28 September 2007
AGM Statement
At today’s Annual General Meeting, the following statement will be made on behalf of David Page, Chairman of Clapham House :
Restaurant openings
We have progressed well with our opening programme and added thirteen new locations to date in the current financial year, comprising ten Gourmet Burger Kitchens (“GBKs”) and three Bombay Bicycle Club (“BBC”) delivery kitchens. Openings have included GBKs in Oxford, Cambridge, Windsor and two GBK restaurants in Manchester. As previously reported we have also sold two underperforming Tootsies restaurants.
We currently operate from eighty four locations: thirty two GBK restaurants in the UK, four GBK restaurants under franchise in the Middle East, twenty four Tootsies / Dexters restaurants, six The Real Greek restaurants and seventeen BBC restaurants and delivery kitchens. One further restaurant at Canary Wharf is undergoing conversion from Tootsies and will re-open as a GBK later in the year.
We are currently building seven further GBK restaurants which will open early in the second half of the year, including Edinburgh, Leeds and York. We are also building at one BBC delivery kitchen. Contracts have also been exchanged on a further five properties.
We are confident that the Company will fulfill its planned opening target for this financial year. We also have a number of other property contracts subject to legal negotiations and are already scheduling these as part of our opening programme for the financial year 2008/2009.
International GBK franchise- Turkey
We are pleased to announce that the second GBK international franchise for the development of Turkey was signed on 24 September 2007. Under this agreement, our local partners plan to open at least eleven GBK restaurants across Turkey over the next 4 years. The first restaurant location has been signed for a major shopping centre in Istanbul and will open in the second half of this financial year. Clapham House will receive fees upon the opening of each restaurant and a fixed percentage of sales but will make no capital investment in the territory, although it retains the right of first refusal on any subsequent sale of the franchised operation.
Current trading
GBK restaurants continue to perform well with consistently high returns on capital employed being generated both from restaurants that have been open for several years as well as recently opened locations. We have been particularly encouraged by the two openings in Manchester. The performance of these, together with the early performance of other GBKs opened this year outside London, bodes well for our planned national development of the GBK format.
Within Tootsies, seven restaurants underwent refurbishment and a period of closure during the first half of the financial year. These closures, together with the effect of the wet summer on several restaurants with outdoor seating, have impacted on Tootsies sales. No significant further closures are planned during the second half of the year.
BBC delivery sales generally benefited from the poor summer weather. The Real Greek has seen good performances at several locations, in particular the important South Bank restaurant.
Enquiries
The Clapham House Group PLC
Paul Campbell, Chief Executive 07785 228299
Noble & Company Limited
Nick Naylor 020 7763 2200
Hogarth Partnership Limited
Julian Walker 020 7357 9477
www.claphamhousegroup.com
NOTE TO EDITORS:
The Clapham House Group PLC (www.claphamhousegroup.com)
The Clapham House Group PLC (“the Company” or “Clapham House”) was listed on AIM in November 2003 to acquire and develop a small number of quality, “best in class” branded restaurant formats for expansion as a high growth restaurant group. There are currently 84 Clapham House restaurant locations across four brands, 80 of which are within the UK and 4 GBK restaurants operating under franchise in the Middle East.
Gourmet Burger Kitchen (www.gbkinfo.com)
Gourmet Burger Kitchen (“GBK”) offers a range of nutritious, delicious and sophisticated burgers (Winner of Retailers’ Retailer Best Concept 2007, Harden’s London Restaurants 2008: “the survey’s most talked-about chain”, Time Out 2008: “the original and still the best…for our money, this outlet can do little wrong”). GBK uses only high quality, fresh ingredients to create each burger including oversized sourdough buns, 100% fully traceable Aberdeen Angus Scotch Beef patties, English chicken and other fresh produce delivered to the restaurants each day. GBK offers a variety of 27 burgers including Beef, Chicken, Lamb, Venison and Chorizo, as well as four Vegetarian burgers, Junior burgers and innovative, delicious flavour combinations. Seasonal specialities include Christmas burgers and lighter summer options, as well as GBK salads and bespoke GBK ice creams. The 32nd GBK restaurant in the UK opened in Oxford in September 2007. The fourth GBK operating under franchise in the Middle East opened in Kuwait in June 2007.
Tootsies (www.tootsiesrestaurants.co.uk)
Tootsies first opened its doors to London diners in Holland Park back in 1971 and rapidly built up a loyal local following. Over the past 35 years, Tootsies has opened many more restaurants throughout London and the United Kingdom, offering high quality, freshly prepared food in a friendly atmosphere. The latest Tootsies opened in the Brent Cross Shopping Centre in August 2006. The menu is renowned for offering “great food for everyone” including legendary breakfasts and brunches, imaginative salads whilst the char-grill offers steaks, ribs and a superb selection of burgers, including the famous Jalapeno (avocado, Monterey Jack cheese and Mexican hot sauce). Children are very welcome and are offered an organic children’s menu (designed in partnership with Annabel Karmel MBE) and the renowned freshly blended Tootsies milkshakes. (Zagat 2007: “the staff are cheerful and friendly even when your children aren't”, Hardens 2007: “a great family destination”).
The Bombay Bicycle Club (www.thebombaybicycleclub.com)
The Bombay Bicycle Club (“BBC”) operates three restaurants and fourteen delivery kitchens and has built an outstanding reputation for quality Indian cuisine over a period of 20 years using the freshest ingredients and providing excellent service, regularly receiving positive plaudits from leading food critics (Zagat 2007: “posh takeaways are good value especially when delivered to your door”, Hardens 2007: “light, fresh and well-crafted curries”). The Bombay Bicycle Club home delivery service provides quality, freshly prepared food to more than 10,000 customers a week in the comfort of their own homes. Our loyalty scheme under the Penny Farthing Club banner has over 5,000 registered users with members enjoying a range of special offers and loyalty discounts. The Bombay Bicycle Club will continue to expand across and beyond Greater London, seeking to become the largest operator in the quality Indian food market.
The Real Greek (www.therealgreek.com)
The Real Greek (“TRG”) offers highly acclaimed traditional Greek cooking (Time Out 2007: “faultless Souvlaki…perfectly char-grilled”, Harden’s 2007: “revolutionalised our notions of Greek cooking”) using fresh and seasonal ingredients served in an informal setting and accompanied by specially imported Greek wines. The Real Greek Souvlaki & Bar concept derives its style from Greek “Street Food”, where eating mezes and char-grilled souvlakis is part of everyday life. The Real Greek currently operates from six locations, including a landmark restaurant on London’s South Bank.