Groupe Lucien Barrière has announced the acquisition of a majority stake in Loulou Groupe, a specialist in high-end catering. This acquisition reflects the increasingly blurred boundaries between hospitality and entertainment, and should enable France’s leading casino operator to rejuvenate its offering.
At the end of September, France’s number-one gaming group (28 casinos) and a benchmark in luxury hotels, catering, leisure and entertainment, announced that it had become the majority shareholder in Loulou restaurants.
Although details of the transaction have not been disclosed, a source close to the matter quoted by Var-Matin suggests that the Barrière group will purchase 53% of the shares, with the remainder being retained by the founders and their associates.
It is understood that, following the sale, the current management team will be maintained and will continue to develop the Loulou sites and brand, as confirmed by the international law firm White & Case LLP, acting as advisors on the buyout.
Loulou Group was co-founded in 2016 by two big names in the restaurant business, namely Gilles Malafosse and Laurent Gourcuff. The former took over the group in 2020 with his sister, Claire. The latter left to devote himself exclusively to the development of Paris Society (Accor Group), his festive restaurant group.
With four establishments in Paris and on the Côte d’Azur, the Loulou group specializes in family-style southern cuisine in a designer setting, and plans to opena new restaurant in Courchevel 1850 this winter.
A strategic alliance
“Two French family adventures, one vision of hospitality: creating places to remember in exceptional locations”.
These were the words used by Grégory Rabuel, CEO of the Barrière group, and Gilles Malafosse, President of the Loulou group, to describe their merger. The owner of Fouquet’s, the Hôtel Le Normandy (Deauville) and the Casino Municipal de Biarritz, on the one hand, and the owner of the restaurant at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs (Paris), the beachside restaurant at Pampelonne and the legendary Le Pirate (Roquebrune – Cap Martin), on the other, have now joined forces. The former wants to rejuvenate its restaurant offering, while the latter wants to accelerate its deployment in France and abroad.
In the opinion of Loulou Groupe’s president, “this alliance will enable the entire team […] to push even further its taste for detail and continue to surprise with its singular identity, which is embodied as much in the cuisine as in the service and creation of exceptional places.”
For his part, the CEO of the Barrière group sees it as a way of “reaffirm[ing] our determination to be a benchmark player in the restaurant and hospitality industry.”
As a first step in this union, the two players in hospitality made in France plan to open Loulou Courchevel in the heart of the Palace Hôtel Barrière Les Neiges Courchevel on December 6.
This 5-star hotel based in Courchevel 1850 is the Barrière group’s first winter sports establishment, inaugurated in 2016 andawarded the Palace distinction in October 2019. It comprises 22 rooms and 20 suites as well asa 310 m²penthouse, and integrates the Spa Diane Barrière. This 1,000 m² space features a hammam, a sauna, a 20-meter pool, a cold bath and an open-air jacuzzi. The palace also boasts its own restaurant offering, with two south-facing terraced restaurants: Fouquet’s, featuring bistronomic classics by chef Pierre Gagnaire , and BFire, orchestrated by Mauro Colagreco, Mirazur’s three-starred chef, showcasing the cuisine of his native Argentina.
Last but not least, this Savoyard-style establishment provides access to the 600 km Trois Vallées ski area, the largest in the world.
While France is Loulou’s exclusive playground, the group is planning a future opening in the Mediterranean sunshine of the Spanish seaside resort of Marbella. This will be Loulou’s first address outside France.
Of Groupe Barrière ‘s 21 hotels and 30 casinos, 5 are outside France. France’s casino leader is also present in Morocco (Le Naoura, Marrakech), the United States (Fouquet’s New York) and Saint Barthelemy (Carl Gustaf) via its hotel offer, as well as in Egypt (El Gezirah) and Côte d’Ivoire (L’Eléphant d’Or, Abidjan) with its gaming rooms. The Barrière group is also currently seeking to develop its Fouquet’s brand in the United States and the Gulf States, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Loulou, a unique family restaurant
Loulou is the entrepreneurial adventure of a duo: Gilles Malafosse and Laurent Gourcuff, then Gilles and Claire Malafosse, siblings and great-grandchildren of Aveyronnais who moved to Paris. These two lawyers eventually decided to follow in the footsteps of their father, owner of the Parisian brasserie Le Flandrin, who passed on the reins of the establishment to them.
In 2016, the duo bought the former Saut du Loup, a gourmet address bordering the Louvre and offering a terrace directly overlooking the Tuileries Gardens. It became Restaurant Loulou with its white parasols at the foot of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs (MAD).
The name of the restaurant, which gave its name to a concept and to the group, was inspired by the fantasy and audacity of Loulou de la Falaise, Yves-Saint-Laurent’s muse. In this vein, Loulou targets a clientele with “a free, hedonistic and erudite spirit that cultivates elegance, discreet luxury and good humor ”, according to the official website.
Loulou’s singular identity is already apparent, with an emphasis on design, with decor by Joseph Dirand featuring Saarinen chairs and touches of the sixties and art deco, plus a drawing by Jean-Charles de Castelbajac and, above all, sunny, generous, simple, family-style cuisine concocted by chef Benoît Dargère, guarantor of the group’s culinary identity. The menu features “dishes from the French and Italian riviera, with a selection of quality products from the South of France, Italy and Sicily”.
Loulou opens its first seaside and seasonal address under the Mediterranean sun in 2019 : Loulou Ramatuelle. The establishment made news in 2023 with Gucci’s Summer Stories pop-up operation. The luxury fashion house put its colors on the deckchairs and parasols of this establishment moored along the famous Pampelonne beach. The design is as meticulous as ever, replacing the immaculate wall molding decor, pilasters and parasols of the Rue de Rivoli with boat sails and an assertive wooden fisherman’s hut style.
Since then, this resolutely chic yet relaxed spirit has spread to other latitudes in France, such as Hôtel Les Airelles in Val d’Isère. Le Pirate, located in Roquebrune – Cap Martin, is Loulou Groupe’s latest acquisition. A veritable jet-set institution in the 1960s, created by Albert Viale, the establishment is said to be the only one where it was possible to break porcelain dishes. Le Pirate, which has welcomed Brigitte Bardot, Frank Sinatra and Gina Lollobrigida as well as a host of crowned heads, was relaunched in 2023.
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Featured Photo: © Loulou Group
