ATLANTA—Kings Family Restaurants has been trying to find the right buyer for 12 properties in Atlanta for a long time. The restaurant brand finally sealed a creative sale-leaseback deal with a private equity group based in California.

Andrew Ackerman, managing director at Sands, represented the buyer. The firm also provided $17 million in acquisition sale-leaseback financing necessary to close.

“The Kings Family Restaurants are well-regarded in Pennsylvania but the time had come to put some value back into the chain,” says Ackerman. “The buyer recognized that these assets were under-utilized and that there was a greater opportunity to increase cash flow with the right operational changes. The acquisition sale-leaseback formula was a win-win for all parties in that it created the necessary capital to finance the long-term plans for the restaurants.”