Chez Gérard growth plans forge ahead

Groupe Chez Gérard has reported a 14% increase in sales during the first four months of this financial year (July to October).

Chairman Neville Abraham told the company's annual general meeting: "The plan to double the size of the business, adding 20 restaurants over the next two years, is well under way.

"Five new sites are opening before Christmas, with at least another three in the second half of the financial year."

The group's first restaurant outside London, Livebait in Manchester's Albert Square, opened in October. "Initial trading is encouraging, with excellent customer feedback," said Abraham.

A further Livebait restaurant is set to open in the City of London on Monday, followed by one in Fulham, west London, and another in Wandsworth, south London, before the end of November. Oxford will have a Livebait by next spring and Birmingham by the summer.

A Chez Gérard steak-and-chips restaurant opens in Manchester next month, followed by one in Bristol early in the New Year and Cambridge and Birmingham next summer.

The group is also in negotiations with Park Plaza Hotels to open a Chez Gérard restaurant and bar in its new four-star hotel development in Nottingham, which is scheduled to open by Christmas 2001.