Richard Corrigan Restaurants hails ‘ambitious’ year for the business

Richard Corrigan’s restaurant group saw “successes and challenges” across the business last year amid a tough trading environment.

The chef wrote in the business’ accounts that 2023 was an “ambitious year” for the group with new sites opening and closing.

Richard Corrigan Restaurants saw losses widen from £216,897 in 2022 to just over £1m in 2023. However, turnover rose from £15.7m to £16.3m in the same period.

During the year the group launched the Deer Park Inn pub with rooms at Corrigan’s Virginia Park Lodge country house in Cavan, Ireland.

The opening was a success and Virginia Park Lodge saw revenues rise 7% in 2023 while its adjusted EBITDA increased by 57%.

However, the group had to close its Dublin restaurant the Park Café after just one year in business, citing “economic issues and the challenging location”.

Corrigan said sales had slowed at his London restaurants, which include Bentley’s oyster bar and grill, due to ongoing train strikes and a rise in working from home.

The chef said he had no immediate plans for any new openings in London’s West End, but his team had been “delighted” with the successful launch of the Portrait Restaurant by Richard Corrigan in partnership with Searcys at the National Portrait Gallery.

Corrigan wrote in the group’s accounts: “The hospitality sector remains a tough market to be in, with pressures both new and some old, making trading conditions harder than they have ever been. 

“Without doubt our staff are our industries’ most important asset and new employment reforms will continue to create further economic pressures for us to navigate towards the end of 2024 and 2025.

“Despite that, we continue to enjoy the benefits of our long-term freehold strategy, which creates a solid foundation for longer term success in London and Ireland.”