Huge bar and cafe chain with 200 branches to open in 17 new locations this year – is one coming near you?

A HUGE bar and cafe chain with 200 branches is to open in 17 new locations this year.

More food and drink fans across the UK will get to tuck in under the new plans announced by hospitality giant Loungers, on top of the 238 venues it already runs.

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They revealed the areas where 10 new outlets will open their doors, with another seven sites soon to be identified.

Loungers said their 34 new openings over the past year had already created an extra 1,000 jobs.

The new ones to come include Loungers bars and cafes in Ashby de la Zouch in Leicestershire, Caerphilly in Wales, Carlisle in Cumbria and Cramlington in Northumberland.

They also plan to add sites in Hexham, Northumberland, Louth in Lincolnshire and Paignton, Devon.

Other Loungers outlets are earmarked for Cumbria’s Penrith as well as St Ives in Cambridgeshire, plus a new Cosy Club venue in Oxford.

The company outlined the plans as they unveiled a rise in sales of 7.7 per cent in the 24 weeks to the start of this month, up from 5.7 per cent in the previous 12.

The company made £149.6million in revenue in the first half of this financial year, a 22.3 per cent increase on the previous period.

Chief executive Nick Collins said: “I am delighted with our strong trading performance across both the mature estate and our new openings.

“Our consistent sales growth reflects the continued evolution of our offer and the resilience of the UK consumer and high street.

“With a great pipeline of further openings in front of us I have never felt more optimistic about our prospects.

“None of this would be possible without our amazing team, and as ever I would like to say a massive thank you to them for their hard work.”

The potentially positive news for jobs comes in the wake of other food and drink outlet firms suffering setbacks.

Family favourite Hostmore, owner of restaurant chain TGI Fridays, said last month it wouldn’t open any new restaurants until at least 2025 after a plunge in earnings.

And it was this week revealed that Wagamama owner The Restaurant Group was being taken private after a £701million takeover by private equity giant Apollo.

TRG previously announced plans to shut about 40 sites by next April.

Other food and drink chains have suffered in recent months amid the the rising cost of living, with fewer people spending on eating out.

The hospitality sector struggled to recover after the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown restrictions, before being hit by surging energy bills and inflation.

Brands including pub firm Wetherspoons have shut branches.

Restaurant company Byron Burger went into administration with owners saying it would result in the loss of over 200 jobs.

And Italian dining chain Prezzo revealed in April plans to close 46 restaurants due to rising energy and food costs, putting in danger 810 jobs.