Restaurant Group’s hunger for more openings

The Restaurant Group has more than 400 outlets, including 18 in Yorkshire.

It has already opened 13 new outlets in 2012 and expects this figure will rise to between 25 and 30 over the year, including as many as 14 Frankie & Benny’s sites.

With most of its restaurants in out-of-town retail parks and many near cinemas, the group is insulated from the troubles of the high street while it has also benefited from the enduring popularity of movies.

Like-for-like sales increased by 3.25 per cent in the first half of the year – a trend it has maintained in recent weeks –- while pre-tax profits increased by 7 per cent to £26.1m in the six-month period.

Chairman Alan Jackson said the group’s portfolio of brands, which also includes London-based Garfunkel’s, had “very wide appeal”.

He added: “The results for the first half are strong, particularly against the backdrop for consumer-facing businesses.”

Chief executive Andrew Page said: “We have a fantastic team which has worked very hard to deliver this performance and they will all be looking to build on this during the second half.”

The group said Frankie & Benny’s, which operates from 209 units, traded strongly in the first half of the year.

Chiquito’s 69 outlets delivered increased revenues and profits, while Garfunkel’s “traded well” from its 25 sites, followed by a solid performance in July and August when the Olympic Games impacted on trading patterns.

Restaurant Group said it was delighted with the performance of its first American-themed Coast to Coast outlet at Brighton marina.

It recently opened a second in Newcastle and a further restaurant will open in October in Stevenage alongside an existing Frankie & Benny’s and Chiquito.

The group added: “We believe that this brand has good potential, is scaleable and capable of delivering strong returns.”

New openings in the company’s 42-strong pub restaurant estate are performing considerably ahead of expectations, the group added.