The Burger & Lobster Restaurant Group (B&L), led by Misha Zelman and operating nine establishments in London, has reported its financial results for 2022, indicating a turnover of £32.7 million for the year. This represents a remarkable 43% increase in revenue compared to the previous year when COVID-19 restrictions heavily impacted trading.
The brand's UK restaurants also doubled their EBITDA from 2021, reaching £2.4 million.
In 2022, B&L streamlined its business structure by incorporating its supply chain operations into the group, resulting in a total revenue of £36.5 million. Despite various economic challenges, the group managed to raise its gross margin from 37% to 38%. The total restaurant contribution accounted for 15.8% of revenue.
B&L is in a solid financial position, with £9.2 million in cash reserves.
During the pandemic, the B&L team started working on the regeneration of the brand, launching the refurbishment programme of the flagship Soho site last October. Investment in the business has continued this year, with all London restaurants completing their refurbishments by April. The project was funded internally for £4.4m.
'I am extremely grateful for every single person at B&L delivering such positive results despite the challenging environment that continued through 2022,' says Zelman. 'The future for the business is extremely exciting [and I am] looking forward to building on what we have achieved so far.'
Forecasts suggest 2023 could be even better for the group, which is now actively looking for locations outside of the capital in other key cities across the UK and Europe. The Group currently also operates a further 11 restaurants in New York, Singapore, Bangkok, Genting, Kuwait City, Hong Kong and Doha.