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Birmingham Post
Birmingham Post
Business
Jon Robinson

New openings help sales surge at steak restaurant chain Hawksmoor

Steak restaurant chain Hawksmoor enjoyed a surge in sales during its latest financial year thanks to the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions and opening new sites.

The business, which has a restaurant in Manchester and recently expanded into Liverpool, has also cut its pre-tax losses.

Hawksmoor was founded in 2006 by school friends Will Beckett and Huw Gott and has previously been named the best steak restaurant in the world.

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It hit the headlines in Manchester in 2019 after accidentally serving someone a £4,500 bottle of wine.

The company is backed by private equity firm Graphite Capital, which has previously invested in the likes of Game, Paperchase and Wagamama, and is expected to launch a new restaurant in Dublin in the second quarter of 2023.

Hawksmoor said the surge in its revenue for 2021, from £20.5m to £35.6m, was due to the re-opening of its restaurants in May 2021 and its new sites in London and New York.

Hawksmoor co-founders Huw Gott and Will Beckett (Toby Keane Photography)

Newly-filed accounts with Companies House also show its pre-tax losses were cut from £4.4m to £2.3m.

The figures come after BusinessLive's exclusive interview with co-founder Will Beckett about the impact of the energy crisis, the challenges around recruitment as well as the chain's sustainability goals, new Liverpool site and its future plans.

A statement signed off by the board said: "The group has built an industry-leading brand, with highly profitable sites at the date of signing, strong cash generation and an excellent reputation with customers and staff, which the directors believe will position it for success.

"The group entered the pandemic with a healthy cash position and was able to access additional debt facilities as required.

"The restaurants experienced a swift return to strong trading after the government mandated lockdowns and this has continued in 2022."

On the current economic climate, the business added: "The cost of living crisis may result in potential negative impact on the macroeconomic environment.

Hawksmoor opened a restaurant in Manchester in 2015 and expanded into Liverpool in November 2022 (Manchester Evening News)

"This is as a result of uncertainty and broader consumer confidence and the fall in real disposable incomes that the United Kingdom has experienced since late 2021.

"This has been caused predominantly by high inflation, particularly seen in energy and food price increases.

"More specifically, the company is affected by these changes in energy and food costs as well as changes in sentiment in the consumer market in which it operates. The company continues to monitor the situation closely."

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