Be At One defies recession with 120% increase in annual profit

London cocktail bar chain Be At One is continuing to buck the economic gloom, reporting a record profit of £1.1m for year ending March 2009 - an increase of 120%.

The operator, which has eight bars across the capital, saw group sales rise 67% from £3.1m to more than £5.1m, while like-for-like sales (stripping out new openings) were up by 25%, from £3.1m to almost £3.9m.

The Be At One group is wholly owned by its three directors, Rhys Oldfield, Leigh Miller and Steve Locke, who met whilst working at TGI Friday, before setting up the company.

Locke said: "Despite the continuing economic downturn we have stuck to our guns and persisted with our simple yet effective philosophy of high quality, consistently made cocktails, classic tunes and professional friendly service.

"We have a really motivated team at Be At One and their efforts are reflected by the group profit. We aim to ride out the rest of the economic storm in the same fashion whilst continuing to open new bars."

Be At One has bars in Battersea, Richmond, Balham, Covent Garden, Hammersmith, Putney, Soho and, most recently, Clapham Common.

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By Daniel Thomas

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