Restaurant and deli operator Benugo has set its sights on opening up to 15 new sites under its café format over the next three years, including making its debut in Europe.
Alastair Storey, chief executive and chairman of Westbury Street Holdings, the parent company, told the <i>Financial Times</i>: “We’re not going to go crazy but we’re planning to open four or five a year over the new few years. Although we’ve got good growth in the UK right now, we’ll definitely look at overseas expansion in the medium term.”
The group opened it 10th café site earlier this year in London’s Cannon Street. It is looking to increase the presence of its eponymous café format especially in central London and is believed to be looking at further openings in Hanover and Victoria.
It recently opened its first cafe concept site outside London at Luton Airport and a unit in Covent Garden.
Sales at Benugo increased 28.2% to £56.5m in the year to 30 December.
Founded in 1998 by Ben and Hugo Warner, the company also operates a number of independently-branded restaurants, including the Serpentine Bar & Kitchen at Hyde Park, the Riverfront on the Southbank, London Wall Bar & Kitchen in the City, and Benugo Bar & Kitchen on the Southbank, and the Ashmolean Dining Room in Oxford.
