Turtle Bay’s profit dives in challenging casual dining market
Caribbean-style restaurant chain Turtle Bay suffered a sharp drop in profit in its last trading period, following a pattern seen across the UK’s casual dining sector.
Profit fell from £4.43m last year to £1.39m in the year ended 2 March, as the company grappled with economic uncertainty and rising costs.
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Sales in the UK decreased 2.5 per cent due to soaring competition in the mid-market restaurant sector and weak consumer demand.
Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation fell from £12m to £7.6m.
The company said it slowed its expansion plans and only opened one new site during the year, but added that “there are still a large number of good potential sites around the UK, however their costs are likely to fall over the next couple of years”.
Turtle Bay added that the main external challenges it faces are Brexit, sector competition and rising costs, while internally it is challenged by finding and retaining staff.
In a statement the company said: “This has been a challenging year, with the group impacted by the significant headwinds facing the restaurant sector.
“Despite this we have continued to invest in building the people and systems capabilities required to improve the business and further differentiate it.”
The problems facing Turtle Bay are reflected across the mid-market casual dining scene, which has seen household name restaurants close branches in recent years.
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Jamie’s Itallian collapsed earlier this year, while Frankie & Benny’s, Chiquito, Giraffe and Ed’s Easy Diner faced branch closures.
Last month, research by accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young showed that the UK’s top 100 restaurants swung to a £93m loss this year.