The Keg Royalties Income Fund Announces Temporary Closure of all Keg locations

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Keg Royalties Income Fund (the “Fund”) (TSX: KEG.UN) and Keg Restaurants Ltd. (“KRL”) today announced the temporary closure of all 107 Keg locations across Canada and select US states. This becomes effective as of the close of business, Tuesday, March 17th. The City of Toronto is the exception, as the city has directed all dining room and bars close at midnight on Monday, March 16th. Senior leadership of KRL anticipate the closure will be no less than two weeks, but will provide more updates as the situation evolves.

“As we have seen over recent weeks, the global spread of COVID-19 is impacting us all. Like most, we have been carefully monitoring the progression and have been strictly following the advice of both Canada and US public health authorities. At The Keg, our Guests have always been at the core of what we do and why we do it,” says David Aisenstat, CEO, of KRL. “The health and safety of our Guests and Keg employees continues to be our highest priority. As the virus continues to spread in communities across Canada and the US, we have made the difficult but important decision to close all of our restaurants in the communities we are a part of.”

Senior leadership of KRL is also committed to the well-being of its approximately 10,000 passionate Keg employees, including those who will be out of work during the closure. They are sensitive to the implications of this decision on staff and will continue to support them by providing resources to minimize their financial burden.

“For almost 50 years, the success of The Keg has always come from a culture of togetherness that we have collectively built. Now more than ever, we need to ensure our Keg family feels comfortable and safe. We will get through this together,” says Mr. Aisenstat.

The Fund (TSX: KEG.UN) is a limited purpose, open-ended trust established under the laws of the Province of Ontario that, through The Keg Rights Limited Partnership, owns certain trademarks and other related intellectual property used by Keg Restaurants Ltd. (“KRL”). In exchange for use of those trademarks, KRL pays the Fund a royalty of 4% of gross sales of Keg restaurants included in the royalty pool.

Vancouver-based KRL is the leading operator and franchisor of steakhouse restaurants in Canada and has a substantial presence in select regional markets in the United States. KRL continues to operate The Keg restaurant system and expand that system through the addition of both corporate and franchised Keg steakhouses. KRL has been named one of the “50 Best Employers in Canada” for the past seventeen years by Aon Hewitt. For more information on our brand, visit www.kegsteakhouse.com.

This press release may contain certain "forward looking" statements reflecting The Keg Royalties Income Fund's current expectations in the casual dining segment of the restaurant food industry. Investors are cautioned that all forward looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including those relating to the Keg’s ability to continue to realize historical same store sales growth, changes in market and existing competition, new competitive developments, and potential downturns in economic conditions generally. Additional information on these and other potential factors that could affect the Fund's financial results are detailed in documents filed from time to time with the provincial securities commissions in Canada.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, which may be made only by means of the prospectus, nor shall there be any sale of the Fund units in any state, province or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any state, province or jurisdiction. The Keg Royalties Income Fund units have not been, and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an application for exemption from the registration requirement under U.S. securities laws.

The Trustees of the Fund have approved the contents of this press release.

For media inquiries contact:
Nick Dean, President
Tel: 416-695-2400
[email protected]  www.kegincomefund.com