The Guardian reports that Tragus, owner of the Cafe Rouge, Strada and Bella Italia chains, has reported pre-tax losses of £36m despite overall sales revenues being slightly up.
Owned by Blackstone, Tragus has debts of £325 million and, despite utilising discount vouchers to drive traffic and revenues, its losses have almost doubled year on year.
Tragus made a pre-tax loss of £36m (£18 million in 2012) in the 53 weeks to 2 June 2013 on sales of £295m as promotions offering heavy discounts successfully attracted more customers, but damaged margins.
The company states that it is continuing to invest in its restaurants, opening new outlets as well as refurbishing existing ones – it currently has 295 sites.