Living Ventures ramps up roll-out

LIVING Ventures boss Tim Bacon has revealed further roll-out plans for this year as the leisure company targets growth in this region and beyond.

The Cheshire company says it is also ready to engage with potential investors to drive the growth of its brands – as it has already with subsidiaries Gusto and The New World Pub Company.

Bacon, one of Manchester’s most successful operators, has no fewer than 11 sites in the city centre and 37 in total, is opening more than a dozen new sites this year, including two in Liverpool, up to three in Birmingham (Botanist, Alchemist and Gusto), two in Leeds (Gusto, Alchemist) and four in Glasgow (Botantist, Artisan, Alchemist and Gusto).

With high employment, wages rises and household costs falling, there has been something of a boom time for the leisure sector in the last 18 months as national and legal operators pile in to London and major regional cities like Manchester.

Bacon said: “We have a range of sites here, from the pub (The Oast House) right up to (fine dining restaurant) Manchester House, and all are in growth. It’s quite phenomenal, sometimes you think ‘we’re at saturation point’, but then you realise we are nowhere near it.

“The growth in the economy is good news, but it does mean the property market is fiercly competitive. London is particularly challenging in that respect as you don’t want to over-pay.”

He said group sales across the business before VAT would be £85m this year and “several hundred” jobs would be created with the planned openings.

Regarding the strategy of bringing in external investors – most recently Palatine Private Equity took a majority stake in Gusto – Bacon said: “There is no secret that if there is a partner who can help us accelerate growth in our brands we will look at it.

“We have been very careful to lay the foundations for this by giving each their own MD and finance team and also some autonomy. We started this about 18 months ago, and the reason is that people want to progress and we want to be able to unleash them and so they can see that there is opportunity for them with us to move up and potentially be an owner of the business.

“I think it’s a wonderful model. If you can harness the talent you have with 1,400 people, it’s amazing what you can acheive.”