Chorion eyes Madrid as profits soar
Chorion is to take Tiger Tiger, its late-night venue brand, overseas to Madrid, marking the company's first foreign foray.
It has identified several sites in the Spanish city and hopes to secure a venue before the end of the year. It also plans to open a Tiger in Dublin.
Chorion revealed its international intentions as it reported full-year results.
The bars and nightclubs division, to be re-named Urbium, doubled its operations last past year and average weekly sales per unit had hit £57,000.
As a result, the division saw profits soar 56 per cent to £9.8m on sales up 67 per cent to £43.4m.
By the end of last year the company had invested £54m in the business with a further £15m set aside for new operations in 2002.
Actual capacity in its venues increased by 53 per cent to 17,600. The company is set to open Tiger Tiger venues in Croydon, Newcastle and Glasgow, and also plans to push the concept into Bristol, Liverpool and Nottingham. Although not immune to the adverse affects of the tourist downturn, the company was relatively unscathed by the events of last year.
Chorion strengthened its London presence with the acquisition of high-profile nightspots Red Cube and Sugar Reef.
A £10m exceptional charge was incurred, relating to the exit from ownership of London's west end amusement arcade, Trocadero.
Chorion is currently demerging its bars and nightclubs' division from its intellectual property arm, which holds the rights to various authors including children's writer, Enid Blyton.
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Demerger spells new name for Chorion (4 March 2002)
