A LIKELY SIGN of Press Up’s success is that the same question tends to arise when the company is in the news.
“Hang on – how many places does this crowd own?”
The scale at which the firm took over or opened what seemed like half of Dublin’s most prominent hospitality venues is slightly mind-boggling.
Just in restaurants alone, the firm was behind Wowburger, Elephant & Castle, Captain Americas, Mama Yo, Isabelle’s.
Then there’s the string of pubs, the Workman’s club on the quays, the Stella cinema in Rathmines… You get the idea.
All in, at its height Press Up was estimated to own about 50 venues and employ over 1,000 staff, making it one of Ireland’s biggest hospitality companies.
But that was then. Last week, it was confirmed that Press Up is effectively being taken over by Cheyne Capital, a London-based asset management firm.
Several of Press Up’s restaurants …