DI Maggio's, the largest independent restaurant chain in Scotland, has unveiled a 21 per cent jump in underlying annual profits on higher turnover and expects further strong growth in revenues this financial year.

 

The family-owned business, which operates restaurants under the Di Maggio's, Cafe Andaluz, Amarone, and Barolo brands and recently opened The Anchor Line bar and grill in Glasgow, raised underlying pre-tax profits to £3.78 million in the year to April 30, 2014, from £3.12m in the prior 12 months.

These profit figures exclude directors' remuneration, which fell from £2.878m to £1.084m, with Di Maggio's noting that this was in line with a strategy of "investing heavily in capital expenditure across the business".

Turnover came in at £26.2m in the year to April 30, 2014, up by 13 per cent from £23.1m in the prior 12 months.

Employee numbers at Di Maggio's rose to 591 in the year to April 2014, from an average of 505 in the prior 12 months.

Di Maggio's was founded by Mario Gizzi and Joe Conetta in Shawlands, on Glasgow's south side, in 1985.

The business is now run by Mr Gizzi and Joe Conetta's son, Tony, who are the joint managing directors. It is owned by Mr Gizzi and Joe and Tony Conetta, and has expanded from its west of Scotland heartland by opening restaurants in Edinburgh and Aberdeen and food court outlets in Manchester and Belfast.

Di Maggio's is now undertaking a £1.25m investment in a new 200-seat Cafe Andaluz restaurant, with a cocktail bar, in Union Street in Aberdeen.

Mr Conetta said: "The strong contribution from our Edinburgh restaurants and our successful move into Aberdeen has vindicated the strategy of expanding beyond our traditional Glasgow base."

Meanwhile, Mr Gizzi highlighted his expectation of strong results in the current financial year to next April, a period which will reflect the beneficial impact of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

He also flagged a continuing boost from the success of the SSE Hydro concert and event venue for his company's restaurants in Glasgow.

Mr Gizzi said: "We've seen turnover increase by 13 per cent in the year to April 30, 2014, which is great news, and we expect another sizeable boost to next year's accounts with the increased traffic from Glasgow 2014."

He added: "The combination of a massive upsurge in numbers in Glasgow city centre last summer, together with the Hydro's continuing phenomenal performance and also the Ryder Cup, means it's been very buoyant in Glasgow."

The current financial year will also include the first contribution from The Anchor Line, which was opened last September and is the 15th restaurant in the company's portfolio. In addition to its 15 restaurants, Di Maggio's also has a handful of food court outlets in shopping centres, including in Glasgow and Aberdeen as well as Belfast and Manchester.

The company has seven Di Maggio's-branded restaurants in the west of Scotland, specialising in Italian-American dining, and three eateries under the Amarone banner, in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

It also has three Cafe Andaluz Spanish tapas restaurants already, two in Glasgow and one in Edinburgh, and the Barolo Grill in Glasgow.

Mr Conetta said the performance of The Anchor Line, opened following a £1.5m fit-out of the former ticket office of the Anchor shipping line in Glasgow's St Vincent Place in which first-class passengers booked voyages to destinations including New York, India, and Pakistan, was ahead of expectations.

He said: "We were confident that Glasgow was ready for something different and we invested very heavily in the quality of the environment and the kitchen. Although it's early days, it's certainly paid off and it's been hugely popular from day one."

Mr Conetta reiterated the ambition of Di Maggio's to expand The Anchor Line, which currently has the capacity for about 200 diners, into the basement.

He said: "It's a great space with loads of potential, and we're looking at a number of different concepts."

Mr Gizzi noted, when The Anchor Line opened, that the basement would probably accommodate about 100 to 120 diners.

Stuart Patrick, chief executive of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, was encouraged by news of strong trading from Di Maggio's.

He said: "Results like this from a top Glasgow-based restaurant business show how great a year it has been for Glasgow city centre. The Commonwealth Games were at the heart of that success.

"The aim now is to bring these back and replicate the success of previous Games host Manchester, which saw an increase of over 300,000 additional visitors per annum after its Games. If that's achieved, we'll see more figures like these from the Glasgow leisure sector."