RCS - Loungers PLC - Loungers celebrates landmark 250th site opening

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29/01/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 1103B  Loungers PLC  29 January 2024

 

 

 

 

29 January 2024

Loungers plc

("Loungers" or the "Group")

 

Loungers celebrates landmark 250(th) site opening

 

Loungers, a leading operator of all day café/bar/restaurants across the UK
under the Lounge, Cosy Club and Brightside brands, is delighted to announce
the opening of its 250(th) site. Pionero Lounge in Rochdale opens today and
marks the latest landmark for Loungers as the Group continues its accelerated
site opening programme across the UK.

 

Since Loungers' interim results on 28 November 2023, the Group has opened new
Lounges in Cramlington (Coltello Lounge), Penrith (Arturo Lounge), Paignton
(Costero Lounge), Caerphilly (Consurio Lounge) and Ashby-de-la-Zouch (Centivo
Lounge). Further openings scheduled in the coming months include Lounges in
Bromsgrove, Chepstow, Westwood Cross, Macclesfield, Bracknell, Ilkley, Sidcup
and Yeovil, with sites ranging from brand new developments to former banks,
retail outlets and restaurants on the high street, demonstrating the variety
and versatility of the Lounge concept.  Like all Lounges, the new sites will
be a home-from-home for customers, offering excellent food and drink all day,
with a real focus on making a positive impact on their local communities.

 

Loungers recently stated its firm belief that there is scope for at least 600
Lounges across the UK, with the Group on track to open 34 new sites in the
current financial year alone. This is over and above the Group's Cosy Club and
Brightside brands, which currently have 36 and three sites, respectively. With
each new Lounge site, nearly £1m is invested into the local high street and
an average of 30 new jobs are created. In 2023, the Group created 1,000 new
jobs in total; it expects to recruit the same number again in 2024.

 

In keeping with the importance that it places on finding ways to make a
positive difference, Loungers recently published its first sustainability
report ("The Good Stuff"), drawing together the many initiatives it has in
place to support its people, customers, suppliers and the planet. In addition,
the Group was delighted to launch Lounge Community Kickstart in the final
quarter of 2023, a pilot scheme across 26 Lounges which aims to donate over
10,000 meals back to Loungers' communities every year.

 

Alex Reilley, Chairman and co-founder of Loungers, said:

 

"The opening of our 250(th) site is a hugely satisfying landmark for a
business that started in 2002 in Bristol with a single cafe-bar called The
Lounge. A lot has changed since then but our commitment to providing our
customers with excellent food and drink all day, while doing everything that
we can to make a positive impact on the local community, has never wavered.

 

"In many ways, it feels like we are only just getting started and there is so
much more for us to go after. We're on track to open 34 sites in the current
financial year, which will be a record for us and will involve the creation of
over 1,000 new jobs. In the longer term, we believe there is scope for over
600 Lounges alone across the UK.

 

"None of this would be possible without the extraordinary talent, hard work
and dedication of our people, and I'd like to thank each and every one of them
for their contribution to building the business that Loungers is today."

 

 

 

 

For further information please contact:

 Powerscourt (Financial Public Relations)       Tel: +44 (0) 207 250 1446

 Rob Greening / Nick Hayns / Elizabeth Kittle

 

 

Notes to Editors

 

Loungers operates through its three established complementary brands - Lounge,
Cosy Club and Brightside - in the UK hospitality sector.  A Lounge is a
neighbourhood café/bar combining elements of coffee shop culture, the British
pub and dining. There are 211 Lounges nationwide.  Lounges are principally
located in secondary suburban high streets and small town centres. The sites
are characterised by informal, unique interiors with an emphasis on a warm,
comfortable atmosphere, often described as a "home from home".

 

Cosy Clubs are more formal bars/restaurants offering reservations and table
service but share many similarities with the Lounges in terms of their broad,
all-day offering and their focus on hospitality and culture.  Cosy Clubs are
typically located in city centres and large market towns.  Interiors tend to
be larger and more theatrical than for a Lounge, and heritage buildings or
first-floor spaces are often employed to create a sense of occasion.  There
are 36 Cosy Clubs nationwide.

 

Brightside is a roadside dining concept and was launched in November 2022. The
first Brightside location opened on the A38, south of Exeter, in February
2023, with the second opening in Saltash near Plymouth in June 2023 and the
third in Honiton on the A303 in August 2023.

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