Soho Clubs and Bars wants more sites and longer opening hours

Central London bar group Soho Clubs and Bars is to buy two more late-night licensed venues in Soho in the next two months.

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	Getting ready to spread his wings: managing director Jeremy Gordeno has been offered "an awful lot of sites"

Jeremy Gordeno, managing director of the newly formed group, would not name the venues but said more sites would follow shortly to add to the seven the company bought last month. "We have an aggressive expansion strategy and we've been offered an awful lot of sites," Gordeno said. "We are certainly well funded. If 10 suitable sites come up we'll buy 10." New sites would have to be in the West End - preferably Soho - and be capable of achieving a 28% net profit to keep the company's private backers happy, Gordeno added. The first seven, previously sole trading units, have been brought under one umbrella with a head office in Soho. Gordeno has also introduced a management team, led by group operations manager Lee Wells and finance director David Ranchurn, and centralised the events and bookings management and purchasing functions. The company now plans to extend the opening hours of its bars into the daytime in line with its star performer, Cheers, which is open from noon to 3am and turns over £100,000 a week.