DRG announces 12.4% turnover increase and plans for £8m aparthotel

Scottish independent restaurant chain, the DRG, has unveiled plans for an £8m aparthotel in Glasgow city centre as it announced its annual results.

Formerly known as Di Maggio's Restaurant Group, the DRG owns 18 restaurants across Scotland including Amarone and Café Andaluz, and saw a turnover increase of 12.4% to £33.7m for the financial year to April 30 2016.

The family-owned group invested over £2m in new restaurants and staff training during the same period, with profits increasing 22% to £5.76m and employee numbers increasing from 690 to 784.

The latest results include the first full year of trading for the group's flagship Anchor Line and the new Café Andaluz on Union Street in Aberdeen.

Joint managing director Mario Gizzi, who co-founded the business in 1983, said: "Our strategy of reinvesting in the business helps us to set the pace with new restaurant concepts and the latest additions, including the Atlantic in Glasgow and our new Spanish seafood restaurant Cadiz in Edinburgh are already trading very well."

The group also confirmed it is on schedule to open an aparthotel in Glasgow's St Vincent Place above its flagship Anchor Line restaurant next spring, with 64 rooms and six penthouse suites.

Joint MD Tony Conetta said: "It's a very significant venture for us but we have carried out a great deal of market research and are aiming firmly at business people visiting the city, as well as visitors taking in shows at The Hydro or on shopping trips to Glasgow."

The group is also set to open a £2m flagship restaurant and bar development, Registers, in Edinburgh's historic St Andrew Square in spring 2018.

Last year, the company became an SQA-accredited training facility and started offering Modern Apprenticeships to staff. With 35 employees already undertaking SVQs in either Hospitality Services or Hospitality Supervision and Leadership, the firm is looking to expand the programme to 120 apprentices in 2017-18 and 200 in 2018-19.

Conetta added: "It's been a strong 12 months but we're determined not to rest on our laurels. The coming year will see our biggest-ever capital investment in new premises and a huge expansion of professional training programmes for our people."

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