Caprice Holdings' sales rise amid 'tough' market conditions

Overall like for like sales across the company, which includes The Ivy collection, Daphne’s in Chelsea and Mayfair’s Sexy Fish, rose 2.1% in the 52 weeks to 31 December 2017.

The group says this was driven by sales increases of 11% at Daphne’s and 4% from The Ivy in what was its centenary year.

Profit before tax was up £0.5m to £9.2m, but adjusted earnings fell £1.3m to £11.1m.

Caprice Holdings says: “Despite a strong sales and gross profit performance, this was more than offset by well-publicised cost increases in a number of key areas for the hospitality industry.

"These included wage costs (4.2% increase in the National Minimum Wage in April 2017 on top of the 7.5% rise in April 2016) and property costs (significant increases in both rent and business rates). In the prevailing tough market conditions, the directors consider the result to be a satisfactory performance.”

New moves​

In an interview with BigHospitality’s​ sister site MCA​ at the end of 2018,​​ Caring bemoaned the group’s ‘unbelievable’ business rates costs. He said the bill for the Ivy Collection in 2018 was £3.3m higher than it was the previous year.

Caring opened around 25 Ivy Collection restaurants in the UK last year, but said in 2019 there will be ‘one or two’ in the face of uncertainty over Brexit.

He is also planning to launch new concept Caprice Café​​, which is expected to be a more accessible version of existing Caprice Holdings restaurant Le Caprice in Piccadilly.