Hawksmoor will look to open a second US site probably in 2024, CEO Will Beckett tells MCA.
The steakhouse restaurant group is looking to follow on from the success of its New York City US debut with a second American outpost.
Meanwhile it will open another overseas site in Dublin in late spring, which Becketts says will likely be Hawksmoor’s sole opening in 2023.
He was speaking following the publication of financial results for 2021, and says Hawksmoor is on course for a record year of sales and EBITDA.
Beckett also highlighted the restaurant group’s B Corp certification as a highlight of the year.
“That said it’s been an incredibly challenging time, and I think the results speak more to the quality of the brand we have, and the wonderful team of people we’ve got at Hawksmoor, than it does to any prevailing tailwinds in our industry … they are few and far between!”
Beckett says staffing has been a challenge, but one the brand has met “incredibly well”.
“We’re fully staffed, and the team have done a great job getting new people inducted, trained and up to Hawksmoor standard.
Inflation is also a “constant concern in all areas”.
“Our mitigation of concern is that we seem to be much more resilient than most others, both at the price end and in our ability to focus on costs.
“Volatility is probably the key concern – the country seems in a terrible state at times, and we’ve had a ridiculous year of instability which is continuing through the end of 2022 with the wave of strike action. A bit of boring predictability wouldn’t go amiss.”
Changes in working patterns and working from home have inevitably impacted the steakhouse brand’s trade.
“Thursday is the new Friday … people have been saying it for years, but it’s not true. It affects midweek lunch and Monday/Friday trading.
“Fortunately, we’ve been able to compensate in other areas, like opening Guildhall on weekends.
“The cost of living crisis is a problem for everyone, but I’d suggest some companies will see the effects less than others, either through luck (location, type of venue) or ability (strong brand, customer experience). I believe we fall in both camps.”
On Hawksmoor’s pipeline look like for 2023, Beckett says: “Liverpool is open, Dublin should open in late Spring. That will most likely be it for 2023. After that we are going to hopefully follow up on the success of NYC with a second US restaurant.”
He played down speculation that Hawksmoor could be undergoing a sales process, following reports that private equity owner Graphite Capital had appointed advisors to sound out potential investors.
“We engaged with a firm called Stephens to help us understand an investor landscape that we don’t currently know … sector specialists, American or trans-Atlantic investors, investors with a more ESG focus, but we’re not running a process, nor are we about to start one.”
