The London-based café and kiosk operator says returning tourism footfall and demand for coffee and food on-the-go has stabilised the business following tough trading conditions in 2020
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Storey's Gate Café, St James Park, London | Photo credit: Colicci
Colicci, which operates 29 cafés, restaurants and kiosks across 14 London parks, has credited returning tourism in the capital as the key contributor to its 66% sales growth last year.
Reporting on the 12 months ended 31 December 2021, Colicci achieved revenues of £17.5m ($19.7m) compared with £10.5m ($11.9m) for the same period the year before. Turnover also exceeded pre-pandemic sales of £14.8m ($16.7m) in 2019.
Aided by returning tourist footfall in London, which drastically fell in 2020 due to restricted travel and trading, Colicci said its 2021 sales had allowed it to repay the £1.2m ($1.4m) it borrowed through the UK government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme in 2020.
“Despite the challenges posed, the business is in a stable condition and the directors are satisfied with the results. Tourism has returned to central London, where the business operates a high concentration of sites. The demand for takeaway products has remained high, and as such, the business is now focusing on a number of sustainable initiatives and products to mitigate its environmental impact,” a company statement said.
Founded in 1982 as an ice cream van business, Colicci now operates cafés, restaurants and kiosks across 14 London parks, including Bushy Park, Green Park, Kensington Gardens and Richmond Park. The company has also operated a café kiosk at Westfield shopping centre in east London since 2016.
Fellow London-based café operator Benugo also reported an uplift in sales in 2021 due to returning tourist footfall. The company, which operates cafés in the high footfall London locations such as the Natural History Museum, London Zoo and the Science Museum, achieved sales growth of 22% in 2021 to reach £41m ($49m).