Las Iguanas sees positive pre-Christmas training
Latin American casual-dining chain Las Iguanas described pre-Christmas trading as "encouraging" as it revealed increased turnover and profits for the year.
The company, which has 28 restaurants across the UK, revealed a 13% rise in total sales to £33.8m for the 53 weeks to 31 March 2012.
Like-for-like sales were up 1.8%, while underlying profit increased 12% to £3.3m.
The company opened three new sites during the year, at Westfield Stratford, Sheffield Meadowhall and Newcastle.
The group, which is backed by Bowmark Capital, extended its banking facility with Royal Bank of Scotland to £15.7m in March 2012 with the aim of growing the group to 36 sites.
Eren Ali, chief executive of Las Iguanas, said: "I am delighted to report another year of progress, which demonstrates good sales and profit growth, as well a further consolidation of Las Iguanas' market leadership in authentic Latin American casual dining. This is an excellent trading performance against the backdrop of a challenging economic climate and we remain encouraged by the ongoing appeal of our brand offering in a variety of trading formats and geographic locations.
"We have continued to expand our estate nationwide and extend our geographic footprint across the UK, most notably through our recent debut in Scotland with the opening of our Aberdeen restaurant last month. Our new openings are trading well under the refreshed Las Iguanas format and will be a driver of profit in the current year.
"The current year's performance is encouraging and we are confident of a good Christmas trading period over the weeks ahead. This, together with an excellent pipeline of new sites, leaves Las Iguanas well positioned to deliver another period of further progress."
Pictured: Las Iguanas in Aberdeen
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By Neil Gerrard
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