Crisis, what crisis? Schloss operator boasts bumper Christmas
Bar and restaurant operator Mission Mars seems to have bucked the recent downward trend with a record breaking festive period (27th November to 31st December 2023), with overall Group revenue up 38% to £10.0m, against the same period in 2022. Group like-for-like sales increased by 18% versus the same five-week period in the prior year (2022).
Mission Mars, which owns both the Rudy’s Pizza Napoletana and Albert’s Schloss brands, saw overall Rudy’s revenue grow by 72% to £4.0m, driven by organic growth and new venues performing well. The thirteen pizzerias delivered 23% revenue growth with particularly strong performances in London.
Its three Albert’s Schloss venues, based in Manchester, Liverpool, and Birmingham, saw revenue climb to £5.3m for the five-week festive period, an increase of 24% on prior year.
Commenting on the sales performance, Roy Ellis, Chief Executive, said: “The strengths of both brands, coupled with the hard work of our teams, has helped deliver a record-breaking quarter, including an exceptional Christmas period.
“Over the festive period, pre-booked covers were up 22% on 2023 which helped our team members provide an industry leading Guest Experience score of 81% for the quarter, an increase of 7% versus the same period in the prior year.”
He also said Albert’s Schloss Liverpool has shown strong growth over its first year of trade and was an encouraging sign ahead of the launch of Albert’s Schloss London in June 2024.
This good news seems to stand in contrast to other experiences in the region’s cities, with Greater Manchester Night Time economy adviser Sacha Lord speaking out about a deepening crisis in the sector after Simon Rimmer announced he was shutting the iconic Greens restaurant in Didsbury.
But in other brighter news, live music in pubs and bars appears to draw punters through the doors according to data from Manchester-headquartered live music marketplace GigPig, which provides artists with a free platform to find and get booked for gigs, shows that weekly bookings in pubs, bars and restaurants rose by 37% during the festive period.
London saw a 52% increase on average gig numbers when compared the remainder of the year. Meanwhile, Newcastle saw a 47% increase, Birmingham a 22% rise and Manchester a 14% uplift.
Gigs in the ‘seed’ music industry – those staged in hospitality venues right across the UK – soared 37% nationally over the two-week period over Christmas and New Year (w/c 18th and w/c 25 December 2023); providing a much needed boost for artists and the pubs, bars and restaurants they perform in.
It comes as the Live Music Index, a survey of more than 500 venues and 1,000 artists conducted in conjunction with CGA Nielson, has highlighted that there is appetite for growth in the ‘seed’ music industry this year. A total of 87% of venues plan to increase their music offering in 2024, while nine in ten artists expect to gig more often in hospitality premises in the year ahead.
Artists however have called for more support on logistics to ensure they have a successful year ahead. Top of the list is changes to sound quality and associated technology in venues, followed by a request for venues to better organise their live music offer.
Kit Muir-Rogers of GigPig
Kit Muir-Rogers, Co-founder of GigPig, said: “The festive season is notoriously the busiest time for venues and artists but the last few years have been hampered by world events. That’s why it’s great to see a resurgence this time around. Coupled with the news that venues and artists want to do more in the seed music industry in 2024, it’s an optimistic footing to start the year.
“Undoubtedly there is still a nervousness about cost pressures for many and some will feel a post-christmas slump. My plea is for customers to support the hospitality and music industry throughout the year by visiting venues where artists are on stage in their local venues as much as possible. By making every venue a stage we will keep our cities and towns alive.”
