Could the wider expansion of Albert’s Schloss reinvigorate the UK’s struggling nighttime economy?

You just have to take a look at Mission Mars’ recent accounts to see the scale of Albert’s Schloss’s success. In its latest financial results​​ covering the 2023 financial year, the multi-concept group reported revenue growth of 51%, rising to £71.1m from £47.1m the year before. Of this, £32.3m was contributed by its Albert’s Schloss brand (FY22 £21.6m), which at the time would have encompassed just three sites. In contrast, the group’s other core brand, Rudy’s Pizza, provided £29.3m (FY22 £16.1m) off an estate of what would have been around 20 sites at the time.

Both brands were around 15% ahead of their comparable market segments in the Peach Coffer Tracker for the period, according to the accounts. Group adjusted EBITDA (adjusted for one off site opening costs and exceptional costs) for the period was £8.7m (FY22 £5.2m).

Schloss’s success contrasts significantly with the struggles being faced by some of the big hitters in the nighttime economy. Back in May, beleaguered nightclub operator Rekom UK split from its Scandinavian owner​​, the Danish Rekom Group, came under the control of its main lender ACG, and rebranded as NEOS Hospitality. It followed a pre-pack administration​​ that saw the group, which is one of the UK's largest nightclub operators, close 17 sites across its estate.

Another example, Revolution Bars Group, begun its year by shuttering eight of its bars​​, which it attributed to challenging macroeconomic trading environment impacting the sector, compounded by the planned increase in the national living wage in April. Since then, the group has been forced to implement a restructuring plan​​ that will see it offload up to 18 more sites alongside raising up to £12.5m in equity. Without the additional funding and the cost savings delivered through the restructuring plan, the group said it would face liquidity pressures from the first quarter of next year.

Things don’t look much better for the segment’s independent operators. Last month, the Night Time Industries Association, a leading advocacy group dedicated to promoting and enhancing the nighttime economy, warned that many in the industry ‘are barely hanging on’.

So, what is it about Albert’s Schloss that works so well? The Alpine cook haus and Bavarian bier palace brand can be fairly described as a big city concept. Its sites hold between 300 and 500 covers each and operate not only as bars and restaurants, but also as entertainment venues with a daily roster of cabaret performers including singers, drag acts and DJs.

Albert’s Schloss launched in Manchester in 2015 and became a smash hit for its Munich beer hall approach, which led to subsequent openings in Birmingham and Liverpool. And now it’s come to London​​, taking over the former Rainforest Café site in the Trocadero on Shaftesbury Avenue.

Taking on the capital is a risky move for any brand, but one that’ll pay huge dividends if it succeeds. General manager Roísín Finnerty, who has been with the business for six years, is certainly optimistic. Speaking to The Standard​​​, she said: “When you come in, the difference to some places might be stark. It’s just so nice. As the night goes on, the music goes up, and you sort of lose yourself to it. It becomes a party. What Schloss does happens in constituent parts of London, but you can’t get everything under one roof. So if there’s a gap to fill there, we’re plugging it.”

Further expansion by Schloss has already been mooted, with Mission Mars currently negotiating on a number of potential new locations. The question is, given that it’s now got a foothold in the London market, where could it go next? Edinburgh is a reasonable guess, so too is Newcastle.

As the UK’s nighttime economy continues to struggle, could Albert’s Schloss offer an opportunity to reinvigorate the market in cities across the UK? One wonders whether a site in one of the smaller southern cities, say Portsmouth or Brighton – both of which boast an expansive nighttime economy – could even work. What’s definite is that there’s still plenty to come from the Bavarian bier palace brand. The party is just getting started.