Five Guys UK FY turnover tops £316m, continues to believe there are ‘strong growth prospects’ here: Better burger brand Five Guys saw its turnover in the UK for the year to 31 December 2023 increase 14% to £316,422,000 (2021: £278,616,000) reflecting an “increase in store count and like-for-like growth”. The company, which opened nine sites during the period and closed one, taking its estate in the UK to 163 sites, said it believed that there are “strong growth prospects in the premium burger market and intend to continue the roll out of Five Guys in the UK”. The company, which is backed by Sir Charles Dunstone, said: “The high levels of inflation experienced in the UK in 2022 continued into 2023 and, while the company was not completely immune to this, we were able to manage our cost base effectively and implement modest price increases to offset the impact of rising input costs.” Operating profit increased to £34,096,000 (£30,687,000), while pre-tax profit stood at £8,257,000 (2022: £11,571,000). Ebitda plus pre-opening was £44.8m (2022: £40.7m). At the end of the year, the company employed 4,959 people (2022: 4,900). The group’s parent company – Five Guys European Holdings – operated 256 sites across the UK, France, Spain and Germany, at the end of the period. ln 2023, 17 (2022: 34) new stores were opened and three (2022: one) were closed. Revenue for this wider group increased in the year by 20% to £542,915,000 (2022: £452,386,000) Operating profit for the year was £45,484,000 (2022: £17,606,000). Pre-tax loss was £16,217,000 (2022: loss of £35,688,000). The group had £254m of investor loans at the end of the year, maturing in June 2028. The group had £129.3m bank debt at the end of the year, of which £6.7m is repayable in instalments up until 2026. £122.6m was drawn under a unitranche facility with a further £15m available to draw under the same facility. Although as at the 31 December 2023 the facility was due for repayment on 20 June 2024, on 30 April 2024, the group agreed an extension of this facility to 20 June 2025 and agreed a revolving credit facility of £30m, which is available until 20 March 2025. On trading this year, Five Guys UK chief executive John Eckbert told Propel: “We were off our top line year in the first half of the year, but we were within 1% of our Ebitda target. July was a different story. It was a harder month. But in the past few weeks, we’ve seen trade coming back to closer to what we thought we were going to be doing this year. I don’t know what the rest of the year is going to look like. We’ve always just soldiered on, and it’s worked out. We had budgeted a 20% uplift from last year. That was our budget for this year, and part of that was new store openings, but a lot of that was just continuing to be discovered and drive repeat visits, and we have been achieving that.” Eckbert said the company will look to open 50 sites next year across the UK, Spain, Germany, France and Portugal, and is set to make its debut in the latter country. Of that 50, circa 15 sites will open in the UK, and Eckbert says around 60% of those would be drive-thrus. On the group’s financing, he said: “We do have a refinance coming up and we’re ready to load up for the next three to five years on how best to finance and structure our balance sheet. We’ll have a couple of really good options for whether we use a unitranche that we have or a bank group or bond offer. We are at the size and scope now that all of those are on the table. I think all of those will give Sir Charles optionality on how to structure the balance sheet for the short term. If there is a good opportunity within the brand to do something, then I’m sure he’ll realise that when the moment is right for him.” In today’s Premium Opinion, Eckbert talks to Propel group editor Mark Wingett about the brand’s progress this year, its continued expansion here and in Europe, its funding options, plans to trial kiosks and dealing with increased competition from the US. At the same time, there is a look at the situation at TGI Fridays. 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.

Inn Collection Group people director Liz Robertson to speak at Propel’s Talent & Training Conference, open for bookings with 20% discount on tickets for Premium Club members: Liz Robertson, people director of the Inn Collection Group, 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. Robertson will delve into the award-winning Inn Collection Group’s mission statement of “making people happy”, which aims to support its people in their personal and professional development. 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.

Knoops raises more than £1m in first day of crowdfunding campaign: Luxury hot chocolate shop concept Knoops has raised more than £1m since launching its campaign on 18 September via Crowdcube. The company said this makes it the fastest Crowdcube fundraise of any food and drink company so far in 2024. The campaign went live on Wednesday with an initial target of £1m, which had already been comfortably surpassed by the end of yesterday. The Crowdcube shares will be the same share class as those of existing Knoops shareholders. The campaign is part of a wider fundraise being undertaken by Knoops, having been granted EIS approval for £5m. It plans to use the proceeds to expand its footprint both in the UK as well as internationally, with its first store opening in City Centre Mirdif, Dubai, this October, working with its regional partners, NDS Group. William Gordon-Harris, chief executive of Knoops, said: “I am delighted that we’ve exceeded over £1m of investment within the first day of our Crowdcube campaign, the fastest food and drink company raise in 2024. It shows the value of Knoops in the eyes of our consumers and that this important group share the belief that we can become a global super brand.” Earlier this week, the company told Propel it plans to open between ten and 20 stores in the UK next year and is engaging in franchise conversations in territories like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt and Turkey. Knoops, which currently has 21 shops, with a target of 300 in the UK “within a few years”, is bidding to open up to 5,000 stores worldwide in the next decade.