Restaurant group reveals expansion plans for "post-lockdown world"

A UK restaurant group has announced that it is aiming for post-pandemic expansion following a £25m fundraise.

Various Eateries, which owns and operates Coppa Club and Tavolino, completed the fundraise last year and is now looking to develop and acquire more sites across the country.

The company, headquartered in London, said that it is “ideally placed” for post-Covid expansion following the fundraise and “significant” reshaping.

This comes as the group reports a 36 per cent drop in revenue from £25.6m to £16.5m, reflecting the challenges that the hospitality industry has faced over the last year.

Andy Bassadone, executive chairman of Various Eateries, commented: “With a pandemic, a substantial restructuring and our successful fund-raising and listing on AIM, 2020 was a remarkable year for Various Eateries that puts us in an excellent position in 2021.

“The opportunities as we move out of the Covid-19 era are enormous and with strong liquidity, contemporary formats, a compelling growth strategy and a management team with a proven track record of delivery, we are confident in our ability to capitalise on them.

“While lockdowns restricted our ability to trade in the year, sales in the periods we were able to open were above our expectations and bode well for the future.

“Operationally we were also able to make significant progress, with the opening of our first Tavolino and the new Coppa Club in Cobham of particular note.

“Both through closures and new openings, our teams have responded brilliantly and I would like to thank them all for their hard work, patience and understanding in what has been a challenging time for them and their families.

“It has been difficult to watch as the virus continues to devastate our industry, but it has panned out as we expected, validating our approach and making us even more determined to make a contribution to the recovery.

“As soon as we are given the green light by government, we plan to expand the business, to employ more people and to give customers high-quality experiences of hospitality, perfectly suited to a post lockdown world.

“With large sites, extensive outdoor space and all-day offer, Coppa Club is perfectly suited to the increase in remote working and Tavolino is poised to take advantage of the availability of prime high street sites across the UK.

“There will inevitably be volatility as we emerge from the pandemic, but we are expecting a strong bounce back in the sector once restrictions are lifted and look forward to driving growth as soon as circumstances permit.”