Restaurant group eyes NI sites as part of £50m expansion
The company behind the Las Iguanas, Bella Italia and Café Rouge restaurants plan to open 50 new restaurants in the next three years, with Northern Ireland firmly in its sights.
An investment of more than £50m from The Big Table Group will also see 70 existing venues refurbished .
The casual dining group said the investment and expansion of its Las Iguanas brand would create 1,250 jobs and a spokesman said: “We’d love to bring Las Iguanas and Bella Italia to Belfast — it’s an exciting time for both brands, and we know there’s strong demand from customers in Northern Ireland.
“We’re looking for leisure destinations and busy city centre locations, so we’re keen to hear from landlords about any suitable sites,” he told the Belfast Telegraph:
Las Iguanas’ focus on South American cuisine is still relatively new in the UK and the decision to expand falls in line with the ‘return to normality’ as fears around eating out due to Covid-19 risk have declined.
‘Another offering’
Hospitality Ulster chief Colin Neill also aid Las Iguanas could prove to have a more “stand-out offer” than competitors.
“In the casual dining scene, we have lots of good Northern Ireland operators, so others struggle to cut through.
“But this one is different, and could bring another offering to our high street. That’s important, because our high street is struggling.”
The Big Table Group said around £35m will be injected into the new openings to take its portfolio to 200 restaurants across the UK. Meanwhile, £19m will be pumped into 70 major refurbishments across its estate.
Of the 50 new sites, the group said it will open 35 Las Iguanas outlets across major UK towns and city centres, almost doubling the number of restaurants in the Latin American chain.
Chief executive Alan Morgan said: “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.”
