Rudy's and Albert's Schloss operator Mission Mars gains new majority owner
Artal-owned Fynveur has bought control of the 44-site group, giving long-standing investor BGF a full exit and keeping chief executive Roy Ellis in charge.
Fynveur, a business owned by Artal, has taken a majority stake in Mission Mars, the company behind Rudy’s Napoletana and Albert’s Schloss, according to BigHospitality.
The deal completed on 28 October 2026. It marks a full exit for BGF, which first invested in Mission Mars in 2018, meaning BGF no longer holds a stake in the business.
The new ownership is intended to speed up the roll-out of the group’s two brands. Between them, they currently trade from 44 sites.
Bank lending from Santander, HSBC and NatWest is helping to fund the transaction through a debt facility. Clearwater advised on arranging that borrowing.
Management stays in place
The existing Mission Mars leadership team, led by chief executive Roy Ellis, will stay on to run the business through its next stage of expansion.
Ellis told BigHospitality that early talks had shown a close match in culture and ambition between Mission Mars, Artal and the team at Invus. He added that the group wants to look at possible strategic acquisitions that could speed up its growth further.
Invus is represented in the deal by managing director Luc Ta-Ngoc. He said the aim was to bring both brands “to more people and places” in the UK.
Openings pipeline
Mission Mars said its five openings during the 2026 financial year are all trading ahead of expectations. The company did not give sales figures.
More sites are planned in the near term. These include the first Rudy’s in Scotland, which was due to open in Glasgow in late October, according to the company.
Eight years of BGF backing
When BGF invested in 2018, Mission Mars operated one Rudy’s and one Albert’s Schloss, both in Manchester. It now runs 40 Rudy’s and four Albert’s Schloss venues across the UK.
Ellis thanked BGF for backing the business in its early stages and supporting it as it expanded across the country.
The shareholders selling their stakes were advised by Houlihan Lokey. DWF, Liberty and Jones Day also provided legal and corporate finance advice to the parties involved.