Busaba ‘well placed to face economic challenges’

In its latest financial results for the year ended 17 September 2023, the group, which operates nine restaurants across London and one in Essex, reported a like-for-like sales decline of 2% compared to the year before.

It attributed the fall to the cost-of-living crisis, a drop in footfall, and disruption caused by the ongoing rail strikes.

"Footfall in London has suffered from the cost of living impact on customers discretionary spend, as well as the summer-wide disruption caused by industrial action on train and tube networks,” the group’s directors said in a statement accompanying the accounts.

Turnover totalled £21.1m for the period, down from £21.2m in 2022.

Pre-tax losses narrowed from £3m to £1.8m, while EBITDA fell from a profit of £0.2m the year before to a loss of £0.6m.

Busaba said it plans to continue exploring opportunities to expand the brand ‘closer to London’ following the successful launch of its restaurant at Lakeside Shopping Centre in Essex during the period.

According to the accounts, the site is trading profitably with sales above expectations.

“We believe Busaba’s much loved brand and product in prominent London locations means we are well placed to face the anticipated customer and market economic challenges ahead,” the directors added.

Last month, Busaba promoted former commercial director Winston Matthews to CEO. He replaced Terry Harrison, who had led the business since 2017.