
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* Ed's Easy Diner
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* Wagamama
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Fast food|

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Dairy|

* Baskin-Robbins
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Pub chains|

* All Bar One
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Restaurants in London

Current|

* A. Wong
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* The French House, Soho
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* Gourmet Burger Kitchen
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Defunct|

* Angela Hartnett at The Connaught
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Related|

* Chinatown, London
* The Cut, London
* Greek Street

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