Be At One to open 20th site

The 17-strong group, which is led by Steve Locke, Rhys Oldfield and Leigh Miller, has completed on a site in Wimpole Street, off Oxford Street, and exchanged contracts on a further two, M&C Report​ understands.

The first is Los Locos in Russell Street, Covent Garden, which will be the group’s first late-night venue in the West End; the second is Cube Bar in Brighton, which will become the company’s second site outside London. It is understood to be in advanced talks on a further regional site.

The Piper-backed cocktail bar chain plans to have reached 23 sites by the end of March.

Confidence​

In the past 12 months, the group has opened five new sites, including Reading, its first site outside London, which is believed to be trading beyond expectations, leading it to focus on expanding outside the capital.

Locke told M&C Report​: “The Reading opening has been a real stormer, achieving mature sales much quicker than we anticipated. The guests seem to have a real appreciation of Be At One’s cocktail offering and service style. This has given us huge confidence to take the offering to other parts of the country.”

Davis Coffer Lyons acted for Be At One on the acquisition of the Wimpole Street site, and Restaurant Property acted on Be At One’s behalf for both the Los Locos and Cube Bar acquisitions.