THE STABLE
sous vide-cooked food on the high street. The brand places a major emphasis on the health benefits of sous vide-cooked meals, claiming the process seals in flavour with- out damaging “the nutritional element of the food”. In charge of menu development is head of food Bernhard Engelhardt, the for- mer executive chef at Barclays Capital and then the Kia Oval for contract catering giant Compass. He is joined by nutritional thera- pist Charlotte Watts.
SAN CARLO Founded in 1992 by veteran restaurateur Carlo Distefano, San Carlo has quietly grown to be a formidable force on the UK restau- rant scene with 16 UK sites and a number of international franchises in locations like Kuwait City and Bangkok. Distefano, 70, still has the energy of a much younger man and can boast proudly that he still works seven days a week. He jointly runs the business with his son, managing director Marcello Distefano.
The group comprises several different brands. Perhaps best known for its original large-scale San Carlo restaurants that inhabit major UK cities including Birmingham, Bristol, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds, the business has more recently diversified into smaller, more flexible offers like Fumo in Birmingham (which has an emphasis on high-quality drinks, cocktails and small plates), and Cicchetti, which also offers small plates and operates in Manches- ter, London’s Piccadilly and Bangkok. And that’s before you mention the likes of the iconic Flying Pizza restaurant in Leeds, acquired by San Carlo in 2011, or the venera- ble Signor Sassi in Knightsbridge, which has two sister sites in Kuwait. Another Fumo site is scheduled to open in
Manchester – the business’ fifth site in the city – but it is London that the group has now set its focus. This month sees the opening of Cicchetti
in Wellington Street in Covent Garden and the company is on the lookout for more sites in the capital, as well as looking at the pos- sibility of external investment to expand the Cicchetti brand.
Turnover £60m UK sites 16 Founded 1992 Managing director Marcello Distefano Founder Carlo Distefano
Restaurant Insight Report | September 2014 SUCHEF
A very new brand, having opened its first site in London’s St Paul’s in July this year, Suchef is set to launch three more sites later this year. It also plans significant expansion in London next year and has enough invest- ment behind it to target growth across the pond. The brainchild of Anastasia Danilova and backed by a consortium of private inves- tors, the concept claims to be the first to offer
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The Stable is another young and relatively small brand that has grown quickly and tapped into the shifts in the pub market to offer a concept that is part pub and part casual-dining restaurant. Founded in Bridport, Dorset, in 2009 by husband and wife Richard and Nikki Coo- per and Nikki’s brother-in-law Andy Briggs, it offers freshly-made sourdough pizzas topped with locally sourced ingredients, alongside a wide range of ciders. Although the business has so far lim-
ited itself largely to the South West, with its most recent opening in Falmouth, it has ambitions to move beyond its heartland into London and the South East. That aim looks closer to being realised after Chiswick-based brewer and pub company Fuller’s paid £7.3m for a 51% stake in the business in June.
Number of sites 7 Year founded 2009 Founders Richard Cooper, Nikki Cooper and Andy Briggs Turnover £5-6m Average profit margin per dish 68%
Offering a price point of between £6 and £9, and squarely targeted at the busy office worker, Suchef is set to roll out 14 sites in 2015.
Number of sites 1 Owner Private investors Managing director Anastasia Danilova Year founded 2014 Turnover n/a EBITDA n/a Average spend £6-9
TORTILLA Tortilla, the UK’s largest Mexican fast-casual restaurant business, with a total of 18 sites, was founded in 2007 by American-born Bran- don Stephens. New sites are set to open in London Victoria station as well as Richmond, and it is starting to expand outside the M25 with sites in Leeds, Brighton, Southampton and Watford. It has also secured a site at Bir- mingham Grand Central due to open in 2015. Tortilla, which counts YO! Sushi chairman
Robin Rowland among its non-executive directors, is backed by private equity busi- ness and YO! Sushi investor Quilvest and Clapham House Group founder Paul Camp- bell is also an investor. As a result, Stephens has previously indicated the investors would like to see Tortilla grow to a size roughly equivalent to that of the YO! Sushi business or GBK – around 60-70 units.
Number of sites 18 Founder Brandon Stephens Year founded 2007 Turnover circa £10m (2013) EBITDA undisclosed Average spend per head £7
www.thecaterer.com
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