Revolution Bars Group chairman Keith Edelman has told MCA that the company is still “in a rebuilding process”.
Following this morning’s interim results announcement, Edelman said it would take time for the share price to reflect the work that had been undertaken.
He also talked about plans to evolve the food offer and that the group was increasing its focus on low-sugar and low-alcohol drinks.
He said there was as yet no start date for incoming chief executive Rob Pitcher but he hoped to announce it later this month.
He said: “We are market leaders in cocktails but our food offer – more in Revolution than Revolucion de Cuba – has tended to be a little uninspiring.
“We are looking at reshaping the food offer to match what we are doing on the drinks side. Our cocktails are fun but our food hasn’t always lived up to that. There’s a lot more we can do there.”
On the opportunities presented by swathes of closures in casual dining, Edelman said: “Those sites are generally either too small or over-rented for our needs. We have plenty to look at and we will only take things that are right for us.”
He added that there were no plans to look at smaller footprint models to widen the growth options.
On the possibility of group deals, Edelman said: “We would look at anything. If there was a small package that we could add value to, we would certainly consider it.”
On the perception of the group he said: “The business has performed very well during its period as a newcomer to the market. We have always shown like-for-like sales growth since we hit the market. We had some issues earlier in the year, which resulted in the announcements we made. It always then takes time for the City to regain confidence in the stock.
“It’s a rebuilding process and we’re patient. We hope the value we generate will be recognised by the City.
