Individual Restaurant Company (IRC), owner of brands Piccolino and Restaurant, Bar and Grill, plans to open at least seven new sites next year after securing £18.5m backing from Lloyds TSB.
The company, which currently operates 30 sites across the UK, already has seven new sites slated for 2008 - six Piccolinos (already launched in Birmingham and York and then Aberdeen, Bristol, Hale and Clitheroe), and a new Restaurant, Bar and Grill in Harrogate.
Its aggressive expansion plans will continue next year after it secured a “revolving credit facility” from Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets. This will enable IRC to borrow up to a pre-specified amount and, as repayments of outstanding balances are made, the loan facility is replenished.
Vernon Lord, finance director at IRC, which this week revealed a 21% jump in sales for the first six months of the year, said “We have a really strong pipeline, with dozens of opportunities across the UK.
“But we are not rolling out chain restaurants,” he added. “We are expanding in strategic sites, creating individual restaurants that are raising the bar in terms of standards and quality. “
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By Daniel Thomas
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