Parent company for Church’s Chicken sells majority ownership to overseas firm

A Washington based US firm, SEAF Caribbean SME Growth Fund has acquired majority ownership interest in Camex Restaurants Inc. in Guyana, which will enable the fast-food restaurant franchisee to push its growth and expansion plans.

The transaction will be completed over the coming week and was made public by a statement from The American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) Guyana Inc. on Tuesday.

Camex Restaurants Inc. is recognized as Guyana’s largest restaurant operator boasting some 28 franchise/locations spread across Guyana with five, brands including Church’s Chicken, Dairy Queen, Pollo Tropical, Mario’s Pizza and Quiznos.

“Founded in 2006, Camex has grown from strength to strength employing at its peak a staff complement of over 380 team members of which approximately 80% are women. It is recognized as a good corporate citizen and has developed a reputation for delivering service and quality products that Guyanese love,” the statement noted.

Having established a presence in Guyana at a strident pace, CAMEX founder Terrence Campbell felt that it was time to bring in an international partner to drive through the next phase of growth.

Mr Campbell is expected to remain very actively involved in the business as Executive Director and Ms. Lisa Insanally will assume the role of Chief Operating Officer.

The new Board of Camex Restaurants Inc. will be Chaired by the Managing Director of SEAF, Mr Kurt Kisto and comprise Directors Terrence Campbell, Jennifer Cipriani, Leo Williams, Floyd Haynes and Zulfikar Ally.

The investment in Camex is the first for the SEAF Fund which was launched last October with its regional office in Kingston Jamaica.

With this new partnership, Camex plans to develop and add new brands to its portfolio, whilst simultaneously expanding operations across the Caricom region.

The SEAF Caribbean SME Growth Fund is a private equity fund which invests growth capital in fast-growing small and medium-sized enterprises throughout the countries of the Caribbean Common Market (Caricom).

SEAF is an investment management group headquartered in Washington D.C. which provides growth capital and business assistance to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in emerging and transition markets, underserved by traditional sources of capital.