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Mon 28th Oct 2024 - Update: Flat Iron reports record turnover of £49.6m as it confirms appointment of advisors |
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Flat Iron reports record turnover of £49.6m as it confirms appointment of advisors: Flat Iron, the Piper-backed affordable steak concept, has reported record sales as it confirmed the appointment of City advisors to review its strategic options. Turnover increased 38% to a record £49.6m in the 12 months to the end of August 2024, with underlying profits rising to £5.7m, from £3.8m in 2023. Propel revealed last month that Flat Iron has appointed Houlihan Lokey to assess its options, which are understood to include third-party investment or a possible sale of the business. Propel understands that a process may commence early next year. Flat Iron, which started life in 2012 as a pop-up above the Owl & Pussycat pub in Shoreditch, east London, opened its first restaurant later that year in Beak Street in London’s Soho. The company, which made its regional debut last year in Cambridge – followed by a further regional opening in Leeds – will open its 17th site in November, at Terminus Place in London’s Victoria. It is understood to have a well-developed pipeline for 2025, both in London and the regions. Flat Iron was founded by entrepreneur Charlie Carroll. In 2017, Piper made a £10m investment in Flat Iron, securing a significant minority stake in the process. Byron founder Tom Byng, who had been an investor and non-executive director at Flat Iron since 2017, succeeded Carroll as chief executive in March 2021. Earlier this year, Byng said the business was targeting four or five new restaurants a year and believed there was room for at least 30 more sites in London. He told The Times he was “delighted to have achieved another record year of growth”. He added: “The concept of affordable and delicious steak continues to resonate as consumers increasingly look for both value and quality in these challenging economic times. We’re often approached by potential partners about our next stage of development and recently appointed Houlihan Lokey to help us explore our options in the coming years.”
Premium Club members to receive updated segmented Multi-Site Database with 3,264 operators and 21 new companies on Friday: Premium Club members are to receive the Multi-Site Database on Friday (1 November), at midday. The next Propel Multi-Site Database provides details of 3,264 multi-site operators and is now searchable in seven main segments. The database features 961 (29%) operators from the casual dining sector, 784 (24%) pub and bar operators, 548 (17%) cafe bakery operators, 445 (14%) quick service restaurant operators, 267 (8%) hotel operators, 204 (6%) experiential leisure operators and 54 (2%) fine dining operators. It is updated each month and this edition includes 21 new companies. Premium Club members also receive access to five additional databases: the New Openings Database, the Turnover & Profits Blue Book, the UK Food and Beverage Franchisor Database, the UK Food and Beverage Franchisee Database and the Who's Who of UK Hospitality. All Premium Clubs members will be offered a 20% discount on tickets to Propel paid-for events including Restaurant Marketer and Innovator (two days in January 2025) and Excellence in Pub Retail (May 2025). Operators that are Premium Club members are also able to send up to four members of staff to each of our four Multi-Club Conferences for free. Premium Club members receive their daily Propel Info newsletter 11 hours earlier than standard subscribers, at 7pm the evening before. They also receive videos of presentations at eight Propel conference events two weeks after they are held. This represents around 100 videos of industry insight over the course of the year. Premium Club members will be sent a dedicated monthly newsletter that will highlight key updates in the sector and direct subscribers to all the vital content their membershipoffers. Premium Club members also receive exclusive opinion columns every Friday at 5pm, which include the thoughts of Propel group editor Mark Wingett and a host of industry leaders from across the sector. A Premium Club subscription costs an annual sum of £495 plus VAT for operators and £595 plus VAT for suppliers. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Premium Club for a year for £995 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or supplier. Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com today to sign up. Subway franchisee reports 5% turnover drop following closure of its highest volume store: Subway franchisee Made to Order, which operates circa 40 stores in the Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire area, has reported a 5% turnover drop in the year to 26 December 2023 following the closure of its highest volume store. The company, owned by former Subway global head of operations Deidre Anderson, saw turnover fall from £10,631,006 in 2022 to £10,112,581. Pre-tax profit dropped from £689,918 to £37,098, with the 2022 figure including an insurance claim income of £785,517. No government grants were received (2022: £75,689). Dividends of £375,000 were paid (2022: £1,250,000). “Total turnover fell by 5% year on year,” Anderson said. “This fall was driven by the closure of the company’s highest volume store in the Trafford Centre in April due to the expiry of the lease and lack of any affordable alternative sites nearby. Like-for-like sales in remaining outlets showed modest growth (2.4%), largely driven by price inflation as traffic was broadly consistent year on year across both the in-store and digital channels. The main business overheads, namely food and labour continued to increase across the year as anticipated, with food cost inflation easing towards the end of the year. However, tactical pricing increases helped improve the gross margin by 0.6% to 38.5%. The large movement in profit before taxation was driven by the non-recurring one-off items in 2022. The balance sheet was relatively stable year on year, save for the change driven by the dividend of £375,000 declared during the year. The company still considers there are future opportunities to both develop new stores, and where strategically prudent, dispose of existing stores and to enhance the existing store portfolio with remodel opportunities.”
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