New openings boost turnover at Brighton and Hove restaurant business

New restaurant openings have boosted turnover and dented profits at the Giggling Squid chain.

The first Giggling Squid, in Church Road, Hove, recently reopened after storm and flood damage although this was after the financial year end.

The parent company Giggling Restaurants reported turnover of £4.5 million in the year to Monday 31 March, up from £2.7 million the year before.

The Thai restaurant group made a £46,000 operating profit compared with £282,000 in the previous year.

And pre-tax profit fell from £258,000 to £4,000, according to the Propel Newsletter, which covers the food and drink trade.

The company reported pre-opening expenses of £252,000 compared with £48,000 the year before. And it said that head office costs rose from 2.4 per cent of turnover to 7 per cent as it prepared for further expansion.

It said: “Giggling Restaurants has enjoyed another year of strong growth as we continue our journey toward being the UK’s first national Thai restaurant operator.

“Substantial new banking facilities with Barclays and a strong new site pipeline make us optimistic of continuing the current growth trajectory into next year and beyond.”

The company is run by Andy and Pranee Laurillard and has a restaurant in Market Street, Brighton, as well as the site in Hove.

It has branches in Sussex, Surrey, Kent, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire with eight new openings planned, including in Chichester.