Loungers revenues hit £149.6m in H1

Loungers, the operator of Lounge, Cosy Club and Brightside brands, has revealed that total revenues for H1 ended 1 October reached £149.6m, an increase of 22.3% on the previous year. 

This comes as the restaurant operator delivered one year like-for-like sales growth of 7.7% over the 24 weeks to 1 October. This represented an acceleration from the like-for-like sales growth of 5.7% previously reported for the 12 weeks to 9 July. 

According to the group, its performance for H1 reflects a continuation of its strong like-for-like sales performance since the pandemic, as relative to the 24 weeks ended 6 October 2019, like-for-like sales increased 25%.

In addition, inflationary pressures continued to diminish in line with the group’s expectations.

During H1, the group opened 16 new sites compared with 11 new restaurants in the same period last year. The portfolio now consists of 238 sites. 

One Lounge site has been opened to date in H2, and with a further 17 sites scheduled to open, the group expects to open a total of 34 new sites in Fy24, a record number.

Nick Collins, CEO of Loungers, said: “I am delighted with our strong trading performance across both the mature estate and our new openings. Our consistent sales growth reflects the continued evolution of our offer and the resilience of the UK consumer and high street.

“We have now opened 34 sites in the past 12 months, creating around 1,000 jobs in the process, and 72 sites since the last Covid lockdown. With a great pipeline of further openings in front of us, I have never felt more optimistic about our prospects.” 

He added: “None of this would be possible without our amazing team, and as ever I would like to say a massive thank you to them for their hard work.”