Aaron Mellor takes sole control at Tokyo Group: Nightclub operator Tokyo Group has revealed that Aaron Mellor has taken sole control of the company, refinanced the company’s debt, with a new facility that has substantially reduced annual interest payments, streamlined overheads and centralised procurements. The announcement came in a filing with Companies House of a financial statement for the year to 31 December 2013 covering five of the 20-plus nightclubs controlled by Tokyo Industries, Digital in Newcastle and Brighton and Tokyo in Oldham, Huddersfield and Newcastle. It reported a “solid” performance amid “change and upheaval” for the five venues backed financially by Barclays, one of which, Tokyo Newcastle, was sold as part of the settlement agreement with previous shareholders, at a book loss of £1.6m, which helped reduce turnover by 17% to £5.16m for the four remaining sites. Operating profit was down to £779,000 from £1.1m in 2012. Gross profit margin fell slightly to 77% from 78%. Mellor said the group had acquired seven sites during the financial year, and continued to look for suitable sites to add to the portfolio. The Brighton site had proved “logistically challenging” because of its distance from the rest of the group, and will be rented out to a third party. A live music initiative had proved successful in pilot schemes, and current trading at the Digital site in Newcastle in particular has exceeded expectations, the report said. The company paid dividends of just under £1m during the year.

CG Restaurants slashes losses: CG Restaurants Holdings, which owns the Dirty Martini chain of bars, has slashes its operating loss by 93% for the year ending 31 December 2013,50 £92,000, from a loss of £1,36m in 2012. Turnover for the year rose 25% to £15.76 thanks to acquisitions in 2012, while the gross profit margin was up from 51.8% to 54.6%. During the year CG sold three Fire & Stone brand restaurants which, while operationally profitable, were using resources that the company’s directors thought were best focused on other, more profitable businesses, the company said in accounts filed with Companies House. However, it was hit by a lost on the disposal of short-term leaseholds of almost £1m, which after interest payable, gave it a bottom-line loss of £1.31m, down from £1.61m in 2012. However, the directors said in their report, after adding back the amortisation charge for short leasehold properties, the operating profit for the year was £968,000, a turnaround from a loss of £965,000 in 2012. Net current liabilities exceeded net current assets by £1.86m at the balance sheet date, but the company said it believed the group’s trading performance in the coming year would improve through improvements of the existing business and acquisitions of new businesses in the new year. It said the group would continue to obtain sufficient finding to pay its debts as they fell due.

Losses climb at Modern British Canteen: Modern British Canteen, which runs three Canteen outlets in London, in Spitalfields, Canary Wharf and at the Royal Festival Hall on the South Bank, saw losses before tax climb 17% to £293,000 for the 52 weeks to 22 December 2013, the company has revealed in accounts filed at Companies House. Turnover fell £655,000 to £5.79m as a result of the closure of one of its outlets in Baker Street, central London, and ebitda margin fell from 3% in 2012 to 2%, despite a fall in administrative expenses of 9% to £4.56m, but the company maintained its gross profit margin at 75%. The company said it continued to look for sites appropriate for its expansion plans.