Jamie’s Italian, the casual dining chain spearheaded by Jamie Oliver, saw EBITDA rise 56% to £11.06m in 12 months to 1 January 2012, a year in which it opened nine new restaurants.
The chain, which is led by Simon Blagden, reported a 55% rise in pre-tax profit for the year to £7.2m, with turnover up 51% to £72m. Net debt stood at £15.2m, up from £8.9m the previous year.
During the period, it agreed a new £20m banking facility with HSBC. Part of this was a new cross guarantee group with Barby Ltd, which oversees it Barbecoa venture. At the end of the period £17.45m of the outstanding balance on the facility related to Jamie’s Italian.
The group, which currently operates 30 sites in the UK and two overseas, said that despite the challenging marketplace it continued to make “excellent progress increasing sales and profits”.
In accounts filed at Companies House, it said that although it anticipates a continuation of challenging economic conditions and that it had funding in place “to continue its profitable expansion”.
During the year, the group took out a floating rate interest loan. Subsequently the group entered into an interest rate swap arrangement at a swap arte of 2.5% per annum. The amount of borrowing the company had outstanding at the year end relating to this arrangement was £9.07m. The market value of the swap as at the year-end was a payable of £108.3k. The agreement expires on 31 December 2013.
Since the year end, the group has opened six further sites in Manchester, St Albans, Edinburgh, Norwich, York and Gatwick Airport. It said that the sites were trading above expectations.
On 2 January 2012, the company effectively acquired its international business – Jamie’s Italian International Limited for £1.1k, with completion of the deal set for 30 June. The transaction has expanded the company’s trademark licence to include all of the worldwide rights, excluding the US and Canada.
The group, which currently operates two sites under franchise in Australia and Sydney, will open its first site under franchise in Ireland, in Dublin city centre this September, with a further site set to follow in the Irish capital if the initial launch is successful.
It has also signed what it likes to call a “partnership” agreement with the Ginza Project to open its first sites in Moscow and St Petersburg this November.
The launch of a second site in Dubai is also planned for near the end of the year.
The group, which earlier this year formed a new company, Jamie’s Italian North America, to oversee its launch and growth in the US and Canada, is also believed to be targeting New Zealand and Sweden as further future international destinations for the brand.
In the UK, it is thought that a site in Aberdeen has been lined up for next year, while it will also open a site on the redevelopment former Devonshire Arms unit in Denman Street near Piccadilly.
