Middletons Steakhouse & Grill set for expansion

Restaurateur Stephen Hutton is set to expand the Middletons Steakhouse & Grill brand as the group prepares to open a new site outside of its East Anglian heartland.

Hutton told BigHospitality that he was planning to open 3-4 restaurants a year over the next three years, and is negotiating on sites in Chelmsford, Lincoln and Nottingham.

Middletons is set to open a flagship £1.5m, 200-cover venue in Leicester next year after securing an ‘iconic’ building in the city centre.

The group will also shortly launch its fifth site - a £500,000 150-cover restaurant - in Watford on 20 November.

“[Watford] has seen a lot of investment and redevelopment which means it is for a prime market for Middletons,” said Hutton.

“It’s also an opportunity for us to grow the brand within the M25.”

He added that the group’s growing success was down to offering customers 'value for money'.

“I think we offer very good food and service at a reasonable price,” he said.

“Our restaurants are all fitted out at a very high quality, which I think our customers enjoy.”

Middletons opened its first site just outside Kings Lynn, Norfolk in 2011, and has since expanded to Colchester, Norwich and Milton Keynes.

Hutton explained that the group had recently improved its offer by opening its own butchery in Middleton to supply its steakhouses nationwide.

He added that the butchery - which gives the group 'complete control' over its supply chain - would grow with the business as more restaurants launched across the UK.