Rockfish sales hit £13m amid new post-Covid model
Rockfish has further improved its supply chain by acquiring two of its major suppliers, Brixham Seafish and Hillside Foods.
Rockfish, the nine-strong seafood restaurant group led by Mitch Tonks, has announced sales hit £13m during the year ended April 2022 as it moved to a new post-Covid business model.
The restaurant also reported EBITDA of £2.9m and group EBITDA £1.34m.
The company reported its most “significant change” for Rockfish has been the development of the business, as Tonks and his team have adapted to the challenges of staffing and supply chain due to Covid, while also developing the restaurant business and moving into other adjacencies.
Rockfish said it has further improved its supply chain by acquiring two of its major suppliers, Brixham Seafish and Hillside Foods. This has helped to create an integrated supply chain based directly on the quayside in Brixham, allowing landings from small scale fishermen, including its own boat “Rockfisher”.
These improvements have allowed the business to adapt to inflationary pressures and also enabled it to to drop cod from their menus and replace it with native species as supply chains are disrupted by the conflict in Ukraine and resulting sanctions.
The team is now focused on building the pipeline for future growth with sites secured in Salcombe, Sidmouth and Topsham and a number of other locations under consideration.
Tonks said: “I am extremely proud of what the team have achieved at Rockfish over the last two years. We always set out to create amazing seafood restaurants using produce landed by local boats and small-scale fishermen. Covid allowed us the space to think differently, build a better business and focus on culture and our clear mission to be the leading sustainable seafood restaurant business in the UK.
“Whilst the industry faces multiple challenges in terms of inflation and staffing, I believe the investments made this year in our supply chain and our people gives us a clear competitive advantage that will allow us to build a more significant business over the next few years.
Will Beckett, chairman of Rockfish and co-founder and CEO of Hawksmoor, added: “Having known Mitch for years, I’ve heard him talk for many years about ‘changing the way the UK experiences seafood’ and about being a world class employer. 5 years on from joining as Chairman, I can see firsthand that this is exactly what he and his team are doing.
“With awards like Restaurateur of the Year at the Cateys, it is also obvious to me that people are noticing what many of us have always known – that a very special business is being built in the South West, and I expect it to develop significantly from this point.”
