Turnover up 16.2% at Arc Inspirations

The award-winning bar group, known for brands such as Box and Manahatta, described the period as a “transformational year”, with turnover having risen to £47.4m, a 16.2% upswing on the previous year.

Underlying profits, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) for the group were up 37.1% to £5.3m.

Average site EBITDA was up 22% to more than £550,000 per venues, the trading update revealed, with a reported conversion to profit (EBITDA) of 22.9%, up from 21.4%.

The “strong performance” from Arc, which is led by co-founder and CEO Martin Wolstencroft, followed its recent fund raise of £7m​, supported by BGF and HSBC, and means the company is “extremely well placed” to push ahead with plans to grow its presence in key UK cities.

Extremely proud

In addition, the company added its year-end results were further boosted thanks to the launch of four new sites​ – Box Brindleyplace, in Birmingham; Manahatta Newcastle; Box Nottingham, and Manahatta Sheffield.

The performance was bolstered by Arc’s “best Christmas sales period yet”, with more than half of the group’s 21 sites having reported their “best-ever sales weeks” during the week commencing 11 December 2023.

Additionally, like-for-like sales for the four weeks to the end of December 2023 were up 19% compared to December 2022.

Meanwhile individual brands outperformed the previous year, with Box up 30%, Manahatta up 24% and Banyan ahead 10%.

Wolstencroft said: “We are extremely proud of what the group has achieved over the past 12 months. As a business, we continue to track ahead of the market, which is extremely positive.

“Recent years have not been without challenges for the industry, yet these results indicate we have weathered the storm, and confidence in our brands remains high, across partners, stakeholders, teams and customers."

Huge credit

Wolstencroft added: “These results are a huge credit to everyone that plays a role in driving Arc Inspirations forward and we’re excited for what the coming year will bring as we implement our growth plans further.

“We have already made great headway with this, with the opening of four strong sites this year, all of which are proving to be incredible additions to both these cities and our business.”

Wolstencroft added the performance was a “testament to the work” of teams across the Arc estate to deliver a “best-in-class customer experience”.

He continued: “As a business, we care about our teams and customers, and how we can keep delivering an elevated experience in all areas.

“This is what keeps driving us on and as a result, we are seeing some fantastic performances.

“All of our sites are trading ahead of the market, and we are confident this trend will continue as we open new sites in more key locations.”