Loungers, the all-day dining group backed by Piper Private Equity, open their 9th Cosy Club site Friday 15 May in a Grade II listed former banking hall in Birmingham. This latest Cosy Club opening, which is the group’s 62nd site overall, is located in a landmark former Midland Bank on Bennetts Hill and follows a £1.1m investment, which is Loungers’ largest investment in a single site to date. The 7,000 square foot site comprises a large bar area, 140-cover dining area, and 2 private rooms and is being billed as a flagship site by the group.
Up to 7 Cosy Clubs to open in 2015
The group has confirmed that another 3 Cosy Club sites are due to open this year with openings in Manchester and Coventry already confirmed. It is understood that, of the 25 sites the group intends to open in 2016, up to 7 will be Cosy Clubs and that sites in Worcester and Bournemouth have already been secured.
High expectations – up to 100 potential locations
On the latest opening Nick Collins, Loungers MD, said, “We’re really excited about the Birmingham Cosy Club opening and have high expectations of the site. We already have 5 Lounges in Birmingham so it’s a city we feel we know well and we’ve got a fabulous site in a rapidly developing part of the city.
“Whilst the primary focus of the business is the continued roll-out of the Lounge café/bar brand, we are beginning to ramp up the expansion of the Cosy Club and we believe there are comfortably 100 Cosy Club locations in the UK.”
Higher Capex, higher performance
Collins confirmed that whilst the CAPEX required to open a Cosy Club is significantly greater than that required to open a Lounge, the group enjoys significant upside on performance. “Average net sales for a Cosy Club are £1.5m” Collins said, “And average site EBITDA is £350k. We fully expect both figures to rise, particularly as more Cosy Club sites are opened.”
Loungers, which opened their 53rd Lounge site in Epsom last month, is due to open Palacio Lounge in Falmouth on Thursday 28 May followed by Toro Lounge in Cirencester on Wednesday 10 June. The group confirmed that further Lounge openings are lined up for 2015 in Wilmslow, Clevedon, Orpington, Urmston, Egham, Amersham, and Newport.
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