D&D London has seen like-for-like sales rise 4% in the year to date, with the current financial year “a different story” for the business.
The company saw like-for-like sales for the year to 31 March 2018 increase by only 1%, with turnover up 6% to £132.2m, and EBITDA down 11% to £11.6m.
During its 2017/18 financial year, D&D London opened several new restaurants, including Issho and East 59th in Leeds, Fiume at Battersea Power Station and 20 Stories in Manchester.
Des Gunewardena, chairman and CEO of D&D London, said that while earnings for the year to 31 March 2018 fell, mainly as a result of costs (business rates, labour and food and wine costs) outpacing underlying revenue growth, but also due to initial losses of ventures launched during the financial year, the year to date has been a different story.
“Like for like sales (+4% to date) are running ahead of inflation, and those new openings are now contributing strongly to increased revenues (+17% to date overall) and growth in earnings (running c.+20% ahead of last year),” he said.
He said that Coq d’Argent and Madison, in particular, had “shrugged off Brexit worries and were trading significantly ahead of last year”, with the former heading for a record year on the back of like-for-like sales growth of 17%. Madison and Orrery are both reporting 15% like-for-like sales in the current year.
Gunewardena said despite the current challenges and with Brexit looming, he was pleased with where the business is at the moment and said he remained confident in the long term success of D&D. He added that the group had seen great success with 20 Stories, which is already one of its highest grossing restaurants.
“Turning to the future we have recently committed to opening a 10,000sf rooftop restaurant at 120 Fenchurch Street in London next Spring, and we will be opening a second New York restaurant in the Hudson Yards development on the west side of Manhattan in March,” he added.
