Nightcap to slow expansion plans due to market uncertainty

Nightcap – owner of bar brands including the Cocktail Club, Adventure Bar Group and the Barrio Familia group – has said it will be slowing its expansion plans over the next year due to market uncertainty.

In the group’s full year results to 3 July 2022, chief executive Sarah Willingham said that although there was a “growing number” of sites available on “increasingly advantageous terms”, build costs had increased and trading in the first 13 weeks of the new financial year to 2 October was adversely impacted by record warm weather, train strikes and the cost of living crisis.

“Our focus will be to maximise returns from our existing and newly opened sites and then continue our roll-out programme as market conditions improve,” she said.

The group, which has 36 sites, reported nearly £36m in revenue for the year, with a pre-tax profit of £238,000.

While the business said it expected customers to be more cautious about spending their disposable income under current circumstances, it also said that corporate bookings looked encouraging for the important festive trading period.