Arc announces more growth plans
RESTAURANT and bar group Arc Inspirations has revealed further growth plans as it announces its next two venues to open.
The Leeds-headquartered group, which opened its eleventh site earlier this month – The Pit in Harrogate – will open another bar in Headingley and one in Leeds city centre in the coming months.
It currently has its eleven sites spread over Leeds, Harrogate and York but managing director Martin Wolstencroft said the firm is now looking at new opportunities in Manchester and Sheffield.
He added that the business plans to carry on growing steadily and open three to five new sites a year for the next five years. By 2018, the business hopes to have 20 venues in the North.
“We’ve got very strong succession plans. Next year we will turnover about £19m and this should grow as and when new sites open,” Wolstencroft said.
The next Leeds city centre bar to open will be Manahatta – the original name for New York’s Manhattan before it was discovered by Henry Hudson in 1609 – which will open in October on Merrion Street. The £1.25m investment will see another 60 jobs created bringing the total number of employees in the Arc group to around 500. This will be Arc’s largest financial commitment to one site to date.
The Trio Bar & Grill in Headingley will be the venue for Arc’s next bar to open – The Pit. This will open in the basement of Trio next month and be the fourth Pit bar, following an investment of £400,000 in redesign and construction.
The Manahatta concept is currently being worked on by designers and architects – the theme being ‘industrial glamour.’
Wolstencroft said: “The Pit is a fantastic concept and our customers love it. When we launched The Pit in Harrogate, the first question I was asked was ‘Where will The Pit pop up next?’ We have been aware of the basement at Trio as a perfect location for The Pit’s little sister for some time and our plans will ensure that The Pit Headingley is part of our Trio family but with a very different look.”
