Novus Leisure reports 32% growth in food sales
Revealing its performance for the 53 weeks to 27 June, the company behind the Tiger Tiger chain of bars said it had posted a profit of £16.7m, a jump of 50 per cent.
While overall sales grew by more than 25 per cent and all parts of the business are now in double digit growth, food sales delivered one of the biggest improvements for the company.
Food accounts for 40 per cent of sales in Tiger Tiger and the Lewis & Clark hybrid food-led bars, whilst meals account for 50 per cent of revenues in sites under the premium wine bar concept Balls Brothers.
Pre-bookings
"Our market leadership in London and on-going appeal of our premium venues to the affluent 25-33-somethings, together with a high food element and our pre-eminence in generating revenue from our pre-bookings system have all contributed to our ability to significantly outperform the market," Steve Richards, Novus Leisure chief executive, said today.
Pre-booked sales continue to drive growth for the whole company with income generated through its pre-booking system accounting for more than half (55.1 per cent) of total revenues; a figure that jumps to over 70 per cent during the festive period.
"We anticipate that the London market will remain buoyant for the foreseeable future and over the next few weeks we are looking forward to a strong Christmas performance," Richards added.
The strong performance figures are the first indication of the strength of the bar and nightclub operator since it was acquired for £100m in July by new investors LGV Capital and Hutton Collins.
London double
Over the next year the company, which also operates landmark west end venues and the Jewel Bars brand, expects to invest £1m in its digital strategy, in part to develop an app for the latenightlondon.co.uk portal.
It also has plans to expand its estate - mainly in London but also to other core cities such as Manchester, Bristol and Leeds.
"We have a growth strategy backed by LGV Capital and Hutton Collins to double our central London portfolio over the next few years," Richards explained.
"With access to significant funding from our new owners we will strengthen our existing cluster footprint by acquiring between 30 and 40 outlets over the next few years, enhancing and extending Novus’ market leading position in the London premium bar market," he concluded.
