Expansion is squarely on the agenda now that Revolution Bars (RBG) is a public company, says chief executive Mark McQuater. The operator of 57 Revolution and Revolucion de Cuba bars in the UK, the company plans to open five more sites during the coming financial year, three of them before the crucial Christmas trading period. Its strategy is to rent rather than buy space, and Mr McQuater is committed to keeping rental costs as low as 8.5 per cent of turnover.
But there's organic growth, too, with like-for-like sales up 3 per cent for the year to June. Confusingly, this is not apparent from the revenue numbers below, which for prior years include sales from a small business retained by private equity company Alchemy Partners at the time of the IPO in March. Adjusted cash profits grew 11 per cent to £14.6m. Exceptional costs were roughly £2m higher at £5.4m, but most of this came down to IPO-related items that will not recur.