Arc Inspirations to open venues in Birmingham, Newcastle and Nottingham

08-Mar-2023 - Last updated on 08-Mar-2023 at 15:50 GMT

Bar operator Arc Inspirations will open venues in Birmingham, Newcastle and Nottingham in what it describes as a period of growth for the company.

The company, which owns the Manahatta, BOX and Banyan brands, will open the three venues before December.

The first will be a BOX in Birmingham’s Brindleyplace in early June, marking the group’s 20th site. Located on the site of a former PizzaExpress, the new restaurant will replicate the two-floor design of the brand’s Deansgate, Manchester, site.

Following this, the Leeds-based operator will open a BOX in Nottingham in the 12,000sq ft former All Saints store on Thurland Street and a Manahatta in Newcastle at a former Allied Irish Bank branch on Collingwood Street in the city.

ARC, which recently opened a Manahatta in Sheffield (pictured), has reported a strong Christmas period with total like-for-like sales for the six weeks to the end of 2022 across its three brands up by 3.2% on 2021, and 25.5% on 2020. Pre-booked sales accounted for a record 49% of total sales, it says.

Last year the company secured a £19m investment from the Business Growth Fund, which it said would accelerate its growth.