Growth follows chain’s £338m acquisition by Fortress Investment Group
Customers inside one of Loungers’ café bars(Image: Antony Potts)
Cafe-bar and restaurant chain Loungers has created more than 900 jobs in the year it departed from the London Stock Exchange’s AIM, new figures have shown. The Bristol -based company delisted in February last year following its £338m acquisition by Fortress Investment Group.
Founded in 2002 by Alex Reilley, David Reid and Jake Bishop, the Cosy Club and Brightside operator has now released its first set of results since becoming a private entity. Newly filed accounts with Companies House reveal that Loungers expanded its workforce from 8,631 to 9,557 during the year ending April 20, 2025.
Turnover climbed from £353.4m to £406.3m, although pre-tax profit fell from £11.4m to £3.7m, as reported by City AM. By the end of the financial year, Loungers was operating 291 sites across England and Wales, with ambitions to more than double this figure.
In a statement approved by the board, the company said: “Our sales performance throughout the year was once again strong, achieving sales growth of 15 per cent… through a combination of organic growth in our existing sites, the full-year impact of sales from the 34 sites launched in FY24 and the sales of the 35 new sites opened in the year.”
The company added: “Our strong cash conversion continues to allow us to find our growth through internally generated profits. We remain confident in our ability to deliver strong top line performance through our compelling all-day coffer in our existing and new sites.
“Whilst the impact of the increased National Living Wage and National Insurance contributions in April 2025 has improved a significant additional cost burden on all hospitality businesses, we are confident we can improve profitability over the medium term.
“As a result, we see significant potential to continue our strong growth trajectory over the coming years.”
In August 2025, Loungers chairman Alex Reilley resigned from a government hospitality taskforce following pressure over his criticism of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ tax agenda. He left the Hospitality Sector Council (HSC) after facing backlash from civil servants for publicly criticising Labour’s economic policies.
Reilley had joined the HSC earlier that year with the aim of helping to rejuvenate high streets across the country. Despite still supporting the group, he stated that Labour was not taking concerns seriously enough.
Reilley also criticised the government’s plans to establish “hospitality zones” to expedite al fresco dining applications.
