Like-for-like sales at Rosa’s, the Thai cafe concept, are up c9% for the first half of the current financial year.
Chief financial officer Tom Kristensen told MCA that trading had softened slightly into October but said he expected trade to pick up when colder weather arrives.
He said that of the first 40 weeks of this calendar year there had only been two weeks when negative like-for-likes were recorded.
He said delivery, which represents c20% of sales, was a major factor in driving growth. However he said the group’s regional expansion plan would put much less emphasis on the delivery side of the business. The currently 11-strong group will make its regional debut in Liverpool next year.
Rosa’s is also set to open a site in Tower Bridge in February and Kristensen said there was still scope for four to five more restaurants in the capital.
In the year to 31 March the group grew turnover from £5.5m to £8.1m, with EBITDA at £1.4m, compared to £815,000 the year before. Pre-tax profit rose to £722,496 from £313,373 the previous year.
Kristensen told MCA: “Last year was a big jump for us considering we only opened two sites and delivery was a big part of that. We certainly saw growth in the restaurants but delivery definitely helped.
“However, I think that the delivery story is a London growth story and I don’t see the same mindset anywhere else. There’s a market regionally but there isn’t that same level of demand for restaurant food at home. The experience of going out to eat is much more ingrained. We will do delivery in Liverpool but our model outside London is less based on delivery.”
On recent trade, he said: “This year has been really good so far. Our October has been a bit softer but still very much in growth. Warm weather is not good for us. Thai food likes cold weather.
“Our evening trade has been as strong as ever and lunch probably stronger than ever. If you’re looking at it on a like-for-like basis, lunch is definitely driving the growth.”
Last month MCA reported that the group had appointed Grant Thornton as it assesses its funding options to support future growth.
In the summer, the company appointed Gavin Adair, formerly of Wahaca, as its new managing director, ahead of its next stage of development.
