D&D London reports 17% rise in profits
Restaurant group D&D London has posted a rise in turnover, pre-tax earnings and profit for this year following the opening of three new sites and success during the Olympics in August last year.
Turnover was up 5% to £79m for the year to 31 March 2013, increased from £75.5m for 2012. Similarly, earnings before tax rose by 6% top £7.1m, up from £6.7m last year. Profits rose by 17% to £4.9m, compared to £4.2m previously.
This was despite financing costs, including the launch of new restaurants in the Old Bengal Warehouse, the South Place Hotel (both in London) and the Trinity (in Leeds).
The company attributes its success to strong like for like sales in 2013, which built on the benefits it saw during last year's Olympics, and which its report calls "record-breaking". This is despite poor weather later on in the year, which is said to have negatively impacted the takings of restaurants with terraces, such as Butlers Wharf and Coq D'Argent.
In addition to positive financial results, the company this year also secured private equity house LDC as its new financial partner, thereby becoming independent from Conran, and appointed new non-executive directors to the board inducing Chairman Simon Sherwood, formerly of OrientExpress Hotels.
Chairman and CEO Des Gunewardena called 2012/13 "an important financial year for D&D" but added that the full extent of the new ventures will only be borne out across the next 12 months.
He said: "Prospects for both our restaurants and fledgling hotel business look good and with some exciting projects in the pipeline, I am very optimistic about the future.
D&D London operates 26 restaurants across the capital including high-profile names such as Butler's Wharf ChopHouse, Skylon, and Bluebird Chelsea.
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