The Big Table Group serves up 'resilient' performance
In its accounts for the 12 months to 30 October 2022 The Big Table Group reported adjusted EBITDA of £12.9m, up by £5.9m on the previous financial year.
Full sales were £206.2m – up from £142.1m in its 2021 figures – despite a difficult year for the hospitality sector, which included Covid restrictions, energy and food price inflation, the impact of the cost-of-living crisis, and the end of reduced VAT and business rates concessions, it says.
“Our full-year results to October 2022 paint a picture of a resilient, efficient business which has been able to withstand significant economic headwinds,” says Alan Morgan, CEO at Big Table Group.
“Whilst we expect the wider hospitality sector to continue to be challenged in the short to medium term, we have a strong balance sheet and are not exposed to the increasing cost of debt that other operators in the sector may be facing.
“With our great range of brands targeting wide demographics, and our national geographic spread, we remain confident that The Group will navigate those challenges and take advantage of the longer-term opportunities we have to capitalise on demand for our growth brands, taking them to more guests in more locations.”
The group says it invested around £11.5m on projects during the last financial year, including new sites, brand conversions and refurbishments. It opened four new Las Iguanas sites, in Southampton, Ealing, Canterbury, and Center Parcs Elveden, two new Bella Italia restaurants, on London’s Shaftesbury Avenue, and at Norwich Riverside, and its second Amalfi restaurant, in central London.
It also undertook 13 major refurbishment projects during the year.
In September 2022 it acquired pan-Asian street food brand Banana Tree and has converted three of its sites to the Banana Tree brand - Covent Garden, the O2 Arena and Haywards Heath – with a fourth site in Reigate opening soon.
Earlier this year the group also trialled its new pasta delivery concept Super Nonna and says the brand will be fully rolled out to more than 80 sites this summer.
