CG Restaurants & Bars (CG), the operator of the Dirty Martini brand, has completed its consolidation programme to enable the group to push forward with its planned 12-site acquisition phase, M&C Report understands.
The group has completed the sale of its non-core assets, the Fire & Stone restaurants in Spitalfields, Oxford and Portsmouth, which it said no longer fit within the overall profile of the business.
Chief executive Scott Matthews told M&C Report that CG remains on course to open four new units each year over the next three years and add 80 new employees by the year end.
As announced earlier this year, the company has embarked upon a rapid expansion strategy, focussing more acutely on its Dirty Martini brand.
The strategy is to target high-end footfall and central London locations to complement the existing portfolio.
Dirty Martini has already acquired a flagship site at Bishopsgate which will open on 26th September and is considering several further central London units.
Matthews said: “The decision enables us to focus on continuing to proudly operate the highly-profitable Fire & Stone restaurants in Covent Garden and Westfield, whilst we step up the expansion across the group.
“It was a difficult decision to sell the units but their locations and profile simply no longer fitted with that of the wider group. We are excited at the expansion taking shape and are focussed wholeheartedly on acquiring sites where we consider ourselves to be among the best-in class as operators.”
Prezzo acquired the Fire & Stone in Oxford for its new Cleaver brand, while Barworks is set to open a The Diner at the Spitalfields site.
The group currently operates Dirty Martini and Bitter Sweet cocktail bars, as well as the Fire & Stone restaurants and the world-renowned Tuttons Brasserie.
