Loungers posts record results as it eyes more sites
CAFE-BAR chain Loungers has reported record results for the financial year in which it opened 36 more sites across the UK.
The Bristol-founded group posted operating profits of £20.3m for the year ending April, 2024, up from £14.7m the year previously.
The company, which operates the Lounge, Cosy Club and Brightside brands, also saw revenues rise by 24.7% to £353.5m and reported like-for-like sales growth of 7.5%.
Loungers said decreasing inflationary pressures combined with increasing scale had allowed the business to make “good progress” towards re-establishing its preCovid margins.
The company, which has opened seven Lounges sites since the year end, said its target of 665 UK sites remained a “conservative one”.
Nick Collins, chief executive of Loungers, said: “This has been another year of outstanding strategic, operational and financial progress for Loungers. Our consistent and market-leading like for like sales growth coupled with our improving margins are allowing us to achieve record levels of profits to reinvest in our ambitious roll-out programme.”
Loungers created 1,200 jobs over the period and invested around £39m in high streets and communities, it said.
“We have demonstrated yet again that the hospitality sector is capable of making a really positive economic and social impact on parts of the country that are otherwise overlooked,” added Mr Collins. He also called on the new government to address the “wildly unfair tax burden” of the business rates system, which he said “urgently needs to be overhauled”.
He added: “The improving macroeconomic
environment, with falling interest rates and declining inflation, adds to our confidence in Loungers’ trading prospects for the coming year.”
Last week, Loungers announced it is working with Bristol social enterprise Babbasa to encourage more young people from disadvantaged backgrounds into the hospitality sector.