​AKD has assisted the founder cum shareholder of the Happy Italy restaurant formula with the sale of his enterprise to Restaurant Company Europe (RCE). A Waterland subsidiary, RCE owns a range of restaurant formulas, including Loetje, Beers & Barrels, Stan&Co and Popocatepetl.

The acquisition has been submitted to the ACM competition watchdog for approval.

About Happy Holding B.V.
Happy Holding B.V. is the owner of the Happy Italy restaurant concept. Happy Italy employs over 1,000 staff in more than 20 restaurants all over the Netherlands.

About RCE
RCE owns a number of restaurant chains, including Loetje. The acquisition of the Happy Italy restaurants instantly makes RCE the largest player in the Dutch catering industry  with potential to grow abroad.

Led by Nathalie van Woerkom, the AKD team consisted of Rosanne Vlasveld, Valéry Schaap and others. Tax advice was provided by Anton Akimov and Sjoerd Waagmeester.

The full press release can be found here.