Loungers hits £153m revenue in the last 12 months

06-Jun-2019 - Last updated on 06-Jun-2019 at 08:40 GMT

'Landmark year': Growing brand Loungers put on 26.4% in revenues

The operator of behind 148 Cosy Club and Lounge bar sites across the UK revealed a £31.9m year-on-year increase in revenue during the 52 weeks ended 21 April.

According to its latest trading statement café, bar and restaurant operator Loungers revealed that total revenue for the year to 21 April had risen by 26.4% to £153m, and a rise in like-for-like sales in the same period of 6.9%.

A statement from the company attributes this success to the fact its Cosy Club and Loungers sites’ food and drink offering appeals to an “increasingly broad demographic”, providing a “relaxed home-from-home customer proposition”.

Over the same 52-week period, Loungers opened 25 new sites, comprising 22 Lounges and three Cosy Clubs, taking the total number of sites to 146. Since 21 April, Loungers has opened two more: Panero Lounge in Southsea, Hampshire, and Falco Lounge in Barnsley, South Yorkshire.

According to its latest statement, Loungers is on course to open 25 new sites in the current year in line with comments made by the company’s co-founder Alex Reilly, who previously claimed that Loungers had the potential to expand to 500 venues.

Real momentum

Discussing the results, Loungers’ CEO Nick Collins explained: “This has been a landmark year for Loungers, delivering continued strong like-for-like growth and 25 new site openings, alongside taking the group public.

“We remain excited about the opportunities ahead in the new financial year with good momentum in both brands, some fantastic sites in the pipeline and a real energy in the business following the IPO.”

The group expects to announce its full-year results on 28 August 2019.

Growth of all-day premium venues

According to CGA Insight and AlixPartners’ latest quarterly Market Growth Monitor published in May, pubs and bars that have a “premium-leaning” offer and “flex” their operation to suit different times of day have been particularly successful in the past 12 months.

As such, the number of premium bars and licensed cafés has increased by 4.1% in the year to March 2019.

Discussing the trend, AlixPartners' managing director Graeme Smith explained: “Keys to success have been an experiential offer paired with a distinctive drinks proposition, and many have also developed a high-quality food offer that is taking share from traditional casual dining operators.

“The success of Loungers’ recent float is testament to this, and we expect to see renewed private equity interest in the premium bar sector over the next 12 months.”