Loungers ups expansion

Bristol-based group Loungers is expanding faster than anticipated, and has just signed a deal on its 17th site.

The company, which was founded in 2002 by Alex Reilley, David Reid and Jake Bishop, has just completed the purchase of a second Birmingham site, in the King's Heath area of the city.

Reilley said the aim was to have 25 units by the end of 2011, and 40 by 2013. Last summer he told the Morning Advertiser that the plan was to be at 30 units by 2013.

Two new venues will be open and trading by the end of the summer, including

an ex-Woolworths site in Bournemouth and the first of its new town-centre concept, Cosy Club, in Taunton.

Ludo Lounge in Bournemouth will reopen after a £500,000 "all-singing, all-dancing" refurb on 9 July, while the Somerset site plans a 12 August opening.

Reilley said the group had taken advantage of the economic slowdown to agree good deals, and had no "exit strategy" past 2013.

He added that "the prospect of building a business up to sell is not attractive at the moment", and that Loungers were considering adding a third brand.

So far the group has concentrated on big refurbishment projects, which often have high costs attached.

But Reilley put the average cost per site at £300,000, saying: "We've been quite clever when it comes to CAPEX. We employed our own building management team, which helped reduce costs by 30%."

Development​

• A site in Banbury, Oxon, is undergoing a revamp, and will open before the end of 2010.

• A second site is on the cards for Southampton, Hants, while the group "is actively trying" to secure a third site in nearby Bournemouth.

• New Cosy Club sites are in "various stages of planning" for Exeter, Devon, and Cirencester, Gloucestershire.