During the cost-of-living crisis it appears most Brits have resorted to downtrading or completely cutting out areas of spending, with restaurants and meals out being one of the industries hardest hit by these changes.
Not so for fine dining and British businessman Richard Caring.
That’s because his restaurant businesses Caprice Holdings and the Ivy Collection have soared since the pandemic ended, with both experiencing significant sales and profit increases for the year to 1 January 2023.
Operating fine dining restaurants like The Ivy Asia, Scott’s and Sexy Fish, Caring’s Caprice Holdings experienced a 71% spike in turnover, while underlying earnings reached £13.3 million from £0.6 million the year before, according to the group's results.
Expanding with two new openings in London during the period, Caring’s luxury restaurants appeared to buck some of the trends experienced by the hospitality industry, with some players forced to reduce estates and cut costs to survive.
Similarly to other luxury goods such as watches, clothes or jewellery, fine dining saw a significant boost since coming out of lockdown, but with much of the high-end goods markets stabilising, Caprice and Caring could be set for a similar path.