Café-restaurant chain Loungers has seen its revenues increase by 22.3% to just under £150m and the addition of 16 new site openings.
The company, which was founded in Bristol, announced results for the 24 weeks ended October 1 2023.
The restaurant chain, which operates Lounge and Cosy Club, for the period ended October 1 reported revenue of £149.6m compared to £122.3m during the 24 weeks to October 2 2022. Pre-tax profits increased from £2.83m to £3.94m, while adjusted EBITDA was up from £19.3m to £23.9m.
In a statement the company said it has seen “consistently strong trading” driven by both its mature estate (with like-for-like sales 25% ahead of pre-covid levels) and new sites. It highlighted a “continued evolution of our offer”, including further food menu innovation and the introduction of a new blended drinks and iced coffees range. It said that headline four-year like-for-like sales growth of 25% is “testament to the strength of our brands, the flexibility of our offering, and the quality of our teams”.
The company said that margins were benefiting from an easing of inflationary pressures and on track to return to pre-covid levels. It said that its new site roll out accelerated with 16 sites opened in the period (H1 2023 11 sites) – 14 Lounges and two Brightsides, and that these new sites were performing “very well and the pipeline remains strong”.
The business said it has continued to “trade well” over the first eight weeks of the third quarter, with like-for-like sales growth across the 32 weeks to 26 November of 7.6%, A further six sites have opened post the 1 October half year end – five Lounges and one Cosy Club. The company said: “With the consumer remaining robust and continuing evidence of moderating inflationary pressure we are optimistic as we look ahead to the Christmas trading period.”
Nick Collins, chief executive of Loungers said: “This has been another period of strong financial and operational growth for Loungers. The fact that we have delivered increases of 22.3% and 23.6% in our revenue and EBITDA respectively should be taken as yet another reminder that it is not all doom and gloom in the UK hospitality sector. We are living proof that businesses which can provide outstanding hospitality, great food and drink and excellent value are still capable of thriving, and we see more growth potential for Loungers than ever before.
“Our accelerated site roll-out programme continues at pace, and we are on track to open 34 in FY24, which means that we will end the year with more than 250 sites. The opening of every new Lounge means an investment of nearly £1m into the local high street, and the increased footfall creates a positive knock-on effect on all of the businesses around us. By the end of 2023, we will have added another 1,000 people to our team during the year, and we are particularly pleased that one in eight of those new jobs is in areas that the government wants to ‘level up’ by creating better opportunities and standards of living.”
