The Big Table Group announces plans for 50 new restaurants

The Big Table Group, operator of Las Iguanas, Bella Italia and Café Rouge, has announced its intention to open 50 new restaurants and refurbish 70 sites over the next three years, investing in excess of £50m and creating 1,250 new jobs in the process.

The group’s ambition is to invest £35m in new openings, which would take the estate to 200 restaurants across the UK, while the company intends to invest a further £19m on revamping venues, with 70 major renovations in the pipeline.

The Big Table hopes to almost double the current number of Las Iguanas restaurants in the next three years, opening 35 locations in major towns and city centres. The group recently appointed Paul Stokes – former head of franchise development at KFC UKI – as head of acquisitions, and further expanded its acquisitions team, to deliver the growth programme.

Having traded well pre-pandemic, Las Iguanas has exceeded all expectations on reopening. As a result, The Big Table is looking to accelerate its openings plan. The company opens a site in Plymouth’s Barcode this week, and is set to open its first restaurant in Southampton later this year.

Alan Morgan, the Group's chief executive, commented: “Las Iguanas has consistently proven to be an extremely popular choice with consumers, and now is the perfect time to grow the brand across the country, targeting high footfall locations in major towns and city centres.”

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