Evolv: Revenue at Quaglinos, Coq d’Argent, Madison and Bluebird owner soars
The group behind restaurants including Quaglinos, Coq d’Argent, Madison and Bluebird has seen its earnings surge despite the challenges facing the hospitality sector.
Evolv – formerly D&D London – saw revenue increase 20 per cent from £126.3m to £151.6m year-on-year, with Ebitda rising from £2.6m to £14.6m.
Evolv reported a modest loss of £6.8m for the year – down from £13.4m the year before – which it put down to the cost of a major restructuring since its acquisition by Calveton and Breal Capital in 2024 for a reported £60m.
The company says revenue growth has continued into 2026, with sales up by more than half at both Liverpool Street Chop House and Sartoria Liverpool Street.
After rebranding to Evolve, the group brought in Martin Williams – formerly boss of Gaucho – as chief executive. The company has since embarked on an ambitious expansion, opening new sites including Sartoria and Chop House near Liverpool Street and Queens Tavern in New York.
Evolv expands despite hospitality crisis
It allso hired highly rated chef Miller Prada as group culinary consultant. Miller, best known for earning a Michelin star aged just 33 at his debut restaurant Humo, will now oversee the culinary direction across Evolv. His first move after joining the group in February was to poach Pierre Minotti, executive chef at two Michelin-starred Alex Dilling at Hotel Café Royal, who will take over as executive chef at the newly refurbished Orrery.
Williams said: “The shared vision of the Breal and Calveton shareholders to return founder Sir Terence Conran’s restaurants back to their former glory is clearly paying dividends and establishes the Evolv Collection as the leading hospitality group in the UK.
“We are happy with the financial performance of our UK and US venues, which include the Michelin starred Angler in South Place Hotel and have further openings in the pipeline on both sides of the Atlantic and beyond.
“The Evolv Collections’ five year vision is being executed at pace. We are delighted that 2025 results demonstrate the current and future financial success of the business as we build a globally scalable British hospitality brand, centered on experience-led restaurants that combine design, elevated menus, heightened hospitality and vibrant social atmospheres, which have a global appeal”.
Evolv’s acquisition by Calveton and Breal Capital followed a rocky few years for D&D, with former boss Des Gunewardena leaving the company in 2022 after 18 years at the helm. David Loewi – the other “D” in D&D – followed him at the end of 2024.