(Yicai Global) Dec. 28 -- Carnival Group International Holdings Ltd. has sold off the unit that manages its Golden Jaguar buffet chain to an independent party for HKD280 million (USD36 million) after years of losses.

The investment firm sold Nice Race Management Ltd. to Basic Astute Ltd., a limited liability partnership registered in the British Virgin Islands, the seller said in a recent statement.

Golden Jaguar was profitable in the past and a considered benchmark for high-end buffets, but has lagged in recent years. Suppliers rushed its Beijing restaurant in June, demanding money after it failed to pay off credit. The buffet chain had 13 eateries in China as of the end of last year, half as many as it had in its prime.

European private equity group Apax Partners paid HKD1.5 billion for the brand in 2011, then Carnival Group picked it up for just HKD253 million in June 2015. The new owner began shutting loss-making restaurants, but performance was still poor. Carnival lost over HKD72 million last year on revenue of HKD439 million, according to its annual report.

Founded in Taiwan in 1991, Golden Jaguar entered the mainland in October 2003 with a flagship restaurant in Shanghai. It then began to operate luxury buffets with eateries averaging over 7,000 square meters in area.