Cubitt House reports lfl sales up 21.9% and makes ‘significant’ yoy Ebitda swing of more than £2m, looking to grow portfolio: London gastropub operator Cubitt House, which is backed by funds managed by TDR Capital, the owner of Stonegate Group, has said like-for-like sales were up 21.9% and it made a “significant” year-on-year Ebitda swing of more than £2m during the year to 31 December 2023. The company’s turnover was up from £16,351,422 in 2022 to £19,932,710. Of this, £8,339,452 came from dry sales (2022: £7,149,309), £11,065,792 from wet sales (2022: £8,774,914) and £481,712 from accommodation (2022: £364,453). The company narrowed its pre-tax loss from £3,248,194 to £1,375,671. Exceptional items included £571,382 exceptional utility costs (2022: £153,134), £32,951 pre-opening costs (2022: £399,052) and £30,951 settlements costs (2022: £138,097). Underlying Ebitda before pre-opening costs and exceptional items was £1,478,000 (2022: loss of £696,000). No dividends were paid (2022: nil). Director Brian Magnus said the company had withstood pressures from inflation, economic uncertainty, consumer uncertainty, staff shortages and industrial action to “perform well across the period”. He said: “The company ended the period with lfl sales 21.9% up vs 2022 and 4% up on budget. The company also made significant improvements in its underlying adjusted Ebitda with a year-on-year swing of £2,174,000. The previous period was a transformational period for Cubitt House with acquisition and investment in three new sites, significant improvements in product and service and an overhaul of the underlying business model. The focus at the beginning of 2023 was to consolidate all these strategic improvements and focus on exceptional delivery. The company also surrendered the lease of The Beau Brummell site in September 2023, taking the total number of sites operated from nine to eight. The surrender of the lease has been a huge positive for the company. In November 2023, the wider group re-negotiated its Barclays debt facility increasing the facility by £1m, taking the group’s total bank debt to £6m. The additional £1m of funds were allocated to refurbishment projects largely across two sites in the estate, The Builders Arms and The Orange. The company continues to invest in its employees with the on-going development of the Cubitt House Academy. This, alongside regular training and development programmes, ensure the company is well placed to attract the best talent in the industry to ensure our employees successfully continually grow and learn. The shareholders remain supportive of the on-going progress of the company with the ambition to grow the business through increasing the portfolio of sites.”

Greene King people and culture director Vickie Elsey to speak at Propel’s Talent & Training Conference, open for bookings with 20% discount on tickets for Premium Club members: Vickie Elsey, people and culture director at Greene King, will be among the speakers at Propel’s Talent & Training Conference. The all-day conference takes place on Tuesday, 1 October at One Moorgate Place in London and is open for bookings. The conference will showcase examples of outstanding people culture among companies within the sector and how the industry is attracting talent. Elsey will talk about how Greene King is championing diversity and inclusion through various training programmes, including reverse mentoring, which flips organisational hierarchy on its head. For the full speaker schedule, click here. Tickets are £345 plus VAT for operators and £395 plus VAT for suppliers. Premium Club members get a 20% discount. Email: kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com to book places.

Nick Nairn closes one of his restaurants: Celebrity chef Nick Nairn has become the latest victim of the cost-of-living crisis after announcing the closure of one of his Scottish restaurants. The high-profile chef revealed he is shutting his Bridge of Allan venue, saying it is “no longer viable”, reports the Daily Mail. Nairn ran the restaurant with wife Julia after opening in 2019. But just two years later, the bistro suffered a fire which was caused by a faulty piece of equipment. The couple then faced further trouble last year when the newly renovated Nick's restaurant was targeted by vandals ahead of its reopening. Nairn claimed the incidents and the cost-of-living crisis created the perfect storm. In a statement, he said: “Many in the hospitality industry continue to struggle and recover post-covid. For Nairn’s, the added trauma of a fire and a prolonged closure period, coupled with our return to business in the midst of the cost-of-living crisis, has created the perfect storm. Additionally, in 2019 and pre-covid, we entered into a management agreement with a third party, when hospitality was still buoyant. Sadly, what was once reasonable is now unaffordable, all of these factors mean the business is no longer viable.” The couple’s other restaurant, Nick’s at Port of Menteith, remains open, alongside Nick Nairn Cook School, the kitchen garden and retail space. It is understood that some of the staff from the Bridge of Allan restaurant, which closed earlier this week, will transfer to Port of Menteith.

London hotel group pays £3m to settle legal battle, turnover up £14m but profit drops: London hotel group Prestmade has paid £3m to settle a legal battle over a decade-old £10m acquisition. A claim was made against the business – which owns and operates the Hilton London Paddington, Hilton London Euston and Double Tree by Hilton Tower of London hotels – in August 2023 by Asif Bhatia, the former director and majority shareholder of Tradesup, which it acquired in September 2013. Bhatia said in filing the claim that the acquisition of the shares was unlawful, while Prestmade said the claim was without merit and would defend it vigorously. In its accounts for the year to 31 December 2023, director Shelina Jetha said: “Subsequent to the year end, the parties have settled this claim with full discharge/release of all related claims and counter claims, without any impact on the ownership structure within the Prestmade group. The settlement sum payable by Prestmade is £3m.” It comes as the business reported turnover grew to £94,248,000 in 2023, up from £80,740,000 in 2022. Of this, £81,140,000 came from rooms (2022: £68,807,00) and £8,665,000 from food and beverage (2022: £80,740,000). A pre-tax profit of £12,238,000 in 2022 fell to £11,819,000. Jetha said the rise in turnover at all three hotels was due mainly to the increase in domestic and international travel, and that occupancy is edging closer to pre-pandemic levels. At the Hilton Paddington hotel, turnover was up 22.4% (2022: up 293.5%), occupancy was 92.4% (2022: 76.6%), average daily rate increased 2.7% (2022: up 48.3%) and revpar increased by 23.9% (2022: up 308.4%). At the Hilton London Euston hotel, turnover increased 22.5% (2022: up 171.8%), occupancy was 87.4% (2022: 72.7%), average daily rate increased 0.9% (2022: up 43.4%) and revpar increased 21.4% (2022: up 178.7%). At the Double Tree by Hilton Tower of London hotel, turnover increased 11.5% (2022: up 174.7%), occupancy increased to 93.6% (2022: 88.5%), average daily rate increased 6.8% (2022: up 44.6%) and revpar increased 12.8% (2022: up 186.2%). “The company and group has historically performed well, has made a satisfactory return to trading under the circumstances, and fundamentally hold prime locations with a focused management team,” Jetha added. No dividends were paid (2022: nil).