Mission Mars has reported strong growth across the group over the last two years, with Rudy’s Pizza Napoletana delivering like-for-like (lfl) growth excluding VAT of 24%.
Bavarian beer hall concept Albert’s Schloss, which currently has venues in Manchester, Birmingham, and Liverpool, delivered 6% lfl growth. It is to debut in London on Shaftesbury Avenue next summer, while Rudy’s aims to open a further 10 pizzerias in FY24.
Both brands were c15% ahead of their comparable market segments in the Peach Coffer Tracker for the same period.
Wet and dry revenue for FY23 across the group totalled £67.4m, up from £44.3m in FY22.
The group operates 28 venues including three Albert’s Schloss and 23 Rudy’s Pizza Napoletana, with the former contributing £32.1m and the latter £29.3m. This compared to £21.6m and £16.1m respectively in FY22.
Group unaudited EBITDA for the period was £8.6m, up from £5.2m the year before, excluding pre-opening costs.
Heading into FY24, trade in the first eight weeks of the financial year has been encouraging, with group revenue totalling £11.9m in the period, an increase from £8.4m in the prior comparative period.
Lfl performance continues in a similar trend to FY23, with Albert’s Schloss up 4% and Rudy’s at 18%, both considerably outperforming their sectors, according to the group.
Early Christmas trade has been positive, with combined pre-booked covers for the three Albert’s Schloss venues up 17% on the prior year.
Chief executive Roy Ellis commented: “Despite numerous challenges, our team has delivered an industry leading Group Guest Experience score of 78% in FY23, an increase of 4% versus the same period in the prior year. This positive trend has continued into FY24.
“The Group is spending a significant amount of time monitoring, analysing, and responding to the external pressure the sector is facing. We have been delighted to reduce our colleague turnover to the lowest levels we have seen and are determined to improve further through continued investment in our training, development and team engagement initiatives. We opened our Pizzaiolo and Management Training academy in the summer of 2023 and have committed to remain a Real Living Wage employer in FY24.
“Strong trading across all venues for a sustained period gives us confidence that both our Albert’s Schloss and Rudy’s Pizza Napoletana brands are well set to deliver growth and are likely to trade successfully in all parts of the UK. We continue to search for the best locations with 12 new Rudy’s and one new Albert’s Schloss currently in legals.”
