Exclusive – Nightcap returns to like-for-like growth as full-year revenue increases to £57.5m, ‘strengthened belief’ The Piano Works has ‘national and international roll-out potential’: Nightcap – the owner of The Cocktail Club, the Adventure Bar Group and the Barrio Familia group of bars – has returned to like-for-like growth as it reported a full-year increase in turnover and record site Ebitda, Propel has learned. With investment in people, systems and artificial intelligence to streamline operations and enhance efficiency across the business, Nightcap said it enters its 2026 financial year “stronger, more agile and well-positioned for continued expansion”. Revenue for the year to September 2025 increased to £57.5m compared with £55.6m the previous year. Company Ebitda stood at a profit of £1.5m against a £4.8m loss the year before, with a 17% increase in site Ebitda to a record £9.4m compared with £8.1m the previous year. Nightcap said it outperformed the wider UK bar market, with momentum building quarter by quarter. Like-for-like sales improved from a full-year decline of 2.9% in 2024 to 1.1% like-for-like growth in the last four months of the 2025 financial year, despite the impact of the 2024 European Championships in July. Excluding this period, like-for-like growth in the last four months would have been 4%. Backed by a £3.4m equity raise in May 2025, Nightcap has invested more than £1m in upgrading the i360 in Brighton that it acquired in February this year. The café, function rooms and the newly created Drift Bar & Grill are performing strongly, with summer trading ahead of expectations and the site generating “healthy” site Ebitda. Further investment is planned to extend the i360’s appeal beyond peak tourist periods, driving year-round footfall. During the period, the group transformed its Dirty Martini site in Cardiff into The Piano Works – its third site under the concept and first outside London, which has been a “standout success”. Nightcap said this has strengthened its belief The Piano Works has both national and international roll-out potential and is looking for appropriate new venues in ten different cities across the UK. The conversion of Tonight Josephine in London’s Clapham into Afters marked its first “lower-budget” transformation, designed to align with the younger, trend-driven local demographic, and sales have exceeded expectations – more than doubling projections – and continue to build week on week. Nightcap said this model now serves as a blueprint for transforming certain other underperforming sites within the London estate. The “Hothouse Programme,” launched this summer, has focused senior management and resources on improving performance across a select group of sub-optimal London sites. The group said early results have been “encouraging”, with several bars showing material uplifts in sales and profitability. The group said it is accelerating its refurbishment programme of selected underperforming venues in London, which started with Barrio Soho being relaunched as La Familia at the beginning of November, with four more London sites planned for refurbishment in 2025-26. A head office restructuring to align the group’s cost base with current business scale and to enhance efficiency has saved the business £0.8m versus 2024 and is expected to deliver further annualised savings of £1m in 2026. The group said advanced Christmas bookings are strong, with total covers currently tracking 15% ahead of last year. Nightcap said: “The full-year benefit of the i360 acquisition, The Piano Works Cardiff and Afters Clapham, alongside the ongoing uplift from our estate refurbishment programme, are expected to underpin continued significant revenue and Ebitda growth in the 2026 financial year. We continue to believe consolidation is key to long term success and value creation in this tough economic environment. We therefore remain actively engaged in identifying new acquisition opportunities that complement our portfolio and align with our long-term growth strategy. We remain confident in achieving our medium-term ambition to more than double the size of the estate.” Nightcap features in the Premium Club Turnover & Profits Blue Book, the next edition of which will be sent to Premium Club subscribers on Friday (15 November) and feature 1,182 companies. Nightcap’s turnover of £57.5m is the 225th highest in the database. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Propel Premium for a year for £995 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or a supplier. The single subscription rate is £495 plus VAT for operators and £595 plus VAT for suppliers. Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com to upgrade your subscription.

UAE hospitality group to bring its Ten11 all-day café concept to the UK: UAE-based Ten11 Hospitality Group is bringing its Ten11 all-day café concept to the UK. The group, which is also behind the 777 coffee bakery and Ten11 coffee boutique brands in the region, will open Ten11 London in Knightsbridge on Monday, 17 November, next to the Lanesborough Hotel and opposite Hyde Park. The group operates 23 sites in all. It said Ten11 is “famed for its premium coffee, elevated dining and contemporary design” and “offers a seamless experience from morning to evening, transitioning from vibrant breakfasts and leisurely lunches to refined dinners and late-night bites”. Breakfast items include Shakshuka Imperiale (baked free range eggs with a saffron and harissa tomato sauce topped with whipped feta, coriander and served with za’atar flatbread) and Balaleet (saffron vermicelli pancake layered with cardamom cream and golden syrup). Menu highlights later in the day include The Knightsbridge Croque (with truffle béchamel, Montgomery cheddar, seared sirloin steak, a fried egg and fresh truffle shavings), a rich wild mushroom risotto and a selection of seasonal salads. There will also be premium coffees, loose leaf teas and artisanal matchas, and for those on the go, a counter will offer expertly brewed hot drinks to take away, complemented by freshly baked pastries.