Guzman y Gomez lists in Australia with $2b valuation

Shares close up 36% at A$30, with most of the money raised to fund expansion plans

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When Mr Steven Marks moved to Australia in the early 2000s, he was struck by the quality of Mexican food. It was, in his opinion, dismal. The American, a veteran of US hedge fund SAC Capital and later Cheyne Capital in London, was so appalled with the burritos and tacos that he E resolved to start his own restaurant.

In 2006, Mr Marks and childhood friend Robert Hazan opened the first Guzman y Gomez (GYG) in Newtown, a suburb in Sydney's Einner west. Eighteen years later, GYG has 185 restaurants in Australia, 17 in Singapore, five in Japan and four in the US, boasting network sales of A$759 million in 2024.