Chez Gérard to expand beyond London

Groupe Chez Gérard, the London-based restaurant chain, has unveiled plans to expand outside the capital and open up to 100 new restaurants over the next few years.

Chief executive David Williams told City analysts this week that the company planned at least six new restaurants next year, eight the following year and 10 the year after that.

The openings will be a combination of the group's Chez Gérard steak-and-chips restaurants and its Livebait fish restaurants.

Williams cited major UK conurbations as target areas, particularly Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham.

Although Chez Gérard's four remaining Richoux restaurants are now seen as "non-core", there are no immediate plans to sell, Williams said. But if an offer for the restaurants was made in the future, the group would consider it.

Chez Gérard admitted that it had held "talks about talks" on a merger with rival restaurant BGR last month, but said these had not been more than preliminary discussions. BGR chairman Tony Allen dismissed talk that it might launch a hostile bid. "We've got our hands full over the next year," he said.