Incipio Group has a strong pipeline of new sites, with a near-term focus on further expansion in London, chief executive Ed Devenport tells MCA.
The London-based operator, which includes Pergola, Lost in Brixton, and The Prince in its portfolio, recently announced its ninth site will launch in September.
The 411 – a neighbourhood bar in Islington – as well as future projects will continue the group’s tradition of creating differentiated destination venues.
“We’d like to go outside London, but we still feel we have a lot to give [in the capital],” Devenport says. “We have the capacity to do several sites per year.”
Expansion will still be opportunity- rather than numbers-led, with the group continuing to keep an eye on opportunities both outside London and overseas.
It will keep targeting “large opportunities,” whether in terms of square footage or capacity.
“We have a good pipeline of sites coming up…I feel pretty happy with where we are today,” Devenport adds.
Details surrounding further expansion will be announced in due course, while the current portfolio has seen robust trading, according to him.
Incipio’s city centre venues – such as The Libertine and Pergola on the Wharf – see strong footfall between Tuesdays and Thursdays, while their destination-led nature also draws in crowds on weekends.
“Those venues really flourish in the winter, although they’re a bit quieter as people go away in the summer,” Devenport says. “We’ve seen more people returning to the office on Mondays and Fridays as well.
“People are cutting back on workday lunches, but the evening celebratory occasions haven’t dipped.”
The group has refined its offering to keep driving footfall, tweaking menus where necessary.
“We’re looking at people, operations, and the customer experience. We need an offering to entice customers in and give them a reason to visit again.”
The focus on atmosphere has helped Incipio retain the destination nature of its venues, along with an “exciting” drinks menu and a “fun, differentiated but accommodating” food offer.
The food menu is now more focused on seasonality, while cocktail sales have risen post-pandemic.
“We’ve seen people become more experimental and built upon that.”
Price rises have been kept to minimum, according to Devenport.
“We’re thinking about how to keep our product affordable in the long term,” he says. “We think twice before passing on price rises.
“I think we’ve navigated that pretty well…people should have an experience that’s worth every penny they spend.”
Despite cost inflation, he adds the primary frustration for the group has been rail strikes over the past year.
“It’s been difficult to negate that, although we’ve seen less of an impact on our neighbourhood venues.
“Inflation has been a challenge but we’ve navigated that well through a combination of menu engineering and working with suppliers. With energy, we just need to adapt and be energy-conscious.”
Future projects will keep with Incipio’s ethos of curating ‘beautiful spaces with vibrant atmospheres for unforgettable experiences.’
“We want all of our venues to be destinational, and we want the ability to put our stamp on them,” Devenport explains. “If they’re all the same, it’s a lot less exciting.
“Overall, I feel we’re very early in our journey in being one of the more exciting groups in the UK.”
