Tue 22nd Aug 2017 - The Alchemist reports Ebitda boost as turnover jumps 52% to £22.6m The Alchemist reports Ebitda boost as turnover jumps 52% to £22.6m: The Alchemist, which is backed by Palatine Private Equity, has reported turnover increased 52% to £22,578,262 for the year ending 31 March 2017 compared with £13,437,501 the previous year. Ebitda rose to £3.4m, according to accounts filed at Companies House. Operating profit was up to £1,313,508 compared with £1,111,516 the previous year. It saw a pre-tax loss of £443,944 compared with a loss of £380,552 the year before. The company stated: “The year to 31 March 2017 was one of large scale growth for the group’s trading company The Alchemist, with the business growing from five sites to nine sites during the year. Summer 2016 saw new city centre openings in Liverpool and Birmingham, followed by Alderley Edge then most recently a large site in the Eldon Square development in Newcastle, which opened at the end of March 2017. Trading has been very strong, with sales and Ebitda performance ahead of expectation, and cash consequently higher. Sales have grown 52% year-on-year to £22.6m and Ebitda has increased to £3.4m, with the new Newcastle site generating a loss in the period due to pre-opening costs.” Since the year end, the company has opened its tenth site in Chester with five more venues – in ­Oxford, Media City, Nottingham, Bristol and Cardiff – scheduled to launch by April next year. Earlier this week, managing director Simon Potts told Propel the company plans to focus on expansion in London in 2018 as it looks to eventually build an estate of up to 50 UK sites. He said: “I like that idea of establishing our foothold in London. We have a site just off Liverpool Street that is doing very well and we think there could be a very good opportunity for us. We’ve been up against it a bit with the size and scale of rents but things are starting to settle down a bit now so there is potential to push the numbers up, especially given a number of operators are either slowing their expansion or shedding sites.”