Loungers looks to open 20 sites in 2016
Loungers is ramping up its roll out of café bars and restaurants with the launch of another three new sites this month.
The company, which was launched in 2002 by Dave Reid, Alex Reilley and Jake Bishop, said this week it intends to open around 20 new sites this year.
Loungers is currently planning a further eight Lounge openings in Loughborough, Monmouth, Lichfield, Corby, Derby, Mumbles, Telford and Mere Green and two more Cosy Clubs with more in the pipeline later this year.
The latest additions include the Castello Lounge in Wellingborough, set to open this week, which is in the town's former McDonalds site and the Nautico Lounge in Weymouth which opens next week.
Located in Weymouth's former Grade II-listed post office, Nautico Lounge has a total of 3,400sq ft including a 700sq ft terrace.
The group is also set to open its fourteenth Cosy Club in Derby on the 22 April. The Derby Cosy Club will occupy the entire first floor of the city's Grade II-listed former Royal Hotel, which closed in 1952. Until recently the site was occupied by a nightclub.
Loungers are investing £950,000 into the site which will see a new ground floor entrance lobby which will lead into the first floor space which includes the former hotel's grand 2,200sq ft ballroom.
Nick Collins, Loungers MD, said: "We're set to open a trio of cracking sites in April in three diverse locations and in very different buildings. Our three Lounge openings so far in 2016, in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Hinckley and Newquay, have very nicely exceeded our expectations and our Cosy Club in Hereford has got off to an absolute flyer.
The potential scale of both brands is extremely exciting."
Alex Reilley, Loungers executive vice-chairman told The Caterer the company will open 20 sites this year and plans to bring the number of Cosy Clubs to 20 by 2017. The company has 82 sites, including the three new sites opening this month.
He added: "We are still finding there is lots of opportunity in small towns around the UK, particularly for our café bar model and we are enjoying more and more success in locations that are not necessarily on other operators' radars and benefitting from the growing appetite for good places to eat and drink that is really penetrating small towns in the UK."
Reilley said that for now the company will concentrate on building its Loungers and Cosy Club brands but added it would not rule out developing or acquiring another "small concept" at some point in the future.
