Loungers continues expansion drive

Loungers, the Bristol-based pub and bar group, has opened its 17th site and confirmed it has a further seven openings in the pipeline.

The group, which is led by managing director Alex Reilley, opened their 17th site, the Loco Lounge in the Kings Heath suburb of Birmingham, last week. The business is the group's 16th Lounge and its second to open in Birmingham.

The company invested £380,000 on the new site, which was formally a bed shop, to create 130 covers internally and an additional 40 covers externally.

Commenting on their latest opening, Reilley said that the Kings Heath site was, "very consistent" with the group's strategy of opening on strong secondary high street's in neighbourhood locations of large towns or cities.

Reilley also confirmed that the group had another 'Lounge' opening lined up Birmingham, plus another site in Southampton, and two more sites in Bournemouth in the pipeline.

Big plans​

The company's next opening will be in the SouthGate shopping development in Bath Loungers, an will be their 2nd Cosy Club site.

Loungers opened their first Cosy Club site in a Grade II-Listed former arts college in Taunton in September and according to the group, it has immediately established itself as Loungers' number one performing site.

Loungers specifically developed the Cosy Club model to fit more market town or niche city centre locations and Reilley is eyeing the Bath opening as the group's most significant to date.

"We're expecting big things from Bath", Reilley said. "A lot of operators looked at the site and were put off by its distinct lack of ground floor trading. However, the first floor space is amazing and has a spectacular balcony over-looking the SouthGate scheme and we believe we can make the lack of ground floor space work to our advantage".

Reilley also confirmed that planning decisions are imminent for proposed Cosy Club sites in Exeter and Stamford.

"The Exeter site occupies the ground floor of a former hospital wing in the Southernhay business area of Exeter and the Stamford site is a former post office sorting depot. Both sites are packed with potential and have the Cosy Club characteristics that we look for", he added.

Reilley also confirmed that whilst Loungers are currently growing without taking on any additional bank debt this is not exclusively through choice.

Cautious banks​

"Despite having extremely manageable levels of bank debt and having opened some stonking sites in the last 12 months our bank is not offering the level of support to the business that we have previously become accustomed to expect", Reilley said.

"We're not quite at the point where we can just grow at will so we are having to be slightly cautious and take things a little slower than we'd like".

Reilley described their banks stance as "bewildering" although he added that, "It seems consistent with the majority state-owned bank in question that they don't seem to practice what they preach".

It is understood Loungers are reviewing other banking options.