NEWPORT BEACH — Ned Algeo announced his departure from Xperience Restaurant Group (XRG) early this month after five years as the Cypress-based restaurant operator’s chief financial officer.
He has since started his own consulting firm based in Newport Beach, Multipli Capital, to provide financial expertise and services for smaller, independent restaurant businesses in the U.S.
“I think this gives me a great platform to help a lot of businesses grow and reach their goals,” Algeo told the Business Journal.
The executive counts more than 20 years in the finance sector having worked for Boldyn Networks, previously known as Mobilitie; The Wonderful Company and Boeing in financial roles.
At XRG, Algeo served as CFO for the 11th-largest restaurant chain based in Orange County, with $285 million in systemwide sales in 2022. Brands under the company’s portfolio include El Torito, Laguna Beach’s Las Brisas, Sol Cocina and Solita Tacos & Margaritas.
Algeo was named Outstanding CFO of a Private Company at the Business Journal’s 15th annual CFO of the Year Awards in 2022 for leading Xperience through the pandemic.
During the last several years with XRG, Algeo has worked on a handful of acquisitions that have grown the company’s portfolio to 11 brands and currently over 70 restaurants. One of the more recent additions to the fold was its first non-Mexican concept in Texas, a new market.
He said that XRG working with these smaller organizations allowed him to find the right space to pour his expertise into. Algeo said the restaurants were typically founder-owned, “had grown leaps and bounds” with loyal customer bases and still had room to innovate.
“It has always been an interest, but I never felt fully prepared. Or that I knew the right niche that needed my assistance,” Algeo said.
“Then I got to the point where I couldn’t think of a good reason not to do it.”
Investment Umbrella
Whether a restaurant client wants growth through adding new units or chasing acquisitions, it’s the process of obtaining financing, where Algeo believes he can provide support with Multipli Capital.
Algeo is currently in talks with a franchise business located in Florida where if the deal closes, he would potentially take a board membership position in order to provide direct advisement.
Further down the line, Algeo would ideally be gaining ownership of any size in future companies either on his own or through an investor network he says has been built over the last 20 years.
“There are individuals, family offices and groups that are looking for alternative investments, or structures, where they feel part of the investment itself because they know the people actively involved in the business,” he said.
In this first year of business, Algeo said he would like to complete two to three acquisitions to start creating an investment umbrella.
On the other end, the founder would like to build up Multipli’s management consulting staff to take on whatever number of transactions the firm is processing.
