Loungers set for 29 sites by end of 2012

Two more of its Lounge bar concepts are to open in Bournemouth in January and February, while another four sites are expected to open in the first half of 2012, according to managing director Alex Reilley.

These will include two more Lounge sites, in Birmingham and Christchurch, Dorset, plus a Cosy Club in Salisbury, Wiltshire, which are currently awaiting planning decisions.

Another Cosy Club has been secured in Hove, East Sussex, which is also expected to open in the first six months of 2012.

Meanwhile, Reilley said he expects to exchange contracts on a site at Cardiff’s St David’s 2 shopping centre this week — it would be Loungers’ biggest site, at 7,000sq ft. The site is expected to open in “mid to late 2012”, along with another Cosy Club at Southernhay in Exeter, Devon.

Meanwhile, Loungers is said to be close to agreeing on a Cosy Club site in its home city of Bristol, with plans to open in 2013. The firm is eyeing a 32-strong estate by mid-2013. In August the firm said it had secured an additional £1m funding for expansion after switching from RBS to Santander.

This saw Santander refinancing Loungers’ existing £1.3m debt with the addition of £200,000 headroom into the business, plus a £800,000 revolving facility.

Loungers opened its 21st site, a Cosy Club in Stamford, Lincolnshire, on
1 November.