San Carlo Group reports turnover up 8.3% to £50m: San Carlo Group is eyeing further growth after the opening of Fumo London helped boost turnover to £50m. Accounts filed under Templeton Holdings, the parent of San Carlo, showed turnover increased 8.3% to £49,946,472 for the year ending 30 September 2017 compared with £46,105,602 the previous year. Pre-tax profit increased to £1,278,435 compared with £1,151,386 the year before. In their report accompanying the accounts, the directors stated: “The increase in turnover was due to the opening of Fumo London in late 2016. The directors will continue to look at opportunities that provide a positive contribution to group profitability. The directors believe that further improvements in gross margin will be made in the near future. Like many restaurant groups, the group has been affected by weaker sterling, higher employment costs and an oversupply in the market. Despite this, the directors believe the group is well placed to maintain its growth aspirations. At the year end, the group had shareholders’ funds of £7,765,376, including distributable reserves of £6,950,376. The directors are committed to retaining the look and feel of the restaurants operated by the group and during the year spent £1,968,757 on fixed asset additions.” At the end of the period, the number of employees increased to 892 from 795 the previous year. 

Brewhouse & Kitchen reports first profit, raises £8.8m for further estate development: Brewhouse & Kitchen, the brewpub business led by Kris Gumbrell and Simon Bunn, has reported its has made a profit for the first time and raised £8.8m for further development of the estate. The company saw turnover increase 32% to £11,643,476 for the year ending 30 September 2017 compared with £8,815,337 the previous year. It made a pre-tax profit of £575,210 compared with a loss of £672,634 the year before, according to accounts filed at Companies House. In their report accompanying the accounts, the directors stated: “The period has seen another strong year of growth for the business with the acquisition of two new sites, Lichfield and Cardiff, and the opening of our second Bournemouth site after a 12-month long development that was drawn out due to obtaining planning and listed building permission. The directors are pleased to report the efforts of the teams have resulted in an operating profit of £623,967 – a year-on-year increase of 44% in spite of deployment of £5.5m of capital spend together with associated pre-opening costs and servicing an enlarged head office. We maintained gross profit margins at 75% in 2017 as we increased our retrospective discounts, listing fees and franchise related income. The group reported its first net profit after tax of £453,296 since the inception of trading in 2013. Shareholders equity has increased year-on-year by 14% in 2017 to £12,961,281 (2016: £11,392,818). We have continued to develop our franchise business and now have seven sites that are franchisees of Brewhouse & Kitchen. In 2017 we agreed an additional franchise agreement with Knott End Pub Company under similar terms to our previously agreed deals. We are continuing to evaluate sites for acquisition where they fit our key criteria and raised £8.8m in new equity post year-end for the purpose of further development of the estate. We are actively continuing to develop the franchise model, which increases our revenue mix, reduces our capital at risk while increasing revenue and leverages the growth of our estate. We completed on an additional freehold site, in Bedford, immediately after the period end and have heads of terms agreed on two other sites.” The company will open its 21st site – The Beagle, in Hoxton, east London – this month. 

Code Investing enters into strategic partnership with BNP Paribas Asset Management to originate SME loans: Code Investing has entered into a long-term strategic partnership with BNP Paribas Asset Management as part of the development of its small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) alternative financing platform. BNP Paribas Asset Management will invest in loans to small businesses originated through Code Investing, the UK’s institutional market place for SME debt. As an origination partner to BNP Paribas Asset Management, Code Investing will provide direct lending access to unsecured SME loans of between £500,000 and £5m. Under the leadership of Stéphane Blanchoz, SME alternative financing offers BNP Paribas Asset Management client base “differentiated and unique” access to SME lending as an asset class. The platform is currently operational in the UK, with plans to deploy across other markets in continental Europe. BNP Paribas Asset Management joins a wide range of institutions on CODE Investing’s lender panel, which highlighted “the increasingly important role alternative finance platforms are playing in stimulating the real economy”. Blanchoz said: “Given the structural shift in the way that SMEs access financing, we are very pleased to have entered into a partnership with Code Investing as part of the development of our SME alternative financing franchise. As BNP Paribas Asset Management expands its SME lending capability in the UK and in continental Europe, the partnership will be key in originating loans to enable us to provide clients with an attractive investment offering.” Ayan Mitra, chief executive and founder of Code Investing said: “Accessing finance has traditionally been a lengthy and frustrating process for SMEs. Code aims to deliver a more streamlined, certain, and user-friendly experience to SMEs in search of growth capital. With our emphasis on institutional – rather than retail – lenders we believe Code’s market place will ultimately be able to provide SMEs with an aggregate view of financing available to them in the market. Our institutional partners are able to directly access SME debt more efficiently and in greater volume without compromising their internal lending preferences and credit criteria. We are delighted to be selected by BNP Paribas Asset Management as one of its first origination partners for the SME Alternative Financing platform and look forward to contributing to its success over the coming years.”

C&C Group reports ‘positive trading’ across all key markets: C&C Group, the branded cider, beer, wine and soft drinks producer, has reported “positive trading” across all its key markets in the past four months ahead of its annual general meeting. The company stated: “Trading has been positive across all our key markets, helped by good weather and the World Cup. In Scotland, since the introduction of Minimum Unit Pricing on 1 May, consumer reaction has been broadly in line with our expectations. In Ireland, good early summer weather has helped Bulmers return to moderate volume growth in the year-to-date. We continue to make progress in improving service levels and operational performance at Matthew Clark Bibendum. Our new, experienced senior management team is all now in post and engaged in stabilising the business.” Chief executive Stephen Glancey said: “As announced on 24 May, Sir Brian Stewart will be stepping down after eight years as chairman from today’s (Thursday, 5 July) annual general meeting. I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of the board of thanking Sir Brian for his outstanding contribution to the board and the company through this period of significant change for the business. I also welcome our new chairman, Stewart Gilliland, who joined the board as a non-executive director in 2012 and has extensive industry and sector experience.”