Bill's Restaurants, one of the UK’s fastest-growing chains, saw turnover leap by 20.5% to £110.5m for the year ending 31 July 2016.
Majority-owned by Richard Caring, the millionaire restaurateur, the company saw adjusted EBITDA rise by 8.9% to £13.5m. This growth was largely the result of nine new restaurant openings, including Greenwich and Sevenoaks, and Bill’s placed number 70 in The Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 2016.
The new chief executive Mark Fox, who joined the business in May 2016 from Starbucks, said, “2016 was a strong year for Bill’s against a challenging backdrop of cost and macroeconomic headwinds. Christmas trading was particularly strong, with like-for-like sales up almost 10%.
'Bill’s has built a rich brand out of its reputation for fresh, seasonal and eclectic British heritage across menus, service and restaurant design. We’re in a strong place to innovate in 2017, introducing new menus, a mobile app, and evolving our award-winning restaurant design.
'We’ll also be testing a new grab-and-go format to allow the freshness and seasonality of Bill’s to meet the demands of an increasing group of customers looking for the convenience of a quick bite to eat during the working day.”
Further executive movement has seen Ron Lento joining as innovation director, Graham Ford taking up the role of executive director of UK operations, Nicola Frayne joining as chief people officer and Catherine Salloux as marketing director. Founder Bill Collison continues to play an active role and leads the creative design of all restaurants.