Revenues soar to £353m at fast-growing restaurant chain

Restaurant chain Loungers saw another year of soaring revenues as it continues to open venues across the country.

The firm, which was launched in Bristol just over 20 years ago, achieved record revenues of £353.5m, an increase of 22 per cent.

A record 36 new sites opened during the year, seven sites more than in the prior year bringing the total to 250.

Adjusted EBITDA was £59.6m representing year on year growth of more than 25 per cent.

The company said falling inflationary pressures combined with increasing scale saw it make good progress towards re-establishing pre-Covid margins.

There was a record number of new site openings which delivered consistently high sales and profits.

There is a strong pipeline of new sites, with the capability to maintain the current rate of openings.

Loungers said the current performance continues to demonstrate the target of 665 sites across the UK is a conservative one.

Chief executive Nick Collins said: “This has been another year of outstanding strategic, operational and financial progress for Loungers.  Our consistent and market-leading like for like sales growth coupled with our improving margins are allowing us to achieve record levels of profits to reinvest in our ambitious roll-out programme.

“During the year, we opened 36 new sites, created 1,200 new jobs and invested around £39m in high streets and communities across the UK.

“We have demonstrated yet again that the hospitality sector is capable of making a really positive economic and social impact on parts of the country that are otherwise all-too-often overlooked.

“To encourage further investment, I would strongly urge the new government to address the wildly unfair tax burden that is shouldered by our industry in the form of a business rates system that urgently needs to be overhauled.

“The variety, breadth and flexibility of our all-day offer is proving to be more relevant than ever, and last year our wonderful teams served 7m breakfasts and poured 6m pints to an increasingly wide demographic.

“As the business grows, we are constantly evolving and improving our menus to ensure that we continue to offer our customers the great experience and fantastic value for money that they have come to expect from us.

“The improving macroeconomic environment, with falling interest rates and declining inflation, adds to our confidence in Loungers’ trading prospects for the coming year. ”

Loungers operates through its three established brands – Lounge, Cosy Club and Brightside.

Loungers made its debut in the North East with the opening of Martino Lounge in Morpeth, which was followed by further Lounge openings in the region in Hexham and Cramlington.

The firm pushed further into the North West with openings in Penrith and Carlisle.

It also continued to expand in its established heartland in the South West, with Barolo Lounge in Yeovil and Costero Lounge in Paignton.

As a result of the well-documented struggles of the UK high street, property availability has never been better, and Loungers continue to be able to negotiate very favourable terms.

Bank closures are providing the company with excellent prime pitch locations in towns and suburbs across the country.

Lounge openings in Nantwich, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, and Yeovil were all examples of this trend.

Lounders have lined up at least seven former banks to be converted to Lounges with openings in Newmarket and Saffron Walden being particularly noteworthy due to the historic nature of the buildings.

At the beginning of the new financial year, the company acquired the Pitcher and Piano sites on Bristol harbourside and in the centre of Sheffield.

The former is currently being converted into Ritorno Lounge which will open in mid-July and will be the largest and most ambitious Lounge to date, right in the heart of Bristol’s busiest waterside pitch.

Mid-July will also see the firm finish the conversion of the Sheffield site into a Cosy Club in a location that the company originally tried to secure, unsuccessfully, when the development was being built.