5 key revenue growth takeaways from the 2015 Second 100

Energy Transfer Partners

Convenience stores are an increasingly important provider of foodservice. Last year, Dallas-based Energy Transfer paid $1.8 billion for Stripes convenience stores, which has 583 locations in Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma. That acquisition helped its foodservice revenue triple in the Latest Year.

Apollo

Over the course of a few months in late 2013 and early 2014, Apollo Global Management swapped CKE Restaurants for CEC Entertainment. The big private equity group in 2013 sold Hardee’s/Carl’s Jr. owner CKE Restaurants to Roark Capital, and bought Chuck E. Cheese’s owner CEC Entertainment. Its foodservice revenue understandably plunged, and it fell from No. 27 in the Preceding Year to No. 103 in the Latest Year.

Centre Partners Management

The private equity firm bought Captain D’s in 2013 from Sun Capital Partners. After the deal, terms of which were undisclosed, its foodservice revenue increased nearly 1,200 percent in 2014, making it one of the fastest-growing companies in this ranking.

Consumer Capital Partners

Smashburger continues to be one of the fastest-growing brands in the country, and owner Consumer Capital Partners continues to increase its foodservice revenue as a result. The Denver-based company moved from No. 191 in the Preceding Year to No. 161 in the Latest Year, thanks to a year in which its revenue rose 82.5 percent.

Acon Investments

The current franchising market is enabling some well-financed operators to get big awfully quick, and this is a perfect example. ACON is the private equity group that owns RMH Franchise Holdings, an Applebee’s franchisee that, in recent years, has become one of the largest franchisees in the country. The company rose in foodservice revenue rankings from No. 154 to No. 101 in the Latest Year.