Caribbean eatery and bar business Turtle Bay has announced another stellar year, praising its move to a four-day working week for staff members.
The company, founded by Ajith Jaya-Wickrema and Stephen Entwistle, headquartered in Bristol, has shown a strong performance with turnover reported at £93.6m by March 31, 2024, up from the previous year's figure of £90.1m.
Official filings at Companies House reveal that pre-tax profit dropped from £9.9m to £1.8m, noting last year's figure was inflated due to insurance money totalling £6.4m.
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At the beginning of this financial period, Turtle Bay, supported by private equity firm Piper, introduced a scheme allowing their full-time restaurant staff to switch to a four-day workweek without any pay reduction.
The initiative had an exceptional uptake, with overwhelmingly positive responses, according to the company, as reported by .
Throughout the year, Turtle Bay saw an increase in staff numbers from 2,097 to 2,147 employees.
However, the chain witnessed downturns in its London and Midlands venues.
A board-approved statement mentioned: "Unlike many of our competitors, we bounced back quicker and stronger following the pandemic and experienced industry-leading like-for-like growth in our estate with further like-for-like growth the year after."
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The statement added: "It was always going to be hard against these tough comparatives, such as our like-for-like sales declined by 3.9 per cent."
Yet, it affirmed: "Our sales in the last year continue to outstrip pre-pandemic by 27.7 per cent on a like-for-like basis."
Turtle Bay has reported varying regional performance, with stronger results in the North of England, South Coast, and South West compared to the Midlands and London.
The company noted: "The economic squeeze, brought on by the unprecedented headwinds of high energy costs, double-digit inflation and high interest rates have hurt our key guest base more than others."
"The fall in disposable income has not been felt evenly across the 海角视频's regions and societies."
In response to these challenges, Turtle Bay has implemented non-uniform pricing across its restaurants to ensure better value for the communities it serves.
Moreover, the Caribbean restaurant and bar chain emphasised its prudent financial approach, stating that it continues to "run a tight ship, investing only what we generate back into the business".
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The past year saw Turtle Bay invest £8.4 million in new and existing sites, including the launch of its first Scottish location in December, as well as openings in Camden, Blackpool, and Lincoln, which created over 150 jobs.
Looking ahead, Turtle Bay commented: "The new year has started in line with expectations."
Nonetheless, the company acknowledged the ongoing difficulty of the economic climate.
"Despite the fall in inflation to more manageable levels, consumer essentials such as food costs, energy, rents and mortgage rates remain 20 per cent more than two years ago," Turtle Bay added.