Clapham House’s turnover has nearly tripled in a year that saw it open more than 40 new restaurants and venture outside its London heartland for the first time.

Openings for its Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK) brand in Brighton, Bristol and Basingstoke saw turnover increase substantially to £45.9m in the year ended 1 April (2006: £17.3m).

The group, which purchased the struggling Urban Dining for £25.3m last May, said integration of the Tootsies owner was now complete with a number of sites converted to its GBK brand.

Pre-tax profit, excluding one off accounting charges and restructuring costs associated with Urban Dining, increased to £2.9m (2006: £500,000).

David Page, executive chairman of Clapham House, said: “I am delighted to report continued acceleration in both our opening programme and the growth in profits.”

Clapham House currently has 78 sites operating predominately in the UK with three GBK’s in the Middle East. The group is building at five locations and has exchanged contracts on another seven.

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By Chris Druce

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