Rosa’s Thai Café pushes on with expansion

The Trispan-backed Thai restaurant group, which operates venues in Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds as well as across London, is pushing ahead with its expansion plans, saying it has remained 'cash generative' over the past 12 months thanks to 'significant' delivery and takeaway sales. 

In its latest accounts, which cover the 52 weeks to 29 March 2020, the 24-strong group said it expects to continue its expansion plans by opening three to six new sites this year, whilst also pursuing opportunities to grow its presence in the delivery-only space.

The company expects around half of these new sites to be in London, and half outside the capital, with previous openings in Liverpool and Leeds 'showing that the concept is well-received outside London'.

During lockdown periods, Rosa’s has continued to operate more than half of its estate with delivery and takeaway, which has generated 'significant revenues' and means the business has not been forced to take on emergency debt in order to support its operations. As a result its ambition to significantly grow the estate 'remains intact'.

However it also said that changes in trading patterns, and splits between eat-in and delivery during this period and forward looking, may force the group to re-evaluate the viability of some sites and the rent each site is able to carry.

The group opened its first delivery-only kitchen last year in Crouch End, and has since established a further three locations in Blackwall, Croydon and Reading.

Over the 52 weeks to 29 March 2020, Rosa’s generated £19.6m in sales, up from £16m in 2019, while EBITDA dipped slightly to just under £2m.

The business opened three new sites, in Trinity Centre in Leeds, Clapham, and Deansgate, Manchester, and has recently announced it will be joining the line-up at Birmingham’s Paradise project​​ for its fourth site outside London.

Opening in Two Chamberlain Square, the new venue will have 80 covers and operate for lunch and dinner seven days a week when the eight-story office building is completed later this year.