Sales rise and losses narrow for TRG following ‘transformational year’

In its financial results for the year ending 31 December 2023, the group saw revenue rise to £824m from £717m the year before, with pre-tax losses narrowing from £29.1m to £19.6m.

The period was marked by the disposal of the group’s leisure division​​, which comprised 75 sites primarily under the Frankie & Benny’s and Chiquito brands, to Big Table Group.

This led to US private equity house Apollo Funds acquiring the remaining TRG business for £506m​​, which saw the group delisted from the London Stock Exchange.

Noting a ‘strong operational performance’, operating profit from TRG’s continuing operations, which excludes the leisure division, increased to £29.8m in 2023 from £4.6m in 2022.

Dine-in sales across all the group’s remaining divisions rose on a like-for-like basis with Wagamama seeing 11% growth, Brunning & Price pubs reporting a 10% uplift and the group’s concessions business recording a 29% rise.

“2023 was a genuinely transformational year for TRG,” says Andy Hornby, CEO of TRG.

“We traded strongly throughout the year thanks to the phenomenal efforts of our restaurant and pub teams.

“We completed the post Covid re-shaping of the business with the divestment of our leisure division to Big Table Group.

“Finally, the acquisition of TRG by a shareholder with the scale and expertise of Apollo marks a hugely exciting new chapter for the business.”

Hornby describes the group’s strategic progress since the acquisition by Apollo as ‘pleasing’ with expansion planned across all divisions.

TRG is on track to open 10 new Wagamama restaurants this year and has now acquired 100% control of the brand’s US business.

In the long-term, TRG has ambitions to scale the brand to ‘a targeted 200 to 220 restaurants’ in the UK from a base of 161 sites.

Over in the US, where it currently operates eight Wagamama restaurants, the aim is to target an overall estate size of 20 to 30 sites by December 2027; while work is also being done to accelerate the group’s wider international footprint.

“Whilst the consumer backdrop in the UK, USA and Europe remains challenging, we remain confident in the potential to continue growing Wagamama, Brunning & Price and TRG Concessions in the years ahead,” Hornby adds.