Richoux Group plc has today announced its audited final results for the year ended 25 December 2016, showing that turnover increased by 2.2% to £13.32m (2015: £13.03m), and adjusted EBITDA decreased to £0.20m (2015: £1.64m).
The company currently has eighteen restaurants, which operate under the Richoux, Dean’s Diner, Villagio, Friendly Phil’s and Zintino brands, and there has been a number of changes seen across the portfolio.
Two former Villagio restaurants in Port Solent and Chislehurst were converted into Richoux restaurants in February and March 2017 respectively.
Friendly Phil’s vintage American Diner brand launched in Hempstead Valley in last month (pictured), and in Port Solent this month. These restaurants were previously Dean’s Diner restaurants.
The three remaining Dean’s Diner restaurants in Chatham, Braintree and Fareham will also be converted to Friendly Phil’s in the coming months. The Dean’s Diner restaurant in Bicester was closed in November 2016 and sold in January 2017. The Dean’s Diner restaurants in Trowbridge and Yate were closed in November 2016. The Dean’s Diner restaurant in Orpington was closed in March 2017 and the lease was surrendered in April 2017 for a reverse premium of £220k.
As noted before, the Villagio restaurants in Chislehurst and Port Solent have been rebranded as Richoux restaurants and the Villagio restaurant in Canterbury has been rebranded as a Zintino restaurant. The Villagio restaurant in High Wycombe was closed at the end of December 2016 and sold at the end of January 2017.
Chairman Simon Morgan said, 'Like many restaurant groups in the casual dining sector, trading in the first quarter of this year has been difficult. In addition, during this period trading in some of our restaurants was interrupted whilst we converted or refurbished them.
'The impact of temporary closures will continue during the second quarter. Whilst our new Richoux and Friendly Phil's restaurants have only been trading for a brief period, the early signs from them are encouraging.'
'The cost of converting or refurbishing restaurants and of closing underperforming restaurants, the reduction of income due to temporary closures and the current trading climate have led the Board to conclude that it will need to approach shareholders for further funds in due course.'