Coppa Club owner Various Eateries has reported “very encouraging trading” since reopening in a trading update.
The Hugh Osmond-backed business has reported that like-for-like revenue across the Coppa Club estate was up 21% from full reopening on 17 May through to 3 October 2021 against the same period in 2019. Several Coppa Club sites delivered record sales months.
The company’s Tower Bridge-based Italian brand Tavolino Bar & Restaurant also recorded strong trading since reopening with an increase in monthly like-for-like sales in September 2021 versus the same period in 2019 despite being in the centre of London’s office district.
The group says its business model of opening ‘clubhouses’ that are suitable to be used as work spaces as well as for all-day eating and drinking occasions will enable it to continue to perform well even with fewer people working in offices as a result of the pandemic.
“Since our venues have re-opened we have seen strong demand, particularly at sites outside of London. The way Coppa sites are being used throughout the day alongside the excellent customer feedback we’ve received shows not only the relevance of our brand, but that our underlying proposition is landing exactly as anticipated in a world where people spend less time in the office,” says Yishay Malkov, Various Eateries CEO.
“We have a highly experienced leadership team and a robust, established business; we are well funded, and we have a clear, compelling growth strategy that puts us in a strong position. We will continue to roll-out our concepts in a sensible and sustainable way, and are confident of growing Coppa Club and Tavolino into leading nationwide brands.”
Coppa Club runs 12 venues including Coppa Club Clifton Village, which opened most recently in Bristol in July 2021 and Coppa Club Cobham, which opened in December 2020. The group will open a Coppa Club in Putney next month and has also signed terms on a site in Haslemere, due to open early in 2022.
The group is likely to open a number of other venues next year with several further sites agreed or in advanced negotiations and many others under consideration and says that ‘excellent new sites’ are becoming available in the aftermath of the pandemic. It expects this availability to improve further when the rent moratorium ends in March 2022, it says.
The group’s balance sheet was described as solid, with cash at bank of £19.7m at 3 October 2021.
