Nightcap: Cocktail group’s revenue stirring but shaken by rail strikes

Nightcap, the cocktail bar chain owned by Dragons Den star Sarah Willingham, has reported a 29 per cent leap in revenues during the year to £46.4m. However, the late bar operator, which owns the likes of London Cocktail Club and Barrio, said that like-for-like revenue declined by 12.5 per cent following “record breaking” figures last year.

Nightcap pointed to ongoing rail strikes for the dip in like-for-like revenue growth, with the group believing it lost £2.9m as a result of the disruption which prevented it from reaching its “full trading potential.”

The firm said: “There were a total of 28 strike days in the financial year, mostly targeting holiday periods and pay day weekends to ensure they cause as much damage to the hospitality sector as possible.”

Back in June the late bar operator snapped up the Dirty Martini chain, with its bars across London and five locations in Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Manchester and Cardiff.

However, Willingham said Nightcap will slow down its roll-out programme to focus “on allowing Dirty Martini to settle into the group, maximising returns from existing business and newly opened sites and driving synergies and efficiencies across the enlarged group”.

The revenue increase only includes three weeks of Dirty Martini trading as the bar chain was only acquired on 9 June, and Nightcap is confident sales will rise even further as the cocktail bar and its new sites settle in.

As the vital Christmas trading period approaches, Nightcap said its board is cautious due to the challenges presented by continuing train strikes. 

Sarah Willingham, chief executive officer of Nightcap, said: “Whilst trading in October 2023  has continued on the same trend as Q1 FY2024, we are focusing on the important Christmas period. Christmas bookings  and enquiries across the whole estate including Dirty Martini are in line with the strong 2022 Christmas period.”