Reflecting as the all-day café/bar/restaurant group celebrates its 24th birthday, Alex Reilley said being part of the business continues to be ‘one hell of ride’.
“Twenty-four years ago, we opened the doors on our first ever Lounge on a £30,000 investment, a £20,000 bank loan, and having put things like glassware, cutlery and crockery on our credit cards.
“Our first customer walked in like we’d been there for years and ordered a cappuccino - it felt like we drank every drop with her.
“By the end of the day we’d sold a few more coffees, a fair bit of food, and had a really good opening party with lots of beer, some (very basic) cocktails, and lots of shots.”
Reilley continued that while he couldn’t remember the exact number, the group took ‘£800-and-something’ on its first day trading.
“We were absolutely buzzing.
“Today we have 317 sites in the UK, employ over 10,000 people, and are on track to hit turnover, in our current financial year, of £500m.
“I’m still not quite sure: a) where the time has gone, or b) how on earth we got here!
“What I do know is that we couldn’t have done it without our amazing team and that it’s been, and continues to be, one hell of ride.”
Loungers, which is backed by Fortress Investment Group, reported revenue of £406.4m in its most recent financial results for the year ended 20 April 2025, up from £353.5m the year before.
Adjusted EBITDA rose from £44.2m to £55m, a rise of 24.4%, while the adjusted EBITDA margin grew by one percentage point to 13.5% (2024: 12.5%).
The group, whose portfolio encompasses the Lounge, Cosy Club and Brightside brands, said the sales performance reflects both continuing strong growth across its mature estate and the ongoing success of its new site opening programme.
In June this year, Restaurant’s sister title MCA revealed that Loungers was exploring opportunities to expand outside of the UK for the first time and establish a site in Germany.
It was subsequently reported that the group will expand internationally for the first time this autumn, having secured a site in the Rü neighbourhood in Essen.
Opening this October, the venue will operate under a new brand name, Southville – a nod to the group’s first Lounge, which opened in Bristol’s Southville neighbourhood in 2002.