Comptoir Group losses widen to £1.7m in H1 despite revenue rise
The group has attributed its mounting losses to its sustained restaurant opening programme, which saw the opening of a new flagship restaurant in London
Comptoir Group, the operator of Comptoir Libanais, Kenza, Shawa and Yalla Yalla, has seen its loss after tax widen from £0.8m to £1.7m in the six-month period to 30 June, despite reporting a revenue rise of 7.4% to £15.9m.
Adjusted EBITDA loss before highlighted items also widened to £0.6m from £0.3m a year earlier.
The group has attributed its mounting losses to its sustained restaurant opening programme, which saw the opening of a new flagship restaurant in Southbank, London, and the return of a Cheshire Oaks Outlet Centre site back into the managed portfolio from its franchisee.
During the half-year, Comptoir also opened two new franchised restaurants in major international airports – Shawa in Abu Dhabi and Comptoir Libanais in Milan, with a new partner.
As a result, group-wide sales rose by 7.4% to £20.2m compared with the same period last year, with gross profits rising 10.4% to £20.2m.
However, the group saw the closure of Yalla Yalla Soho in February 2024, and subsequent to the half-year, its Ashford Outlet Centre franchise restaurant as well.
Comptoir currently owns and operates a total of 22 equity restaurants, with a further seven franchise restaurants across two partners.
The hospitality group ended the six-month period with net cash and cash equivalents of £4.9m, down from the £7.6m recorded in the same period of 2023.
Despite economic challenges and rising costs, Comptoir is seeing positive results in the second half of the year from its strategic initiatives, saying that it is currently in line with expectations.
According to the group, it is confident that its “proactive” measures will lead to improved performance in the second half of the year and beyond.
