Giggling Squid turnover up 67%
Thai restaurant chain Giggling Squid has seen turnover rise 67% in the past year, as it revealed that it was close to securing another eight sites with one in Chichester.
The group, which currently has 10 restaurants, reported a rise in sales to £4.5m in the year to 31 March 2014, up from £2.7m in 2013.
Its next two openings will be in Bristol and Salisbury, which are provisionally planned for February and March respectively.
The company said it expects group sales to reach £7.7m in the current financial year, with an EBITDA of around £1.4m.
"It's been an exciting 18 months, bringing great neighbourhood Thai restaurants to five new towns, dealing with a devastating flood in Hove and ramping up for further growth," said Giggling Squid MD Andrew Laurillard. "Substantial new banking facilities with Barclays and a strong new site pipeline make us optimistic of continuing the current growth trajectory into next year and beyond."
"We are still having great fun and we hope to up our rate of openings to seven or eight restaurants a year," he said.
The next two openings are on former Strada restaurant sites. Giggling Squid has invested around £100,000 refurbishing the 88-seater Princess Victoria Street venue in Bristol's Clifton village.
Giggling Squid is also investing around £150,000 refurbishing the city centre property in Salisbury's Market Place, which will become the largest venue in the group, with seating for 150 diners.
