Sat 30th Mar 2024 - Bill’s to launch new café bar concept off back of record sales Bill’s to launch new café bar concept off back of record sales: Bill’s, the Richard Caring-backed restaurant group, is to launch a new café bar format in two of its existing sites, which the company believes will open the “opportunity to explore future conversions and growth for the brand”. The two Café Bar sites will be trialled at its restaurants in Newbury and St Albans, with the former set to open on Monday (1 April) and the latter on Monday, 29 April. The new format will offer both a selection of the core Bill’s dishes, as well as additions to the menu including a wider variety of sharing dishes, cakes and pastries, draft beer, and hot drinks. Service will offer both the option of ordering at the bar or order and pay at the table. The company said: “The space in the two new Café Bars will be converted into distinct ‘zones’ that will allow for the space to be utilised by the guest in a way that comes naturally to them, producing a fun and relaxed environment. The renovated sites will present a vibrant conservatory dining space and a relaxing lounge with both areas serviced from extended bars. Both sites feature beautiful terraces to enjoy a morning coffee or have cocktails with food in the evenings, and also nod to Bill’s early beginnings as a greengrocer turned café in the early 2000s.” In addition to a new menu and appearance, the Café Bar format will have offers unique to the two initial sites, starting with a happy hour promotion encompassing both drinks and food in the form of small plates each day between 4pm and 7pm, a weekend prosecco offer (£17.50 a bottle before 5pm) and a selection of Bill’s signature favourite dishes available each evening between Sunday and Thursday for just £10. The business said that if successful, more will be opened across the country and told Propel they could be a mix of conversions and new stand-alone sites. It said it believed the opportunity for the new format is “huge” and that it is excited about its potential. The company said its success of last year had presented Bill’s with the opportunity to “delve into ventures connected to their long-term ambitions of growing the estate”. In 2017, the business had explored the launch of a more grab-and-go version of Bill’s under the working title Vitesse, but plans for this and a mooted site in London’s Holborn were subsequently abandoned. The 45-strong group said it saw an increase in like-for-like sales of 4.6% in 2023, with sales standing at £92.6m and guest metrics at an all-time high. It said: “Last year, group Ebitda was up 45% to more than £8m from £5.5m in 2022. This was driven by cover growth and strengthening efficiencies, with a forensic approach to cost control under a new management team appointed in October 2022. Menu pricing was held at under 1% throughout 2023.” Caring, who also owns The Ivy Collection, Caprice Holdings and the Birley Group, said: “The strong financial performance proves that Bill’s remains a tremendously popular dining location, offering a best-in-class food and drink offer in stylish and unique locations. We are converting both the Newbury and St Albans sites into Café Bars. We believe they will be well received by the public and will open the opportunity to explore future conversions and growth for the brand.” The company said it posted its best ever average mystery diner score last year of 94.2%. Tom James, managing director of Bill’s, previously told Propel that coming out of the pandemic, the business was struggling with relevance, while its subsequent recovery has been underpinned by team enjoyment. On the new mystery diner scores and format, he said: “We welcomed more than five million guests in 2023 throughout breakfast, brunch and dinner. With our goal of Everyone Leaves Happy, I am pleased to say we saw a fantastic increase in guest reputation, net promoter score and mystery diner scores leading to the improved performance in sales and profits. The inception of Bill’s Cafe Bar is an exciting time for the business and our teams. After our collective efforts over the last couple of years to strengthen our operation, we are now at a stage where we can put our energy into new opportunities such as this. While continually improving and innovating our core offer, we welcome this updated version of Bill’s to develop in line with current industry trends and guest demands.” Caring acquired a controlling stake in the then two-strong Bill's in 2008, and the business at one time grew to circa 80 sites. However, the impact of covid and increasing costs across the sector saw its estate cut to 45 sites over the past few years. Last February, Caring, who has invested £5.6m into the business since 2018, said Bill’s had “turned a corner” with a new leadership team led by James. Caring reportedly kicked off the £1bn sale of his The Ivy Collection business earlier this year. On whether the serial sector investor had had any approaches for Bill's or was looking to explore options for the business, the company told Propel: “We are concentrating on the new concept and openings.” Bill’s features in the Premium Club Turnover & Profits Blue Book, which features 889 companies. Its turnover of £92.6m is the 106th highest in the database. The Blue Book ranks companies by turnover, profit and profit conversion, listing directors’ earnings for the past five years. 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