Revolution Bars, the Mark McQauter-led group which floated earlier this year, has secured a site in Leeds for its Revolucion De Cuba brand, M&C has learnt.
The company is refurbishing the former Baracoa site in the city’s Call Lane, where it already operates a Revolution bar. It will mean the company operates three sites in Leeds.
The company is understood to be looking to grow the brand from five to 12 sites over the next two years
Revolution yesterday updated the market on its financial year to 30 June, in which like-for-like sales outperformed the market to grow by 3%.
Chief executive McQuater told M&C that the company’s strong foothold in the premium market was at the core of its success.
He said: “We are a branded business that customers respond well so there’s quite a bond of loyalty that has built. We are a premium business so we’re not having to compete on price.
“We have had a massive push on service standards over the last two years and introduced hosted table service, which really fits into the experience our customers want to have.
“One of the things that makes us unique is that we’re 60% female which is the opposite of a lot of pub chains. Not having the queues is a big factor there.”
McQuater said the process of going through an IPO had been “a lot of hard work and involved an enormous amount of scrutiny of the business but it has worked really well for us”.
He said: “You need a very differentiated business with a strong story to interest a large group of investors to buy new stock. We are a premium national brand in growth. Those are all words investors like to hear.”
