Hard Rock Cafe to go international

Press, 9 March 1987, Page 30

Hard Rock Cafe to go international

By

PETER SZEKEL

of Reuter (through NZPA) Washington The Hard Rock Cafe, with its basic American cuisine, loud rock ’n’ roll and trendy reputation, became a London institution, and is now seeking United States investors to help it finance a worldwide chain of eateries. From its humble origins in June, 1971, as a dimlylit London restaurant offering Britons thick hamburgers and Ameri-can-style mixed drinks until long past closing time at the pubs, the Hard Rock Cafe grew into a hangout for rock superstars and soon became one of the city’s hot spots. ■ The cafe’s gamble that rock ’n’ roll was here to stay paid off. By the early 1980 s its patrons, includ-

ing many American tourists, were lining up around the block to get in.

It features one of the world’s most extensive collections of rock memorabilia, including Elvis Presley’s original tour jacket, Eric Clapton’s “Layla” guitar and Ringo Starr’s autographed snare drum.

In the last few years, the cafe has opened restaurants in New York, Stockholm, Dallas, and Houston.

Now it says it plans to open more restaurants offering the same Ameri-can-style food and pipedin rock music in several cities in the United States, Europe, arid Asia, including Boston, Washington, D.C., and Reykjavik. To help finance its expansion, the company, known officially as the Hard Rock Cafe P.L.C.,

said it plans to offer United States investors 2,240,000 American depositary shares, each of which represents five of its Class A ordinary shares.

The shares would be traded on the American Stock Exchange and the company estimated their offering price would be $l4 to $l6.

In spite of the public offering, the company’s top officers and board of directors would retain voting control. The Hard Rock Cafe’s officers and eight board members, who include the actor-comedian, Dan Aykroyd, would control about 60 per cent of the company’s outstanding stock. In its most recent fiscal year ended June 30, 1986, the company said it had net income of SUSI. 6 million on revenues of SUSIB.S million. Increasingly more of its revenue has been coming from its merchandising of items such as T-shirts sporting its logo. Its merchandising revenues represented barely more than 1 per cent of total sales in 1982 but have soared to almost half of the total.