Loungers cafe bars group sees sales rise 53pc

For the 24 weeks to October 2 revenue was £122.3 million.

Loungers, which has Lounges in the Black Country, Shropshire and Staffordshire, has opened 15 new sites this year and is on track to end the year with 225. It also operates the Cosy Club brand.

It made a pre-tax profit of £2.8m compared to £12.8m for the same period in 2021.

Loungers plans to expand its new site opening capacity to between 32 and 34 sites per year and develop a new roadside brand called Brightside. Contracts have been exchanged to acquire four roadside sites, with the first to open in early 2023.

The positive momentum in sales has continued over the first eight weeks of the group's third quarter, with the business consistently out-performing the sector and achieving strong like-for-like sales growth.

It says while there is no sign of the cost of living pressures abating, it remains optimistic looking ahead to trading over the Christmas period.

Nick Collins, chief executive of Loungers said: "I am delighted with the consistent strength of our sales performance. Our out-performance of the market has continued unabated and reflects both our unique positioning as well as the amazing hospitality and hard work of our teams.

"We aren't immune to the inflationary pressures impacting our sector, but we have worked hard to strike the right balance between growing market share and managing margin pressures. These numbers would suggest we have got the balance about right.

"The short-term outlook is uncertain, but we take confidence from the resilience of current trading in both brands. We are excited about the coming months and are well-placed to take advantage of opportunities through our continued growth.

"Lounge and Cosy Club both have enormous untapped roll-out potential, and we are very excited about the imminent launch of our new roadside brand Brightside."

Floro Lounge opened on Pride Hill in Shrewsbury earlier this year.

There are also branches of the bar in Kidderminster, Lichfield, Wolverhampton, Stafford, Stourbridge, Sutton Coldfield and Telford.