The co-founder of China’s would-be Starbucks rival Luckin Coffee, Lu Zhengyao, is seeking to distance himself from his network of other companies to help them weather the fallout from a scandal at the beverage group.
Like Luckin Coffee, which attracted investment from foreign companies such as BlackRock, Mr Lu’s other businesses — which include China Auto Rental, China’s largest online car rental company, and Ucar, a chauffeur-car service — count overseas companies such as Warburg Pincus among their investors.
In an interview with the Financial Times, company executives said Mr Lu would consider stepping down as chairman of China Auto Rental as one of a number of measures aimed at convincing investors of the group’s independence from Luckin Coffee.