The Wolseley: Group behind high-end London restaurants eyes new openings
The group behind some of London’s best-known restaurants is looking to open new locations at home and abroad.
The Wolseley Hospitality Group, which is owned by Minor Hotels, currently operates nine high-end restaurants in the capital: The Wolseley, The Delauney, Brasserie Zedel, Colbert, Fischer’s, Belanger, Soutine, Manzi’s and The Wolseley City.
The strategy update has been included in accounts recently filed with Companies House which outline the group’s financial performance in 2023. Its accounts for 2024 are not due to be made public until September.
In 2023, the group reported a pre-tax loss of £8.7m for 2023 off the back of it posted a pre-tax profit of £4.1m in 2022.
The last time the group made a pre-tax loss was the £2m it recorded in 2021. At the time, its turnover stood at £33.3m.
However, the accounts also show that the group’s turnover increased to a new record of £59.4m in the 12 months, up from £53.6m.
It also made an adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) of £5.75m, up from £5.73m, a new record.
‘Very positive year’
A statement signed off by the board said: “Like-for-like performance for the restaurants which operated for the full 12-month period, saw excellent growth of 10.3 per cent on 2022.
“After much anticipation Manzi’s, a Seaford restaurant located in Soho, opened at the end of June 2023 and The Wolseley City in November 2023, with both restaurants receiving positive acclaim from guests and food critics alike.
“The directors are grateful for the support of loyal guests and are proud of hard-working colleagues in what has been a very positive trading year despite the backdrop of significant external challenges to the business form strikes, increasing employment costs, inflationary pressures, rising interest rates and the continued impact of the global energy crisis.”
The results for 2023 come after it was reported last year that The Wolseley Hospitality Group’s owner, Minor Hotels, had hired restructuring adviser AlixPartners.
According to Sky News at the time, the firm was engaged to work on cost management issues.
On its future, The Wolseley Hospitality Group added: “The group continues to strive to delivery hospitality from the heart, creating places where people feel they belong.
“In an uncertain economic climate, we will focus on the things we can influence, namely the experience we create for our guests and the culture we foster for our staff.
“In the coming year we will continue to invest in the environment we create, in the hospitality we provide and in our people.
“The directors believe that our quality offering will enable us to remain highly competitive a we look to expand our footprint, both domestically and internationally.”