In a year which has seen numerous high-profile restaurants closing in the industry, with more than 1,400 restaurant closures in the UK (June 2019), this festive season has seen a positive boost in festive food and drink trading, with sales up 2.5% from 2018*.
British restaurateur and events caterer Searcys is pleased to report on a successful 2019, hosting over 15,000 commercial events across the portfolio and over 380,000 guests across the restaurants and bars, leading to a reported revenue growth increase of 17.5% from 2018, with like-for-like contributing 6.7% of the total revenue growth. In turn, this has led to an employee increase of 14%, including offering apprenticeships and investing in training schemes with the launch of Searcys’ School of Service.
2019 saw the iconic group secure new venue partnerships for their portfolio, bringing 170 years of hospitality expertise to historic venues including The Honourable Artillery Company (THE HAC) in the City, The Alnwick Garden in Northumberland, HQS Wellington and most recently, Saatchi Gallery, 11 Cavendish Square and the Royal Institution. Searcys is also delighted to have received a number of industry accolades across the year; including two prestigious Foodservice Cateys. Searcys restaurants were awarded 221 Open Table Diners Choice Awards, while their work towards sustainability and zero-waste saw The Sustainable Restaurants Association’s award Searcys a top Three Star Rating.
For 2020, Searcys will be unveiling 20 new memorable innovations to enhance the events and dining experiences across their venues. Searcys has announced a company-wide sommelier training on low-no alcohol food pairing, while over the course of the year, 100 new service champions will graduate from Searcys’ recently opened School of Service. New additions to the menus will include the company’s own range of ice-creams, a signature bakery range and seasonal zero-waste events menus.
Matt Thomas, Managing Director of Searcys comments: “We are looking to continue our work into the next decade with an increased drive for sustainability across all venues, while celebrating the best of seasonal British produce and English sparkling wines. We will also look to create more experiential and innovative events and parties, with ‘surprise and delight’ moments. I would like to thank each and every member of Searcys team for their hard work and contribution. Together with our incredible team, we are looking forward to a new year of exciting partnerships and engaging customer events across all our iconic venues.”
