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Thai restaurant chain Busaba has revealed it will focus on London and the surrounding areas, as its latest opening in Essex’s Lakeside Shopping Centre has proved successful.
According to the group’s latest filings on Companies House, turnover stood at £21.1m for the year ended 17 September 2023, a slight dip from £21.2m in 2022.
In addition, Busaba’s pre-tax losses narrowed from £3.1m in 2022 to £1.8m in 2023.
The group said in the Companies House filing that its continued focus on cost efficiencies has helped to mitigate a 50% rise in energy prices and a 9% increase in hourly pay for staff.
Busaba has stated that its London restaurants still suffered during the period, as footfall had been dashed by the cost-of-living impact on customers’ discretionary spend, as well as the summer-wide disruption caused by train and tube strikes.
Nevertheless, due to Lakeside’s success, the group has decided to continue exploring expansion opportunities that are closer to London, after it had no choice but to close its Cardiff and Oxford restaurants last year to cut costs.
In Companies House, the group added: “We believe Busaba’s much loved brand and product in prominent London locations means we are well placed to face the anticipated customer and market economic challenges ahead.”
Busaba operates eight sites in central London, one in Kingston-Upon-Thames, and the site in the Lakeside Shopping Centre in Essex, which is trading profitably with “sales above expectations”.
