29 January 2024

Loungers plc

("Loungers" or the "Group")

Loungers celebrates landmark 250^th site opening

Loungers, a leading operator of all day café/bar/restaurants across the UK under the Lounge, Cosy Club and Brightside brands, is delighted to announce the opening of its 250^th site. Pionero Lounge in Rochdale opens today and marks the latest landmark for Loungers as the Group continues its accelerated site opening programme across the UK.

Since Loungers' interim results on 28 November 2023, the Group has opened new Lounges in Cramlington (Coltello Lounge), Penrith (Arturo Lounge), Paignton (Costero Lounge), Caerphilly (Consurio Lounge) and Ashby-de-la-Zouch (Centivo Lounge). Further openings scheduled in the coming months include Lounges in Bromsgrove, Chepstow, Westwood Cross, Macclesfield, Bracknell, Ilkley, Sidcup and Yeovil, with sites ranging from brand new developments to former banks, retail outlets and restaurants on the high street, demonstrating the variety and versatility of the Lounge concept.  Like all Lounges, the new sites will be a home-from-home for customers, offering excellent food and drink all day, with a real focus on making a positive impact on their local communities.

Loungers recently stated its firm belief that there is scope for at least 600 Lounges across the UK, with the Group on track to open 34 new sites in the current financial year alone. This is over and above the Group's Cosy Club and Brightside brands, which currently have 36 and three sites, respectively. With each new Lounge site, nearly £1m is invested into the local high street and an average of 30 new jobs are created. In 2023, the Group created 1,000 new jobs in total; it expects to recruit the same number again in 2024.

In keeping with the importance that it places on finding ways to make a positive difference, Loungers recently published its first sustainability report ("The Good Stuff"), drawing together the many initiatives it has in place to support its people, customers, suppliers and the planet. In addition, the Group was delighted to launch Lounge Community Kickstart in the final quarter of 2023, a pilot scheme across 26 Lounges which aims to donate over 10,000 meals back to Loungers' communities every year.

Alex Reilley, Chairman and co-founder of Loungers, said:

"The opening of our 250^th site is a hugely satisfying landmark for a business that started in 2002 in Bristol with a single cafe-bar called The Lounge. A lot has changed since then but our commitment to providing our customers with excellent food and drink all day, while doing everything that we can to make a positive impact on the local community, has never wavered.

"In many ways, it feels like we are only just getting started and there is so much more for us to go after. We're on track to open 34 sites in the current financial year, which will be a record for us and will involve the creation of over 1,000 new jobs. In the longer term, we believe there is scope for over 600 Lounges alone across the UK.  

"None of this would be possible without the extraordinary talent, hard work and dedication of our people, and I'd like to thank each and every one of them for their contribution to building the business that Loungers is today."

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Notes to Editors

Loungers operates through its three established complementary brands - Lounge, Cosy Club and Brightside - in the UK hospitality sector.  A Lounge is a neighbourhood café/bar combining elements of coffee shop culture, the British pub and dining. There are 211 Lounges nationwide.  Lounges are principally located in secondary suburban high streets and small town centres. The sites are characterised by informal, unique interiors with an emphasis on a warm, comfortable atmosphere, often described as a "home from home".

Cosy Clubs are more formal bars/restaurants offering reservations and table service but share many similarities with the Lounges in terms of their broad, all-day offering and their focus on hospitality and culture.  Cosy Clubs are typically located in city centres and large market towns.  Interiors tend to be larger and more theatrical than for a Lounge, and heritage buildings or first-floor spaces are often employed to create a sense of occasion.  There are 36 Cosy Clubs nationwide.

Brightside is a roadside dining concept and was launched in November 2022. The first Brightside location opened on the A38, south of Exeter, in February 2023, with the second opening in Saltash near Plymouth in June 2023 and the third in Honiton on the A303 in August 2023.