San Carlo: Success continues at restaurant chain beloved by celebs including Rihanna and David Beckham
Italian restaurant group San Carlo, whose celebrity fans include Rihanna, Russell Crowe, and David Beckham, has continued its post-pandemic comeback with its highest sales yet, according to newly-filed accounts.
The group, which owns restaurants including San Carlo in Manchester, Cicchetti in London and Flying Pizza in Leeds, increased its turnover to £77m in the 12 months ended September 30, 2023, up from just under £69m in the year before.
This was the second year in a row that San Carlo improved on its pre-pandemic sales, exceeding its previous turnover record of £59m in the year ended September 30, 2019.
The average number of people employed by San Carlo in the year also jumped to 1,165 over the 12 months from 1,041 in the previous year.
Some of these jobs were created when in September the group opened a new San Carlo branch in Alderly Edge at the former site of Gino D’Acampo’s Luciano restaurant – its eighth site using the famous San Carlo name.
But despite a rise in turnover the company behind the group saw its pre-tax profit dip to £2.6m, down from £3.6m the year before.
Although lower year on year, the figure is still higher than the group’s pre-tax profit of £1.8m in the 12 months ended September 30, 2019.
The business briefly slipped into the red during the Covid-19 era, making a pre-tax loss of £494,000 in the 12 months ended September 30, 2020, which widened to £2.2m the following year.
In a business review published on Companies House, the group said: “During the year the group opened a new site in Alderly Edge as well as a major refurbishment of the San Carlo site in Liverpool. Both sites have traded very well since opening and ahead of expectation.
“Post year-end the business continues to grow and is currently completing a relocation of the Cicchetti Piccadilly site, as well as refurbishing and re-opening the Flying Pizza site in Leeds, a restaurant that celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2024.
Which celebrities have eaten at San Carlo?
San Carlo is well-known for attracting celebrity diners and has hosted some of the biggest names in music, movies and sport since it opened its first venue in Birmingham in 1992.
Russel Crowe, Liza Minelli, Liam and Noel Gallagher, Andrea Bocelli, Sir Tom Jones and Lionel Richie are just some of the famous faces that have graced San Carlo’s dining room.
Rihanna tweeted while eating with friends in their private room in Manchester last year, with Prince Albert of Monaco making an appearance at the chain’s new Alderley Edge restaurant in April.
More than 200 fans mobbed the front door when Hulk Hogan turned up for dinner at its Manchester site in the 1990s, causing an in impromptu roadblock.
Footballers are also regularly spotted at the group’s North West venues, with Jose Mourihno, Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Sir Alex Ferguson all reportedly regulars.