Inside track
What business is it in? 13-strong chargrill restaurant chain.
What brands does it operate? Ma Potter's Chargrill and MA Potters Bar and Restaurant. The original Ma Potter's restaurants are open throughout the day and offer pasta dishes, steaks and fajitas, as well as vegetarian and fish menus. MA Potters Bar and Restaurant was introduced as a concept at the end of 2002. A trendy spin on the original format, it features a lounge area, cocktail list and bar snacks. The company describes it as a "come for a drink, stay for the food" kind of place, and the menu is more sophisticated than the home-cooking feel of the original Ma Potter's Chargrill restaurants.
What's its form? The company is on course to record pre-tax profit of £1m in the year to November.
Where is its head office and area of operation? Ma Potter's operates throughout the UK and was founded 12 years ago as a coffee shop in Bentall's shopping centre in Kingston, Surrey. These days it serves more than 30,000 meals a week, and its headquarters are in London's Regent Street.
What sort of employer is it? The company is currently looking to recruit an assistant for its operations manager, Sara Roberts. For this and other positions go to www.mapotters.com or send a CV to Ma Potter's, 5th Floor, Hedges House, 153-155 Regent Street, London W1B 4JE or e-mail careers@mapotters.com.
How does the future look? Ma Potter's newest units are in the Old Brewery Quarter scheme in Cardiff, which opened in July, and the Birmingham Bullring shopping centre, which opened at the end of October. It plans to open another five new sites during the first four months of 2005. It is also refurbishing some of its older sites to bring them in line with the more modern restaurants within the group.
Did you know? The company's Cardiff restaurant can seat 120 and takes up 4,000sq ft of the new Brewery development. New design features were inspired by a fact-finding trip to New York undertaken by senior management in December 2003.
Company philosophy? To provide customers with fantastic food that doesn't cost the earth.
