TMG Ventures’ recent acquisition of Mikey’s Original New York Pizza, known as‘The Home of the 18” Pizzas’ and serving quality New York-style pizza by the slice; and NY Burger Co, a brand offering wholesome, authentic and hearty New York burgers, is set to boost the local food and beverage (F&B) franchise industry by opening up affordable franchise opportunities.
The acquisition of these two American-inspired brands by TMG Ventures (TMGV), Asia Pacific’s pioneer F&B merger and acquisition company, comes on the heels of a strategic partnership with Perbadanan Nasional Bhd (Pernas), a company owned by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated, to further catalyse the growth of Malaysia’s F&B and franchise industry and to help local brands tap into the Asia Pacific F&B eating-out industry. The Pernas partnership was entered into with FBE Ventures, the holding company of TMGV.
Dato’ Sri Subahan Kamal, Executive Chairman of TMGV said, “The acquisition of Mikey’s Original New York Pizza and NY Burger Co is among the first successful outcomes of our partnership with Pernas to catapult homegrown ‘franchisable’ brands with good growth potential to greater success. By creating Malaysian franchises with global standards, we aim to elevate these brands towards a regional and international audience.”
Prior to this, TMGV successfully acquired brands such as The Majapahit, a highly regarded fine-casual restaurant that serves pan Southeast Asian cuisines; Tail & Fin, a Las Vegas-born fast-casual Japanese fusion restaurant; and Wings of the World, which serves chicken wings tossed with flavours from around the world.
In addition to escalating the acquired brands into franchises, TMGV also has a working relationship with ZING, a food and technology company that is rapidly scaling its innovative digital foodhall concept in Southeast Asia; this standing arrangement provides an immediate seamless expansionary plan for any brand under the ambit of TMGV.
Both Mikey’s Original New York Pizza and NY Burger Co are the brainchild of native New Yorker, Michael Helfman, who in 2013 was inspired to bring the ‘New York slice’ to Kuala Lumpur with the help of famous and passionate New York Pizza Chef, Andrew Bellucci, who incidentally, built his own pizza oven here, and operated on the premise of making the best New York pizzas with the finest ingredients available. Together with the introduction of their second brand, NY Burger Co, the duo extended the best of New York food heritage to consumers via its current full scale outlets in 1 Mont Kiara, Plaza Batai and Citta Mall in the Klang Valley. Additionally, both brands have 10 other outlets each, which were expanded via the ZING platform.
Speaking for the two brands, Michael Helfman said, “The acquisition by TMGV gives our brands a distinct advantage as we are now part of a larger F&B group. We are excited to experience how TMGV’s dynamic business model can drive our brands to greater success.” As the deal was completed with a combination of cash and shares, Michael Helfman will stay on as shareholder and advisor to the group.
Manichel Subra, Executive Director of TMGV, added that the company welcomes interested franchisees to explore this unique and result-driven opportunity. “We have intentionally positioned an affordable franchise investment plan to help address the current business climate. Our low-entry yet profitable business opportunity also addresses the conventional expansion and growth issues faced by brands. Our business model is also very much in line with the Malaysian government’s pro-franchise policy that aims to establish the nation as the franchise hub for ASEAN.”1
According to the Franchise Business Annual Report, the sales value of franchise companies increased by 9.7% to RM14.6 billion in 2020 from RM13.3 billion in 2019.2 In 2018, total sales stood at RM11.16 billion.1
