Ed’s Easy Diner, the Andrew Guy-led brand, which secured the Evolution Award at this year’s Retailers’ Retailer Awards, has taken the top spot in this year’s Zolfo Cooper Profit Tracker, which tracks companies with the fastest-growing profits within the United Kingdom’s eating and drinking-out sector, with a compound annual growth rate of 127%.
The list, produced in association with M&C Report, is an annual ranking that highlights the top 50 companies with the fastest-growing profits in the sector. Ed’s, which recently opened the 24th site under its core brand and announced plans to grow its estate to 100 restaurants by 2018, took pole position ahead of Hawksmoor (106%) and Bill’s Restaurants (85%).
Stephen Greene, chairman at Ed’s Easy Diner, said: “We are delighted to have recorded the fastest growth in the sector and won this coveted award. It is testament to all the talented people at Ed’s that we have been able to achieve this. We have firm operational and financial foundations from which to build from here and an ambitious plan for the business – 2014 will be another exciting year too.”
New entries in this year’s top 10 of companies included Tortilla and Le Bistrot Pierre, where they were joined by Leon, Wasabi, Pho, Itsu and last year’s winner, BrewDog.
Paul Hemming, lead leisure partner at Zolfo Cooper Advisory, said: “What does the 2014 Profit Tracker tell us about our sector? For me, it graphically illustrates what a significant force private equity continues to be in this market, providing the capital (and in many cases some wisdom and rollout nous) to enable management teams to drive material growth; 11 of the top 20 businesses have private equity investment.
”Private equity’s interest is heightened by the characteristics inherent in the sector’s stand-out concepts: there are few other industries that can offer the same returns and scale opportunities when a clearly differentiated operating format with attractive operating margins combines with a grade-A management team.”
Click on the links to the right to see the full list and read analysis from Paul Hemming and M&C Report editor Mark Wingett.
