Fat Duck Group reports £1.4m loss

The parent company of Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck restaurant in Bray posted a pre-tax loss of £1.4m as a result of “tough economic headwinds”.

 

In documents filed with Companies House for the year ended 28 May 2023, SL6 Ltd, which is behind the three Michelin-starred Fat Duck and the Michelin-starred Hinds Head pub in Bray, reported a slight dip in turnover from £11.5m in 2022 to £9.5m in 2023.

 

SL6 Ltd had been making a pre-tax loss for two consecutive years (£1m between 1 June 2020 and 30 May 2021 and £500,000 the year before) until it recorded a £2.4m pre-tax profit in 2022.

 

The group revealed it was heavily impacted by supply chain inflation, recruitment challenges, and damages to consumer spending as a result of the cost of living crisis.

 

SL6 Ltd stated it absorbed most of the inflationary pressures during this period instead of passing it onto customers so as not to "affect [its] profitability”.

 

Staff costs increased from £2.9m in 2022 to £3.4m, while the average monthly number of total employees also rose from 104 to 118 during the period.   

 

Ronald Lowenthal, director of SL6 Ltd, who first invested in the group in 2007, expressed his confidence that the business is “well placed” to consolidate its presence as it emerges out of “legacy headwinds” and a “very challenging economic and trading environment”.

 

Management has been working to secure further funding based on an “existing strong relationship” with the company’s bankers, the business added.

 

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