• Swindon & Wiltshire Retail
• Tuesday July 9 2024
• Author Name: Peter Davison

Loungers reports record year as sales and profits surge

Hospitality group Loungers has announced a record year for sales and profits.

Revue at the Bristol-based cafe and restaurant chain grew 24.7 per cent year-on-year to £353.5 million, while pre-tax profits rose from £7.3 million to £11.4 million for the 12 months to April 2024.

The group, which started in a former opticians unit in Bristol’s Bedminster in 2002, operates under the Lounge, Cosy Club and Brightside brands.

Over the past year the company says it has opened 36 new outlets, created 1,200 new jobs and invested around £39 million in high streets and communities across the UK.

Its ambition to have 665 sites is now, says the firm, a ‘conservative target’.

The financial good news came with a plea to the new government to overhaul the business rates system.

“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,” said CEO Nick Collins.

He told investors: “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.

“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.

“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 seven million breakfasts and poured six million 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. In the longer term, we continue to believe that 665 sites is a conservative target.”