Individual Restaurant Company (IRC), the group backed by the families behind Iceland supermarket, posted a loss of £11.8m for 2023.
The Piccolino, Restaurant Bar & Grill and Riva Blu operator blamed cost of living pressures for adversely impacting the premium dining market, and leading to a performance described as “below expectations”.
Sales were down slightly to £65.6m (2022: £67.1m) during the year to 26 March 2023.
EBITDA for the period was a loss of £8.6m.
The results include goodwill amortization (£1.59m), depreciation (£168k), net interest payable (£2m) and exceptional administrative expenses (£1m).
The new financial year has been more positive, with investment in the estate and people delivering strong sales.
During the year, the group acquired three new restaurants located in Next retail stores, which were branded Piccolo by Piccolino, a sub-brand which offers the opportunity to target a slightly different demographics.
This took the total number of restaurants in the estate to 30.
In August 2023, a new restaurant was taken on in Wimslow, which opened as Piccolino Grande in November following a £2m investment.
Also during the period, IRC opened a centralised production kitchen in Trafford Park called Cucina.
Andy Garton was appointed CEO in January 2023, joining from Iceland, and replacing Karen Forester.
The company is owned by a holding company for the interests of the Walker and Dhaliwal families, in food retailing, manufacturing and hospitality.
