Las Iguanas to open 35 new restaurants creating over 1,000 new jobs

The Big Table Group, operator of Las Iguanas has announced its intention to open 50 new restaurants and refurbish 70 over the next three years.

The Latin American restaurant’s parent company also operates Bella Italia and Café Rouge, and is investing in excess of £50m in both newly and previously acquired sites, creating 1,250 new jobs in the process.

The group’s ambition is to invest £35m in new openings, which would take the estate to 200 restaurants across the UK, while the company intends to invest a further £19m to refurbish its restaurants, with 70 renovations in the pipeline.

Known primarily for its all day 2-for-1 cocktails and bottomless brunch offering, Las Iguanas opened a site in Plymouth’s Barcode last week, and is set to open its first restaurant in Southampton later this year.

Alan Morgan, Chief Executive, The Big Table Group, said: “Las Iguanas has consistently proven to be an extremely popular choice with consumers, and now is the perfect time to grow the brand across the country, targeting high footfall locations in major towns and city centres.”

Alex Fortescue, managing partner of The Big Table Group parent company, Epiris, added, “We are excited about the growth prospects of The Big Table. With strong recovery in the sector, we are ready to fund additional pipeline opportunities and look forward to expanding our brands.

“Given that we are probably the best capitalised restaurant group in the UK, we represent a compelling partner for landlords.”

While the company’s main priority is the rapid expansion of Las Iguanas, The Big Table is also looking to open new Bella Italia sites, targeting leisure parks as well as town and city centres. All existing Bella Italia sites will be refurbished in the next three years, with renovations also planned for several Café Rouge sites.