Six by Nico unveils expansion plans amid strong sales

Sixco Limited, the group behind the Six by Nico restaurant network, has unveiled “ambitious” expansion plans following a period of strong turnover and profits. The group, which operates from across 13 sites in the UK and Ireland, recorded a turnover of £30.8m for the year to June 2022, against the £18.1m reported for the prior 15-month period ended June 2021. Meanwhile, operating profits rose to £4.4m against a loss of £600k the prior year, while EBITDA from continuing operations hit £5.0m, compared to a previous loss of £0.1m. During the 12 months to June 2022, the company invested £3.9m, opening new Six by Nico sites in Canary Wharf, Dublin and Aberdeen. An £11.5m funding facility was also agreed with challenger bank ThinCats to support its expansion strategy. CEO and founder Nico Simeone said the group will now aim to “significantly” expand over the next 12 months, with four new UK Six by Nico openings, as well as new bar and bakery ventures in Q1 and Q2 2023. In addition, the group is said to be drawing up plans for international expansion, with potential for a new venture in Dubai towards the end of 2023. Simeone said: “While Covid was a huge challenge, we’ve bounced back very strongly, thanks to our amazingly loyal customer base who stayed with us through the lockdowns and have returned to our restaurants in phenomenal numbers. “That’s down to our dedicated and hard-working team who have been absolutely brilliant - delivering consistent creativity and fun experiences day-in, day-out.” He added: “At our core we are creative, agile and driven to deliver for our customers and 2023 promises to be our most exciting year. We’re really confident that, despite the economic headwinds, our high-value and high-experience restaurants will continue to excite our customers into the new year and beyond.” Sixco Group chairman, Rob Wirszycz said: “Nico’s genius in coming up with the concept of fixed-price, six-course tasting menus that change every six weeks has struck a resounding chord with the dining public. “Crucially, thanks to our core strategy of building customer loyalty, we emerged strongly from the pandemic and now have a fast-expanding database of more than 550,000 engaged and active customers, all literally hungry for the experiences we deliver.” He added: “Our headcount has expanded to over 500 colleagues, despite the well-known challenges the industry has faced in recruitment and retention, and our employee benefits are highly competitive. “The plans we have developed to extend our network and broaden our offering in the UK and overseas are enormously exciting. We’ve done our homework and are confident we’ll continue to deliver on our ethos of bringing incredible value for money and great food and drink experiences, that we believe gives us a level of resilience at a tough time for the sector more generally.”