A welcome boost for bar group as city nightlife revellers return

The firm, which owns four bars in Leeds and one in London, turned over 3.5m for the 12 months to May.

Ged Feltham, who runs the group with fellow directors Paul Lane and Jake Burger, said Leelex had seen significantly more customers in September and October, since the year-end, which he put down to a wider economic recovery as well as Britons wanting to enjoy normal life.

Now there are plans to open another bar in the capital.

Mr Feltham, managing director, said the outlook for midweek custom remained uncertain but revenue had returned to the levels last seen in 2008.

"To be honest, I think people are fed up with being told how awful things are.

"No-one can predict exactly what will happen in the New Year, and for our customers, that means whether they will be able to have a holiday, ever buy a house or even still have a job – so it's very much the here and now attitude – enjoy today as you don't know what tomorrow brings."

Leelex, set up 10 years ago, has a series of fashionable bars which are seen as being aimed at discerning drinkers and partygoers.

The group owns Jake's Bar & Grill, Oporto and Neon Cactus in central Leeds, and Angel's Share in the Chapel Allerton suburb, as well as Portobello Star, an "old man's bar" in Portobello Road, West London.

The first bar, Oporto, opened in December 1996 and Leelex's investment in Leeds has come as the Call Lane area has been transformed from "just a hellhole" to one of the most popular areas of the city's nightlife.

Trade proved disappointing in June this year during the soccer World Cup but Leelex said business was up 10 per cent by July and August.

Turnover was 3.2m in 2009, and Mr Feltham has previously spoken of his desire to raise this to about 4m, with the addition of Neon Cactus, which opened in September 2009 with a Central American theme and a specialism in tequila.

Revenue has risen by a fifth since the last week of September this year, which has a symbolic value because it marks two years since the collapse of Lehman Brothers, widely seen as the moment the financial crisis began.

"Our best ever year was back in 2007 – which may be hard to repeat – but it's an incredibly encouraging sign to be back to the same figures as 2008, another good year," said Mr Feltham.

"The weeks are still patchy and quite unpredictable, but the weekends do seem a bit more predictable and we are now returning

to historically normal levels – about 25 to 50 per cent busier than the spring and summer, which were starting to cause some concern."

Mr Feltham, who originally came to Leeds to study and who now splits his time between the city and London, added that the final week of October was the group's best – excluding bank holidays – since it became a five-bar outfit.

Leelex is also working towards opening a new bar in East London.

Mr Feltham has previously cautioned against expanding at a whirlwind rate – Leelex has spent 14 years on five, soon-to-be-six bars – because he wanted to retain the quality and character that attracts customers.

Now they are ready to expand again, despite some commentators' fears of a double-dip recession.

"There's no point in sitting and waiting to see what happens – people will always want to go out," Mr Feltham said.

CLIMBING LADDER OF SUCCESS

Ged Feltham has gone through a major change since he opened Oporto in the mid-1990s when, as a Leeds Met graduate and raw businessman, he overshot his budget by 15,000.

Today, he is married with three sons and pores over

the financials.

He has a strong focus on hiring and, says the DJ, the head doorman and the chef are vital appointments because they can determine a business's success.