Premier Restaurant Equipment Company, LLC.
Premier Restaurant Equipment was a dealer of food service equipment based in Minneapolis, MN. In September 2012, Premier founder, owner, and CEO, Jim Hara, decided he wanted to achieve some liquidity from his equity, but he needed to close a transaction prior to year end 2012 due to forthcoming changes in tax policy. HCP and its partners acquired 75% of the equity of Premier and Jim retained 25% in a transaction that HCP was able to close in 90 days from its initial contact with Premier (very few acquirers could have closed a transaction this quickly). Over the next three years, Jim and his team nearly doubled EBITDA by growing revenue and improving gross margins. In June of 2016, the Boelter Companies, Inc. acquired Premier.
“I was looking for a partner who could close a transaction quickly and who would let me continue to run the business my way post-closing. Hillcrest was the perfect fit. They were able to close the deal within 90 days of when we first contacted them and they did not insist on changes to our day to day operations once the deal was done.”
– Jim Hara, founder and former CEO, Premier Restaurant Equipment Company, LLC