Bow Street Group’s FY25 results: stabilising sales, cash in the bank, and a plan to grow
Bow Street Group, the operator behind Wildwood and dim t, has posted its audited results for the 52 weeks to 28 December 2025. The year shows a business that shrank to reset, raised fresh equity, brought in new leadership and is now seeing trading momentum improve into 2026.
The headline: revenues fell and impairments drove a statutory loss, but like-for-like sales turned positive, refurbished sites are outperforming, and the balance sheet carries healthy net cash with no bank debt.
Key numbers investors should know
| Metric | FY25 / latest | FY24 (restated) / prior |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | £31.3m | £36.6m |
| Adjusted EBITDA (operating cash profit before certain items) | £2.1m | £3.6m |
| Adjusted Headline EBITDA (pre IFRS 16) | £(1.4)m | £(0.3)m |
| Operating loss before highlighted items | £(0.5)m | £0.4m |
| Impairment charge | £7.3m | £1.9m |
| Loss after tax | £(9.3)m | £16.0m profit |
| Year-end net cash (excl. lease liabilities) | £11.1m | £3.3m |
| Current net cash (13 April 2026) | £9.0m | n/a |
| Restaurants trading at year end | 32 | 36 |
| Current restaurants | 29 (26 Wildwood, 3 dim t) | n/a |
| Like-for-like sales growth | Over 5% in Q1 2026; 6.1% in March 2026 | not disclosed |
Quick jargon buster: “Adjusted EBITDA” strips out non-trading items to show underlying cash profitability. “Like-for-like sales” compares performance of sites open for at least a year. “Highlighted items” are one-offs like impairments and lease changes. “Right-of-use assets” are leased sites on the balance sheet under IFRS 16.
New strategy, new leadership, fresh capital
September 2025 was the pivot. Bow Street raised £10.1m gross (£9.7m net) to fund estate investment, technology upgrades and acquisitions. David Page joined as Executive Chairman and Nick Wong became CFO, bringing long sector experience.
The estate was trimmed to remove loss makers and central costs were reduced. Operating expenses before highlighted items fell 18.7% to £10.0m. A broad programme of more than 280 operational workstreams is underway, alongside targeted staff incentive schemes and approximately 200 million options granted to 105 team members.
Trading is improving where money is being spent
After a choppy first half, trading stabilised from September with a strong run into Christmas and some record weeks. Into 2026, like-for-like revenue was up over 5% in the first quarter and 6.1% in March.
The stand-out datapoint is from refurbished sites. Billericay, Ely, Epping and Lincoln delivered like-for-like revenue growth of 18.3% in the five weeks to 29 March 2026. Previously underperforming sites such as Telford, Taunton and Peterborough returned to like-for-like growth after smaller remedial actions.
A new Wildwood menu design has tested well since February 2026 and should roll out across the estate by mid May. More refurbishments are scheduled around the summer trading peaks, including Liverpool, Port Solent and Rushden Lakes.
Why FY25 still shows a loss
Revenue declined 14.5% to £31.3m, largely reflecting fewer sites after the 2024 restructuring and a tough casual dining market. Gross profit fell 22.2% to £9.3m as food inflation and the April 2025 National Minimum Wage and National Insurance changes bit. Other income dropped sharply year on year because FY24 benefited from one-off items, including a £2.5m insurance settlement and an £18.6m gain on lease modifications linked to closures.
The big swing factor in FY25 was non-cash impairments of £7.3m across right-of-use assets and property, plant and equipment after a site-by-site review. That drove the statutory loss after tax of ££9.3m despite improved trading late in the year.
Balance sheet: cash rich, lease heavy
There is no bank debt. Year-end net cash was £11.1m, with £9.0m reported as at 13 April 2026 after ongoing investment and some site exits. Lease liabilities, which reflect property leases under IFRS 16, were £27.0m at year end.
Management is actively pruning the estate. Two Wildwood and one dim t were closed and disposed of in Q1 2026, all loss making. Utilities are largely fixed until September 2026, which helps forecastability.
Acquisitions are firmly on the agenda
Bow Street aims to make four to six acquisitions over the first three years, targeting high quality, scalable brands that offer great value. Discussions are active, with two more advanced opportunities in Asian-style cuisine. The pitch is clear: plug entrepreneurial concepts into a platform that offers scale economies, operational support and attractive incentives for founders.
My take: cautious optimism with clear catalysts
- Positives: like-for-like growth is back, refurbishments are delivering double-digit uplifts, costs have been cut and there is meaningful net cash with no bank debt. Christmas was strong and early 2026 momentum continued.
- Negatives: FY25 was loss making, with a £7.3m impairment. Underlying cash generation pre-IFRS 16 remained negative at the Headline EBITDA level. The sector still faces wage and input cost pressure, plus higher business rates and Employment Rights Act impacts in April 2026.
In short, the turnaround is visible but not yet complete. Execution on refurbishments, menu roll-out and technology upgrades needs to keep translating into sustained like-for-like growth and margin improvement. The acquisition plan could accelerate the story, but it adds integration risk and capital allocation scrutiny.
What to watch through 2026
- Like-for-like sales by month and whether March’s 6.1% growth is repeatable.
- Performance of refurbished sites versus the rest of the estate and the pace of further refits.
- Wildwood menu roll-out in May and any spend-per-head uplift.
- EPOS upgrade timing and early benefits in labour scheduling and forecasting.
- Deal flow: any announced acquisitions, terms, and how quickly they are earnings accretive.
- Net cash trend as investments are deployed and loss-making sites are exited.
Why this RNS matters
For a business that has spent two years restructuring, these results mark a line in the sand. The company now has cash to invest, a smaller but more focused estate, and like-for-like growth that suggests customers are responding to the changes. If management sustains current trading, executes the refurbishment pipeline and lands sensible acquisitions, FY26 could be the year Bow Street moves from stabilisation to growth.
The flip side is simple: the cost base is still rising and the P&L has not yet turned decisively profitable. Investors should treat the improving KPIs as encouraging, not conclusive. Momentum plus cash gives Bow Street Group a fighting chance to deliver on its “rebuilding, refreshment and transformation” message in 2026. Now it has to keep serving up the numbers.
