Craft Beer Co founder Martin Hayes has said the brand could open “literally anywhere” but that the focus remains on London.
The group, which operates seven sites across the capital and one in Brighton, reported like-for-like sales up 11.3% in 2016.
December traded up 15.5% across the estate with the addition of the group’s Limehouse site, which opened in the middle of the month, but was 8.4% up like for like.
Hayes said: “It’s been a great year for us, not only have our existing sites traded very well, but our St. Mary Axe site has blown-away expectations in year one and the new site in Limehouse has hit the ground running. The instant success of Limehouse has forced our hand to start phase two there earlier than we’d anticipated, which will result in us redeveloping the first floor to add trading space. What has perhaps been more satisfying is the performance of our established sites, with one being 13.5% up like for like 2016 over 2015, proving to me that there’s plenty left in the market for the right offer.”
Talking about the year ahead, Hayes said: “I still see a lot of growth in London for us, the trick, as always, is to find the right deals and not over-pay.
I’ll look to spend a lot of time searching for landlords who share our desire to build a long-term relationship. The offer works in a very diverse range of areas already, so we can literally open anywhere but London is where we will focus.”
