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The Restaurant Group
Annual Report 2012

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FY2012 Annual Report · The Restaurant Group
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The Restaurant Group plc
5-7 Marshalsea Road
London SE1 1EP
Tel: 020 3117 5001
www.trgplc.com

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Another year of growth
Annual Report 2012

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Restaurant Group plc (“TRG” or “the Group”) 
operates 422 restaurants and pub restaurants.  
Its principal trading brands are Frankie & Benny’s, 
Chiquito and Garfunkel’s and it also operates a 
Pub restaurant business as well as a Concessions 
business which trades on over 60 sites, principally 
at UK airports.

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Introduction 
Financial highlights 
At a glance 

Business review 
Chairman’s statement  
Chief Executive Officer’s review of operations  
Group Finance Director’s report  

Governance 
Board of Directors  
Report of the Directors 
Corporate responsibility report 
Directors’ remuneration report 
Audit Committee report 

Financial statements 
Independent auditor’s report 
Accounting policies for the consolidated accounts 
Consolidated income statement 
Consolidated statement of comprehensive income 
Consolidated statement of changes in equity 
Consolidated balance sheet 
Consolidated cash flow statement 
Notes to the accounts 
Independent auditor’s report – company accounts 
Company financial statements – under UK GAAP 
Group financial record 
Shareholder information 

36 
37 
41 
42 
43 
44 
45 
46
63 
64 
67
68

01 
02

04 
06 
12

14 
16
24 
28 
34

The paper used in this report is source from well-managed forests and is  
FSC accredited.

Printed in the UK using vegetable based inks which have lower VOC emissions  
(Volatile Organic Compounds), are derived from renewable sources and less 
hazardous than oil-based inks. 

The printer is ISO 14001 accredited and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) chain  
of custody certified. Under the framework of ISO 14001 a structured approach is 
taken by the company to measure, improve and audit their environmental status  
on an ongoing basis. FSC ensures there is an audited chain of custody from the tree 
in the well-managed forest through to the finished document in the printing factory.

If you have finished reading this report and no longer wish to retain it please pass it 
to interested readers, return it to The Restaurant Group plc or dispose of it in your 
recycled paper waste. Thank you. 

Designed and produced by The College www.the-college.com

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Financial highlights

The Group had a strong performance  
in 2012:
>  Revenue increased to £533m  

(like-for-like sales +4.5%)

>  Adjusted EBITDA increased to £95.5m*
>  Adjusted profit before tax increased  

to £64.6m*

>  Adjusted EPS increased 10.2% to  

24.1p per share*

>  Proposed full year dividend increased 

12.4% to 11.8p per share

>  Statutory profit before tax of £64.6m 
>  Statutory EPS of 24.1p 

Operations strongly cash generative and 
net debt further reduced, by £5.6m to £36m

Roll out continues
> 28 new sites opened in the period 
> 28-35 new sites targeted for 2013

Over 700 new jobs created in 2012 

Strong current trading, with total sales up 
14% and like-for-like sales at 6.5% for the 
eight weeks to 24 February 2013

* Results marked as adjusted are stated excluding  
non-trading items.

Revenue (£m)

Adjusted EBITDA (£m)

12

11

10

09

08

12

11

10

09

08

95.5

89.7

83.4

79.6

77.5

24.08

21.86

19.25

17.48

16.67

+9%

12

11

10

09

08

533.0

487.1

454.0

435.7

416.5

+6.5%

Adjusted profit before tax (£m)

Adjusted EPS (p)

+10%

+7%

12

11

10

09

08

Dividend per share (p)

+12%

12

11

10

09

08

64.6

60.3

54.0

50.0

48.9

11.8

10.5

9.0

8.0

7.7

The Restaurant Group plc Annual Report 2012 01

IntroductionBusiness reviewGovernanceFinancial statements 
At a glance

Scotland – 52
28 Frankie & Benny’s
08 Chiquito
08 Garfunkel’s
08 TRG Concessions

Northern Ireland – 06
05 Frankie & Benny’s 
01 Chiquito

Wales – 21
13 Frankie & Benny’s
03 Chiquito
05 Pub restaurants

South West – 24
15 Frankie & Benny’s
06 Chiquito
01 Garfunkel’s 
02 TRG Concessions

South East – 102
36 Frankie & Benny’s
14 Chiquito
20 Pub restaurants
29 TRG Concessions 
03 Coast to Coast

London  
(inside the M25) – 46
13 Frankie & Benny’s
07 Chiquito
16 Garfunkel’s 
05 Pub restaurants
05 TRG Concessions

East Anglia – 24
13 Frankie & Benny’s
03 Chiquito
02 Pub restaurants
06 TRG Concessions

Midlands – 47
35 Frankie & Benny’s
09 Chiquito
02 TRG Concessions
01 Coast to Coast

North West – 62
32 Frankie & Benny’s
09 Chiquito
08 TRG Concessions
13 Pub restaurants

North East – 38
27 Frankie & Benny’s
09 Chiquito
01 TRG Concessions
01 Coast to Coast

52

06

38

62

47

24

46

102

21

24

217 restaurants

69 restaurants

5 restaurants

12 new openings in 2012

Frankie & Benny’s brings together classic 
American and Italian style with food and drink 
that always provides great value for money.  
The kitchen buzzes with bustling activity as  
the chefs prepare dishes from our broad menu 
– pizzas, pastas, burgers, grills and other 
favourites – while, in typical stateside fashion, 
service at Frankie & Benny’s is second to none! 
Settle into a cosy booth to enjoy a casual family 
meal or a catch up with friends and observe the 
clatter and chatter of the open kitchen and the 
familiar classic 50’s and 60’s soundtrack playing 
in the background. The restaurant walls are filled 
with family snapshots and memorabilia showing 
life on the lower east side of the Big Apple, 
helping you into a “New York state-of-mind”.  
First opened in 1995 in Leicester, Frankie & 
Benny’s has become one of the best known 
casual dining brands in the United Kingdom, and 
trades successfully in leisure and retail locations, 
standalone sites and at six airports. The estate 
comprises of over 215 restaurants spread across 
the country from Aberdeen to St Austell.

Mexican for fun, fantastic food, amazing 
atmosphere – for a good time, guaranteed.  
The Chiquito menu offers a great range of 
authentic Mexican & “Tex-Mex” dishes in a lively 
environment, with fantastic music. The décor 
draws inspiration from Mexican architecture and 
Latin style. Some restaurants have a rustic and 
relaxed feel while others demonstrate the buzz 
and graphic energy of contemporary Mexico 
City. Chiquito favourite dishes include nachos, 
burritos, enchiladas and our signature sizzling 
fajitas, as well as the old favourites – burgers, 
ribs, salads and hand-cut steaks from the grill. 
We specialise in great food, good times and 
fantastic cocktails to ensure every meal  
is a fiesta. Chiquito is open for lunch, lazy 
afternoons and lively evenings, so whether you’re 
out shopping, meeting friends after work or 
planning a party it’s the only place to be! Trading 
in the UK for over 20 years, Chiquito continues to 
attract a broad mix of young adults, couples, 
teenagers, families and large parties. Almost 70 
leisure, retail and stand-alone restaurants cover 
the UK with more openings planned.

4 new openings in 2012

Coast to Coast takes its inspiration from the 
Lincoln Highway, which spans the United States 
of America from New York to San Francisco.  
This is reflected in our great range of authentic 
food and drinks, all served with superb 
hospitality and service. We offer the best of 
classic American food – Aberdeen Angus beef 
burgers, deep dish style Chicago pizzas, 
distinctive steaks, amazing seafood dishes, 
wraps and South-West American specials.  
Coast to Coast is more than just a restaurant, 
with a great bar serving speciality cocktails  
and a wide range of beers, spirits and traditional 
milkshakes. The music is an eclectic mix of 
Motown and American Rock, songs you may  
not have heard in a little while, but are absolutely 
guaranteed to lift your spirits and make you 
smile. We currently have five restaurants open 
and see significant opportunities to grow  
Coast to Coast into a great brand.

www.frankieandbennys.com

www.chiquito.co.uk

www.c2crestaurants.com

02 Annual Report 2012 The Restaurant Group plc 

Strong brands  
focused on the growing 
casual eating-out market

422

restaurants and 
pub restaurants

42 million

meals a year

Pub restaurants

45 pub restaurants

61 sites

25 restaurants

4 new openings in 2012

6 new sites opened in 2012

2 new openings in 2012

TRG’s Concessions business has a market-
leading reputation for developing partnerships to 
deliver catering solutions that meet the needs  
of our clients and their customers. Currently 
operating over 60 outlets in the UK’s busiest 
airports, other transport locations and shopping 
centres, we have more than 20 years of 
experience providing exceptional hospitality to 
the travelling public. Our specialist operating 
knowledge and flexibility ensures successful 
performance across our diverse brand portfolio, 
covering a wide range of popular categories 
including table service, counter service, 
sandwich shops, pubs and bars. To meet client 
and customer needs we deliver existing TRG 
brands, create bespoke concepts and establish 
partnerships to franchise brands from third 
parties as appropriate. Building on our track 
record of innovation, partnership and 
performance ahead of sector growth will ensure 
we remain a market leader in this exciting sector. 

Founded in London’s West End in 1979, 
Garfunkel’s is proud to be the original British café 
restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner  
all day every day. Wake up to a traditional British 
fry-up or a warming bowl of porridge, we have 
great coffee too, made just the way you like it.  
For lunchtime our salad bar really hits the spot,  
its fast, its fresh and you can make it any way  
you want to. And of course there’s Garfunkel’s 
classics like rotisserie chicken, hand-battered fish 
and chips and tasty topped burgers fresh from 
the grill. Everything has been chosen because 
we just love the taste. Principally located across 
Central London, each Garfunkel’s restaurant 
offers a place to relax and take a break from the 
hustle and bustle outside, with a loyal following  
of visitors, local residents and workers who have 
been eating at Garfunkel’s for years.

Garfunkel’s restaurants offer a friendly welcome 
and broad menu in a warm contemporary 
setting, just what you need after a hectic 
shopping trip in the West End or the perfect  
way to complement a theatre visit. 

Really great pubs are timeless, familiar and very 
British. Everybody knows what their perfect pub 
looks like. Each of ours has its own style and 
personality, and you’ll always find a warm 
welcome, set against a backdrop of ageless 
interiors. Mostly set in beautiful rural or semi-rural 
locations, each pub has a ‘local’ feel and many 
are set in intriguing buildings with fascinating 
histories. We don’t want all our pubs to look  
and feel the same – instead we preserve the 
character of the building, which after all was  
what attracted us to the property in the first 
place. We serve a wide selection of cask ales 
which changes frequently and always try to 
include a local brew or two. We have decent  
but not over the top wines and the essence of 
our freshly prepared food is classic British 
dishes, complemented by more exotic influences 
from other parts of the world: what we believe  
is modern British cookery. Seasonal and local 
specials mean the menu always offers new 
choices alongside trusted favourites each time 
you visit. There’s friendly, engaging service from 
the moment you arrive, ensuring that all your 
needs are taken care of. We believe that, when 
done well, classic pubs will never go out of 
fashion, and that opportunities to expand in the 
sector are available for experienced operators 
with the right offer for customers. We were 
delighted to receive the Good Pub Guide’s  
award for Pub Group of the Year for 2013.

www.trgplc.com/our-restaurants 
www.brunningandprice.co.uk

www.trgconcessions.co.uk

www.garfunkels.co.uk

The Restaurant Group plc Annual Report 2012 03

IntroductionBusiness reviewGovernanceFinancial statementsChairman’s statement

10%

increase in earnings  
per share

04 Annual Report 2012 The Restaurant Group plc 

“I am delighted to report  
that the Group delivered 
another strong performance  
in 2012, with growth in 
revenues, profits, cash flow 
and earnings per share.”

Like-for-like sales growth for 2012 was strong, rising 4.5% on 
the previous year. Building on a good first half performance, 
the Group saw an acceleration in like-for-like sales growth and 
roll out activity as we moved through the second half of the 
year. This momentum has continued with like-for-like sales  
for the first eight weeks of the year to 24 February 2013 6.5% 
ahead of the previous year. This represents a strong start and 
bodes well for 2013. 

Although conditions for consumer-facing businesses were 
again tough in 2012, our consistent focus on our customers, 
standards of service and value for money meant that the 
Group has once again delivered a record level of profits  
and earnings. 

Our new development activity was busier than the previous 
year and, having opened eight new restaurants by the end  
of the first half, we saw a significant increase in pace during 
the second half, opening a further 20 new sites. Much of this 
development took place in the final eight weeks of the year 
when we opened 12 new restaurants. We are very pleased 
with the performance of our new restaurants and we are 
confident that they are set to deliver superb returns. 

The performance of our new Coast to Coast restaurants 
gives us particular pleasure. This brand has a distinct and 
scaleable offering, and represents the start of what we 
believe is a significant new leg to our Leisure business. 

In 2012, the Group’s revenues grew by 9.25% to £533m 
(2011: £487m), adjusted profit before tax grew by 7% to 
£64.6m (2011: £60.3m) and adjusted earnings per share 
increased by 10% to 24.1p (2011: 21.9p). This increase in 
adjusted earnings per share represents a compound annual 
growth rate of 10.5% over the five years to December 2012. 

A record level  
of profits and earnings

9.25% 

total sales increase 

12%

increase in dividend  
per share

During 2013 we will be saying farewell to Trish Corzine and 
Robert Morgan (Executive Director, Concessions and 
Company Secretary respectively). Trish joined the Company 
almost 20 years ago and has served on the Board for nine 
years. Robert joined 11 years ago and has been Company 
Secretary for eight years. I would like to thank both of them, 
to wish Trish a long and happy retirement and Robert 
success in his next role. 

We have had a strong start to the current year, with sales 
growth of 14% (like-for-like sales up 6.5%) for the first eight 
weeks of the year and we are looking to build further on this 
as we move through the year. We have an outstanding 
business with distinct and leading market positions, our 
brands are well recognised and we deliver superb value for 
money offerings which have wide appeal. I am confident that 
we are well placed to continue our further profitable progress. 

Alan Jackson
Chairman
27 February 2013

This is a significant achievement, secured during the worst 
recession for generations, and demonstrates the broad 
appeal of our brands and the resilience and consistently 
positive performance of The Restaurant Group. 

During 2012 we experienced a continuation of the input  
cost pressures from the previous year and household 
incomes also remained pressured. Despite these challenges, 
our team diligently managed our businesses to ensure that 
operating margins were maintained at a similar level to 2011 
whilst also securing a significant uplift in revenue and profits. 

As a result of this strong performance, the Board is 
recommending a final dividend of 7.3p per share giving  
a total for the year of 11.8p per share (2011: 10.5p) an 
increase of 12%. Subject to shareholder approval at the 
Annual General Meeting to be held on 15 May 2013,  
the final dividend will be paid on 10 July 2013 and the  
shares will be marked ex-dividend on 19 June 2013. 

In 2013, we expect to open between 28 and 35 new 
restaurants and the composition and size of our new site 
pipeline is better than we have seen for a number of years. 

TRG has consistently demonstrated the resilient nature of  
its business model and this is another set of record results. 
The Group is managed in a disciplined and focused manner 
– growing both organically and also through a judicious and 
carefully executed roll out. By operating in this manner we  
are able to grow our estate, increase earnings and dividends  
and generate high levels of cash and returns on investment. 

These excellent results are a product of the hard work, 
expertise and dedication of our Directors, senior 
management and staff, under the superb leadership  
of Andrew Page. On behalf of the Board I would like to  
record our thanks to all our teams across the country. 

The Restaurant Group plc Annual Report 2012 05

IntroductionBusiness reviewGovernanceFinancial statementsChief Executive Officer’s  
review of operations

“ The Restaurant Group  
made further profitable 
progress in 2012, building  
on the solid growth secured 
in the previous year.”

Introduction
Although consumer-facing businesses continued to be 
adversely affected by the weak economic backdrop and the 
squeeze on household finances, the Group traded well with 
growth accelerating as we moved through the year. 

The Group achieved like-for-like sales growth in 11 out  
of 12 months. The final quarter saw strong growth and  
this was particularly encouraging against tough prior year 
comparatives. I am pleased to report that this trend has 
continued into 2013 with like-for-like sales growth of 6.5% 
and total sales growth of 14% for the eight weeks to 24 
February 2013. 

As in 2011, all of the constituent parts of the Group saw 
growth and, despite having to contend with input cost 
pressures, the Group achieved strong growth in adjusted 
profits and margins were maintained at a similar level to the 
previous year. As in 2011, like-for-like profit growth was also 
very strong. Total sales in 2012 were £533m which was 
9.25% ahead of the prior year (like-for-like sales were 4.5% 
ahead) and adjusted earnings per share increased by 10%; 
this represents a good result and augurs well for the future. 

Results*
* Results marked as adjusted are stated excluding non-trading items.

TRG’s trading metrics performed well for the 52 week period 
to 30 December 2012: 
> Total sales increased by 9.25%
> Like-for-like sales increased by 4.5%
> 42 million meals sold
> Adjusted EBITDA increased by 6.5% to £95.5m
> Adjusted operating profit increased by 8.6% to £66.4m
> Adjusted operating profit margin was 12.5% (2011: 12.6%)
> Adjusted pre-tax profit increased by 7% to £64.6m
> Adjusted earnings per share increased by 10% to 24.1p
> Cash flow generated from operations increased  

by £10.2m to £102.0m

> Free cash flow increased by £7.8m to £69.2m
> Net debt, at 0.38x Group adjusted EBITDA,  

fell by £5.6m to £36m

06 Annual Report 2012 The Restaurant Group plc 

Our people and our business 
Throughout TRG we aim continually to evolve and improve 
our offering – food, service, facilities and standards.  
Our menus are reviewed twice a year; our seasonal specials 
menus change quarterly and we pay close attention to the 
nutritional and calorific content of dishes to ensure that we 
have something to match all of our customers’ requirements. 
We pay close attention to our children’s offerings to ensure 
that they afford the opportunity to form part of a sensibly 
balanced diet. We are also committed to support the 
government’s initiatives to encourage healthier lifestyles and, 
to this end, we have made a number of pledges including salt 
reduction and encouraging physical activities. As part of our 
ongoing health and safety assurance processes we conduct 
testing of products and facilities at our suppliers. We have,  
for a number of years, retained a firm of specialists to  
conduct much of this testing. This testing is in addition to  
our suppliers’ own testing. In the light of the recent issues 
surrounding horsemeat we have, for the foreseeable future, 
decided to increase the frequency and extent of product 
testing. To date we have not identified horsemeat 
contamination in the products supplied at our restaurants.

Our focus continues to be directed towards providing our 
customers with a great dining experience – plenty of choice 
across the price points, offerings geared towards specific 
parts of the day, good value and superb hospitality and 
service. We strive to employ the best people and to provide 
them with an opportunity to develop. Our staff benefit from  
a number of training programmes as soon as they join us  
and as they progress, providing the skill sets enabling them  
to be efficient and effective managers. In addition to our 
management training programmes, our staff at all levels have 
the opportunity to secure qualifications in several areas 
relevant to our industry, including food hygiene, health & 
safety, NVQ’s and BII accreditations. 

We employ more than 11,000 people throughout the UK  
and during 2012 more than 700 new members joined the 
TRG team. As we continue to open new restaurants,  
the opportunities for our people to progress and secure 
promotion increase and this helps TRG to attract and retain 
high quality team members. 

 
We were delighted when The Good Pub Guide  
awarded Brunning & Price ‘Pub Group of Year’ for  
an unprecedented fourth time in 2013. Brunning &  
Price were described as “…the doyen of the smaller 
independent pub groups”. 

In addition, the Dysart Arms in Bunbury won the 
Cheshire County Dining Pub of the Year for the fourth 
time, the Fox in Chetwynd Aston won the Shropshire 
Dining Pub of the Year for the fourth year in succession 
and the Hand and Trumpet in Wrinehill was awarded  
the Staffordshire Dining Pub of the Year, also for the 
fourth year in succession.

Our brands
Frankie & Benny’s (217 units) 
Frankie & Benny’s performed superbly in 2012, with strong 
performances across all the key metrics – like-for-like sales, 
revenues, margins and profits. We opened 12 new 
restaurants of which six were on cinema sites. Trade at the 
new openings has been strong and they are on track to 
deliver excellent returns. We anticipate opening between  
13 and 17 new Frankie & Benny’s restaurants in 2013.  
The enduring appeal and consistent success of the 
Frankie & Benny’s brand gives us a great deal of confidence 
that the ongoing roll out potential for this brand is significant. 

Coast to Coast (5 units)
The performance of our new brand, Coast to Coast, has 
been outstanding. Our first Coast to Coast restaurant opened 
alongside an existing Frankie & Benny’s restaurant in Brighton 
at the end of 2011. During 2012 we opened four new Coast 
to Coast restaurants in Stevenage, Newcastle, Solihull and 
Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth and four of our Coast to 
Coast restaurants now trade alongside existing TRG 
restaurants. We are very encouraged by the fact that not  
only are our Coast to Coast restaurants trading very well,  
and are set to deliver strong returns, but also that there has 
been no detrimental impact upon the adjacent existing TRG 
restaurants. We are planning to open four to six new Coast to 
Coast restaurants in 2013. We believe that the Coast to Coast 
brand could have significant roll out potential – it has broad 
appeal and is distinct from TRG’s other brands meaning  
that it complements both Frankie & Benny’s and Chiquito.  
We have identified several dozen locations where we are 
confident that a Coast to Coast restaurant would trade well 
and the process of building a new site pipeline is well in hand. 

Chiquito (69 units)
Chiquito delivered a good performance in 2012 with sizeable 
increases in revenues, profits and margins. No new Chiquito 
restaurants opened during 2012, although we anticipate 
opening between four and six new restaurants in 2013. 

Garfunkel’s (25 units) 
Garfunkel’s traded well during 2012. Although the impact of 
the Olympic Games upon Garfunkel’s trade was adverse, 
from late summer onwards the pick-up in trade was 
significant and this meant that the brand delivered like-for-like 
sales growth for the full year and a good level of profits.  
We opened two new Garfunkel’s in 2012 which are expected 
to deliver good returns. 

Pub restaurants (45 units)
Our Pub restaurants business enjoyed a good year in 2012. 
With the conclusion of the programme of ex-Blubeckers  
site conversions behind them, the team has been able to 
capitalise on the opportunities to grow the business and this 
has produced a very good level of performance. Turnover, 
margins and profits were well ahead on the previous year and 
the four new openings are performing significantly ahead of 
our expectations and are set to deliver strong returns. We 
expect to open three to five new Pub restaurants this year 
and, looking forward, we believe that this business has the 
potential to grow significantly. This strong performance was 
capped off with the news that we had won the Good Pub 
Guide’s “Pub Group of the Year” award for 2013 – a fitting 
testament to a dedicated crew. 

Concessions (61 units) 
Our Concessions business traded superbly during 2012 with 
good increases in revenues and profits. Although passenger 
numbers at UK airports were barely above 2011 levels our 
business delivered strong like-for-like sales growth as it 
increased market share and improved spend per passenger. 
During the year we opened six new units and these are set to 
deliver strong returns. We expect to open two to four new 
Concessions restaurants in 2013.

The Restaurant Group plc Annual Report 2012 07

IntroductionBusiness reviewGovernanceFinancial statementsChief Executive Officer’s 
review of operations
continued

+4.5%

like-for-like  
sales growth

Over 

700

new jobs created

The TRG business model
Our core objective continues to be growth in shareholder 
value and our strategy to achieve this is to build a business 
capable of delivering long-term, sustainable and growing 
cash flows. Our touchstones are cash flow and return on 
investment. Our business model enables our shareholders  
to enjoy the benefits of high returns on capital, growth in 
profits and cash flow and sizeable income distributions from 
our progressive dividend policy. The Group has a consistent 
record of converting profits into cash at a very healthy rate 
and delivering increasing cash flows each year, and in 2012 
this was again the case.

In 2012 the Group generated £102m of operating cash flow 
and having paid a corporation tax bill of £16.1m, interest 
payments of £0.9m and spending £15.8m on capital 
improvements to our existing estate the Group’s free cash 
flow amounted to almost £70m. This was £8m ahead of the 
previous year and continued the Group’s record of growing 
cash flow each year.

This cash is put to good use – in 2012 we spent almost £40m 
on opening new restaurants and acquiring the freeholds of 
four of our existing Pub restaurants which will, in turn, 
contribute to the continuing growth in the Group’s profits and 
cash flows; we returned almost £22m to our shareholders by 
way of dividends and we reduced our bank debt by £5.6m. 

This virtuous circle of rising profits being converted into  
higher levels of cash flow which is then invested in new 
restaurants which, in turn, deliver high levels of return on 
invested capital represents a highly efficacious and value-
accretive model. TRG’s business model enables the Group  
to grow in a predominantly organic and highly value-accretive 
way, funded from its internally generated funds. Our model 
delivers high returns, growth and of course, income in the 
form of dividends. The model is robust, resilient and 
rewarding for our shareholders. 

TRG’s capital structure
The Group’s capital structure is framed in a sensible and 
prudent manner which enables shareholder value to grow 
and which recognises the operational and financial gearing 
inherent in our (predominantly) lease-based business model. 
In determining the appropriate capital structure, the key 
considerations which we keep under regular review are: 
1.  The level of free cash flow generated and our expectation 

for this going forward; 

2.  The level of capital investment required to fund our new 

openings (and our expectations with regard to the number 
of new openings over the medium-term); 

3.  The maintenance of our progressive dividend policy and 
our intention to grow dividends in line with earnings; 
4.  Ensuring that we have sufficient financial resources 

available to take advantage of opportunities to expand  
the business profitably; 

5.  Ensuring that we have sufficient financial resources 

available to cope with a deterioration in trading conditions 
as a result of an economic downturn or other adverse 
factors; and

6.  Maintaining a good level of fixed charge cover as  

measured by the Group’s ability to meet and service  
all of its financial obligations.

As a result of strong cash generation, the Group has 
continued to reduce its levels of debt significantly. In the five 
years since 2007, net debt has reduced from £77m to £36m. 
During this period the Group has invested £146m in opening 
137 new restaurants and acquiring freeholds of our existing 
Pub restaurants, £63m (maintenance capex) has been 
invested in maintaining the existing estate and £89m has 
been paid out to shareholders in the form of dividends. 
During much of this period the economic backdrop has been 
poor (and at times very bleak). Against such a backdrop we 
believe that TRG’s very prudent capital structure has been 
appropriate, safeguarding shareholders’ interests whilst 
allowing the Group to grow profits and cash flow and for 
dividends to increase. 

08 Annual Report 2012 The Restaurant Group plc 

Our touchstones are 
cash flow and return 
on investment

28

new restaurants  
opened

7%

increase in adjusted  
profit before tax

Although economic conditions have stabilised over the  
past 12 months the outlook, particularly in the UK, remains 
opaque. Forecasts for GDP growth have been subject  
to regular downward revisions over the past year and it is 
unclear whether 2013 will be a year of “low” or “no” growth. 
Whilst these economic conditions prevail, we intend to 
maintain our very prudent approach to capital structure.  
We will however keep this under regular review and, taking 
into account the key considerations set out above, determine 
what, if any, adjustments to the Group’s capital structure are 
appropriate. Any changes which are made would be in line 
with our policy of maintaining a sensible and prudent capital 
structure, appropriate for a business which is characterised  
by operational gearing and financial gearing (primarily by 
virtue of our lease–based business model), whilst also 
continuing to grow shareholder value. 

Capital expenditure and TRG opening programme
Our key criteria in determining where to invest our capital is  
to operate restaurants in locations with high barriers to entry, 
good growth prospects and where we are confident that  
we can secure high returns on investment. Our focus is on 
edge of town, out of town, rural, semi-rural and airport 
locations and we occupy leading market positions in these 
segments. The footprint that the Group occupies in edge and 
out of town leisure and airport locations is comprehensive 
and, from a market positioning perspective, very formidable. 
It would be virtually impossible to replicate this footprint from 
scratch and the Group is well placed to continue to roll out 
more restaurants. 

Our philosophy regarding capital expenditure remains 
consistent – we focus on cash generation and on securing a 
return on invested capital at rates ahead of TRG’s weighted 
average cost of capital. We continue to apply the same levels 
of analytical rigour, commercial analysis, experience and risk 
adjustment to each capital project that we undertake. 

This approach has served TRG well and we do not intend to 
deviate from it. This disciplined and consistent approach has 
also ensured that our new openings continue to deliver strong 
returns. It is particularly encouraging that returns from our 
openings in recent years have been at some of the highest 
levels achieved in the past decade. 

Our free cash flow generation is sufficient to enable the 
Group to accelerate the openings programme whilst 
maintaining maintenance capital expenditure at an 
appropriate level and pursuing a progressive dividend policy. 
There are a significant number of new schemes in 
developers’ pipelines and, at some point, these are likely to 
be activated. We are now starting to see projects which had 
been kept on the “back burner” by developers, coming on 
stream. Although these are mainly the smaller, edge of town, 
schemes we view this as a positive development and this 
suggests an improving trend in new development activity. 

The economic downturn, whilst presenting formidable  
trading challenges, has also afforded to us several new 
opportunities and we intend to continue to identify and 
pursue these where we are confident that they will meet our 
returns criteria. Over the past three years, many of our new 
restaurant opportunities have been secured from a variety of 
differing sources and the work that we are doing in this 
regard has had the benefit of widening the potential paths to 
further roll out growth for the Group. 

During 2013 we are expecting to open between 28 and  
35 new restaurants and we are also successfully adding to 
our potential pipeline for the next two to three years. 

Market dynamics and the economy
Companies operating in the retail environment have found 
conditions tough in recent years and this seems to have 
become a persistent theme. A deep recession followed  
by rising taxes, household inflation, a fiscal squeeze with  
lower government spending and higher levels of 
unemployment (with the equally corrosive, concomitant, 
fear of unemployment) and negative changes in year-on-year 
real wages, have placed significant pressures on many 
consumer-facing businesses. This has proved particularly 
problematic for businesses with poor market positioning, 
weak business models and high levels of financial leverage. 
Attempts at stimulating the economy through expansionary 
monetary stimuli have had some success, but the economic 
backdrop remains quite tough. Selling goods and services  
to the UK consumer remains quite a challenge.

The Restaurant Group plc Annual Report 2012 09

IntroductionBusiness reviewGovernanceFinancial statementsChief Executive Officer’s  
review of operations
continued

£102m

cashflow from 
operations

11,000

people employed 
throughout the UK

In addition to consumers being squeezed as a result of  
the difficult economic backdrop, other factors are also  
at work and some distinct trends, both operationally and 
behaviourally, have been evident. Those companies that  
have established strong market positions, with offerings  
that are accessible, attractive, convenient, well understood, 
trusted and are seen by their customers to offer good value 
have tended to outperform. Customers have become more 
selective about what, and how, they purchase and it is 
noteworthy how important a strong and clear online offering 
and communication platform has become for many parts  
of the retail marketplace. The ability to read and quickly  
adapt to customer trends is increasingly important. 

With many households experiencing a squeeze on funds 
available for discretionary spend, harder choices between 
competing consumption wishes are having to be made.  
A propensity to save (or pay down debt) replaced the urge  
to buy on credit that was so prevalent just a few years ago. 
Consumer-facing businesses have had to work harder to 
claim a share of this smaller cake. 

Those companies that operate in the dining out sector have 
approached these challenges in different ways. Many have 
chosen to compete for customers largely on price and this 
has often manifested itself via heavy promotions and deep 
discounting. “Buy one get one free” and other similar, deep 
discounting, offers have been rife, and still are. Our Group  
has adopted a different approach, focusing on value,  
choice and consistency of service and standards. Last year, 
the proportion of TRG’s revenues which were driven by 
promotions was, as in the previous year, very modest.  
We have also increasingly harnessed digital media to  
broaden awareness of our brands and what we can offer. 
These tactics have served TRG well, enabling it to continue  
to grow profits and protect margins. 

Eating out has become habitual in the UK and it is an activity 
that many people are reluctant to give up. At our price point  
it represents a “small ticket” item or, to put it another way,  
“an affordable treat”. In times of fiscal restraint and stretched 
finances, it is a pleasure in which many people still feel able  
to indulge. 

Growth in eating out is a secular trend, driven largely by 
socio-economic factors (ageing population, busy lifestyles, 
more women in the workplace etc.) and this is set to continue 
over the longer term. Despite the current climate TRG has 
been able to secure good levels of like-for-like sales growth  
in both 2011 and 2012 and, as conditions improve and 
particularly when people feel more confident about their  
jobs and incomes, this is likely to accelerate. 

Economic conditions over the past 12 months have continued 
to be tough with periods of significant uncertainty. The first  
six months of 2012 were characterised by significant swings 
in confidence which in part were driven by the recognition 
that the correction of countries’ imbalances was likely to 
require radical and potentially very severe actions. This was 
particularly apparent within the Eurozone which, for much of 
the first half of 2012, was subject to considerable volatility. 

In July 2012, the President of the ECB, Mario Draghi, 
announced that the ECB was ready to “do whatever it takes” 
to preserve the Euro. This had a rapid and sustained positive 
impact upon confidence within the Eurozone; together with 
subsequent US and developing economies’ initiatives this 
seems to have illuminated a way forward. Although much 
remains to be done, this willingness to acknowledge and 
adapt presents an opportunity to rebalance and provides  
a foundation towards improving global prosperity. 

10 Annual Report 2012 The Restaurant Group plc 

Well positioned  
to deliver further 
profitable progress

The UK has benefited from these developments and, 
although sustained economic growth remains elusive, there 
are some positive signs. In particular, levels of employment 
are holding up well and this is very encouraging against the 
challenge of replacing public sector jobs with jobs in the 
private sector. Inflation has abated a little from the high levels 
seen in recent years and although pressures on household 
finances remain significant, the benefits of ongoing low 
interest rates should have a positive impact upon households’ 
finances, consumer confidence and the propensity to spend. 

Currently, the outlook for UK GDP growth in 2013 remains 
uninspiring and regular downward revisions in recent months 
indicate that a measure of caution is appropriate. At this 
stage, we anticipate that the economic backdrop is likely to 
remain similar to that experienced over recent months and 
accordingly we will look to manage our business to continue 
to deliver profitable growth against this backdrop. 

> Stick to our areas of expertise; 
> Focus on our customers by providing excellent value, 

choice and service;

> Maintain high standards of operational efficiency  

and execution;

> Carefully control our costs and seek to mitigate and 

minimise the impact of inflationary input costs;

> Add high quality new restaurants that meet our investment 

criteria to our portfolio; and

> Focus on cash flow, returns and growing shareholder value. 

Our aim is to continue to strengthen our market positions, to 
judiciously roll out our brands and deliver long-term and 
sustainable profitable growth. The Group has demonstrated 
its resilience and we expect to benefit significantly from the 
upturn in consumer confidence that will, in due course, prevail. 

Future prospects
Over the past five years, our business has experienced some 
difficult trading conditions and during that period sales, profits 
and cash flow increased every year. Also within that period 
we have devised and developed our new brand, Coast to 
Coast, and executed its initial roll out very effectively, further 
widening TRG’s roll out path. 

TRG’s businesses command strong market positions in each 
of our chosen segments and our brands are well recognised 
for the quality, breadth and value of their offerings. We have a 
well proven business model, a strong balance sheet and are 
well positioned to continue our expansion. Just as we did in 
2012, during 2013 we will continue to:

2012 presented TRG with some big challenges. As always, 
our team rose to those challenges and produced a superb 
performance. All of our people will be working towards 
replicating this again in 2013. The first two months of 2013 
have started well with total sales 14% ahead of last year 
(like-for-like sales up 6.5%), and we will be looking to build 
further on this as we move through the year.

Andrew Page
Chief Executive Officer
27 February 2013

The Restaurant Group plc Annual Report 2012 11

IntroductionBusiness reviewGovernanceFinancial statementsGroup Finance Director’s report

“  Total revenues increased  
by 9.25% reflecting a 4.5% 
increase in like-for-like sales 
and a strong contribution 
from new openings.”

Results* 
*Results marked as adjusted are stated excluding non-trading items.

2012 turned out to be another challenging year for consumer-
facing businesses. Notwithstanding this, The Restaurant 
Group plc delivered another record set of financial results  
as follows:

£million
Revenue
Adjusted operating profit
Margin %
Adjusted interest 
Adjusted profit before tax
Adjusted EPS (pence)

2012
532.5
66.4
12.5%
(1.8)
64.6
24.08

2011 % change
+9.3%
487.1
61.2
+8.6%
12.6%
(0.9)
60.3
21.86

+7.1%
+10.2%

Total revenues increased by 9.25% reflecting a 4.5% increase 
in like-for-like sales and a strong contribution from new 
openings. Total adjusted EBITDA for the year was £95.5m, 
and Group adjusted operating profit was £66.4m, an increase 
of 8.6% on the prior year. Group adjusted operating profit 
margin of 12.5% was marginally down on the prior year by  
10 basis points. This was as a result of inflationary cost 
pressures and the large number of new units which opened 
in the final weeks of the financial year. 

Adjusted net interest costs were £1.8m (2011: £0.9m). In 2011 
the Group benefitted from a £0.8m payment of historical 
interest in respect of an outstanding loan note from Living 
Ventures Limited. This accounted for most of the outstanding 
amount and the historical loan note interest received from 
Living Ventures Limited during 2012 was significantly less. 
This, combined with the slightly higher funding costs under 
the new banking facility put in place at the end of 2011, 
account for the increased level of net interest charges. 

Adjusted profit before tax of £64.6m showed an increase of 
over 7% compared to the prior year. Adjusted post-tax profits 
of £48.2m showed a 10% increase on the prior year resulting 
in adjusted earnings per share of 24.08p, also up 10% 
compared to the prior year.

Statutory profit before tax of £64.6m (2011: £48.6m) was 33% 
higher than the prior year and statutory earnings per share of 
24.08p (2011: 17.19p) was 40% higher than the prior year.

12 Annual Report 2012 The Restaurant Group plc 

Cash flow
Cash generation was once again extremely strong. Net cash 
flow from operations increased to £102.0m (2011: £91.8m). 
After tax, interest and maintenance capital expenditure, free 
cash flow was £69.2m, an increase of 13% compared to the 
prior year. This free cash flow generation financed all of the 
Group’s development capital expenditure and dividend 
payments. Net debt fell by £5.6m to £36.0m. Set out below  
is a summary cash flow statement for the full year:
2012
£m
66.4

Adjusted operating profit

2011
£m
61.2

Working capital and non-cash 
adjustments
Depreciation

Cash flow from operations

Net interest paid
Tax paid
Maintenance capital expenditure

Free cash flow

Development capital expenditure
Dividends
Disposals
Net cash flow from share issues
SWAP termination payment
Purchase of shares for employee 
benefit trust
Other

Reduction in net debt
Net bank debt at start of year
Net bank debt at end of year

6.5
29.1
102.0
(0.9)
(16.1)
(15.8)
69.2
(39.2)
(21.7)
0.1
0.1
–

(2.9)
–
5.6
(41.6)
(36.0)

2.1
28.5
91.8
(0.3)
(15.7)
(14.4)
61.4
(29.3)
(22.3)
(2.8)
1.0
(0.4)

(3.1)
0.8
5.3
(46.9)
(41.6)

Cost inflation 
Input cost inflation continues to be an issue. As has been 
widely commented on, food and utility costs in particular 
increased well ahead of the general rate of UK inflation in 
2012. Although we take sensible steps to mitigate the impact 
of inflation (e.g. with fixed or capped price contracts on many 
of our key inputs), we are not immune to these pressures. 

Looking forward we do not anticipate any abatement in  
the inflationary pressures on food input costs. Most of our  
key utility contracts are fixed through until October 2013.  

A very strong  
financial position

Over the next few months we expect to enter into further 
forward contracts on utilities. 

On labour costs the key driver is the national minimum wage 
which increased by 1.8% in October 2012. This is one area of 
cost where inflationary pressures remain at relatively benign 
levels compared to earlier years. Rental cost inflation has also 
been running at lower levels compared to the situation up 
until 2008. We are now starting to see some small increase in 
the level of rent reviews, although this continues to be at low 
levels compared to those experienced prior to 2009. 

Capital expenditure 
During the year the Group invested a total of £55.0m in capital 
expenditure (2011: £43.7m). £15.8m of this was spent on 
refurbishment and maintenance expenditure (2011: £14.4m). 

Development capital expenditure in the year was £39.2m 
(2011: £29.3m). This includes the 28 new sites opened in the 
year (three of which were freeholds). In addition we acquired 
the freeholds of four pubs which we previously operated as 
tenancies from Enterprise Inns. The 28 sites opened during 
the year are performing very satisfactorily, generating average 
levels of turnover and financial return significantly ahead of 
our feasibility requirements.

We continue to be focused on ensuring that all of our new 
sites generate very high levels of financial return. All potential 
new sites are subject to a thorough due diligence process 
before we commit to a project. This process includes detailed 
financial modelling, sensitivity analysis, demographic analysis, 
a detailed review of competitors and a review of planned or 
potential developments in the area. We also identify other 
existing sites with similar characteristics both in terms of 
demographics and location to further inform our decision 
making process. We conduct regular post-investment 
appraisals and these confirm that we are continuing to 
achieve levels of return ahead of our high hurdle rates.

The table below summarises opening and closures in  
the year:

Frankie & Benny’s
Coast to Coast 
Chiquito
Garfunkel’s 
Pub restaurants
Concessions
Total

Year end 
2011
207
1
69
23
42
58
400

Opened
12
4
–
2
4
6
28

Closed
(2)
–
–
–
(1)
(3)
(6)

Year end 
2012
217
5
69
25
45
61
422

Financing and key financial ratios 
As detailed in last year’s Annual Report we have a £140m five 
year facility in place which runs until October 2016. There are 
two covenants under this facility which are summarised in the 
table below, together with other financial ratios: 

Banking covenant ratios
EBITDA / interest cover
Net debt / EBITDA

Other ratios

Fixed charge cover
Balance sheet gearing

Banking 
covenant

2012

2011

>4x
<3x

n/a
n/a

41x
0.38x

2.6x
20%

47x
0.48x

2.6x
26%

As can be seen from this table the Group has substantial 
headroom against both of the banking covenants and is in a 
very strong financial position. This strong financial position 
means that we are able to accelerate the new openings 
programme while at the same time investing in the existing 
estate, a very important factor in maintaining a strong and 
successful business going forward.    

Tax 
The total tax charge in the year was £16.3m, analysed  
as follows:

2012
Non-
trading
£m

Trading
£m

2011
Non
trading
£m

Total
£m

Total
£m

Trading
£m

Corporation 
tax
Deferred  
tax
Total
Effective  
tax rate

18.1

(1.8)
16.3

–

–
–

18.1

18.0

(1.1)

16.9

(1.8)
16.3

(1.4)
16.6

(1.3)
(2.4)

(2.7)
14.2

25.3%

27.5%

The effective tax rate of 25.3% has reduced compared to the 
prior year, primarily reflecting the reduction in UK headline 
corporation tax rates. We expect our effective tax rate to 
continue to fall in 2013 and 2014 in line with the government’s 
planned reduction in corporation tax rates. The Group’s 
effective tax rate will continue to be higher than the headline 
UK tax rate, primarily due to significant levels of disallowable 
expenditure in our capital expenditure investments. 

Stephen Critoph 
Group Finance Director 
27 February 2013

The Restaurant Group plc Annual Report 2012 13

IntroductionBusiness reviewGovernanceFinancial statementsBoard of Directors

Alan Jackson
Non-executive Chairman

Andrew Page
Chief Executive Officer

Stephen Critoph
Group Finance Director

Aged 52, he was appointed 
as Finance Director of  
The Restaurant Group plc  
in September 2004. 
Previously he has held 
several senior finance 
positions in Compass Group 
plc and Granada Group plc, 
including Corporate 
Development Director of 
Compass Roadside and 
Finance Director of 
Travelodge and Little Chef. 
He trained and qualified as a 
Chartered Accountant with 
Deloitte & Touche.

Aged 54, he joined The 
Restaurant Group plc as 
Finance Director in June 
2001. In December 2003 he 
was appointed Group 
Managing Director and in 
January 2006 became Chief 
Executive Officer. His career 
has spanned both 
international and domestic 
businesses. Prior to joining 
The Restaurant Group plc, 
he held a number of senior 
positions in the leisure and 
hospitality industry including 
Senior Vice President with 
InterContinental Hotels and 
Finance Director of Hanover 
International plc. Prior to that, 
Andrew spent six years as a 
Corporate Financier with 
Kleinwort Benson having 
trained and qualified as a 
Chartered Accountant  
with KPMG.

Aged 69, he joined The 
Restaurant Group plc as 
Executive Chairman in March 
2001 and became non-
executive Chairman from 
January 2006. He has a 
wealth of experience in the 
leisure sector. For 18 years, 
from 1973 to 1991, he 
occupied various positions 
within Whitbread, principally 
Managing Director of 
Beefeater steakhouses and 
also the Whitbread restaurant 
division where he was 
responsible for the creation 
and development of 
Beefeater, Travel Inns and TGI 
Friday brands. After the Beer 
Orders in 1991 he founded 
his own business which 
became Inn Business Group 
plc in 1995 and was 
subsequently acquired by 
Punch in 1999. He chaired 
Oriental Restaurant Group 
plc until its sale to Noble 
House in 2000. Currently 
Alan is non-executive deputy 
chairman of Redrow plc and 
a non-executive director of 
Playtech plc.

14 Annual Report 2012 The Restaurant Group plc 

Trish Corzine
Executive Director,  
Concessions

Tony Hughes
Non-executive

Simon Cloke
Non-executive 

Aged 64, he was appointed 
as a non-executive Director of 
the Company in January 
2008. He was Managing 
Director of the Restaurants 
Division of Mitchells & Butlers 
plc (previously Bass plc and 
Six Continents plc) from 1995 
to 2007 and served on the 
Board of Mitchells & Butlers 
plc from 2003 to 2007. Prior 
to joining Bass, he held senior 
management roles at B&Q, 
J.A. Devenish and Whitbread. 

Aged 45, he was appointed 
as a non-executive Director 
of the Company in March 
2010. Formerly Global Head 
of Industrials at Dresdner 
Kleinwort Wasserstein, he 
was appointed Managing 
Director of HSBC’s Diversified 
Industries Group in 2005 and 
is currently responsible for 
managing HSBC’s business 
with some of its largest house 
building and building 
materials clients. 

Aged 55, she joined The 
Restaurant Group plc in  
1993 as Area Manager for 
Garfunkel’s which included 
the Group’s airport 
operations. In 1997 she was 
appointed Brand Director  
of Garfunkel’s and Airports, 
and in 1999 was promoted  
to Operations Director – 
Concessions. In March 2003 
she was appointed Managing 
Director – Concessions and in 
October 2003 was appointed 
to the Board. Prior to joining 
The Restaurant Group plc, 
Trish worked for Häagen-
Dazs then managed the 
Atacama Restaurant Group.

The Restaurant Group plc Annual Report 2012 15

IntroductionBusiness reviewGovernanceFinancial statementsReport of the Directors

The Directors present their Annual Report and the Group 
Accounts for the year ended 30 December 2012.

Results and dividends
The results for the year ended 30 December 2012 are 
presented under International Financial Reporting Standards 
(“IFRSs”). The Report and Accounts are drawn up on a 52 
week reporting basis ending on 30 December 2012 (2011: 52 
week reporting basis ending on 1 January 2012). The results 
for the year are set out in the consolidated income statement 
on page 41. This shows a Group profit after tax of £48.2m 
(2011: £34.4m). An interim dividend of 4.5p per share was 
paid on 10 October 2012. The Directors propose a final 
dividend of 7.3p per share, which is subject to approval at the 
Company’s Annual General Meeting to be held on 15 May 
2013. Should this be approved, the final dividend will be paid 
on 10 July 2013, bringing the ordinary dividend per share 
payable in respect of 2012 to 11.8p (2011: 10.5p), an increase 
of 12% on the prior year.

Principal activity
The principal activity of the Group is the operation of 
restaurants and pub restaurants. Further information relating 
to the business, including a review of the year’s performance 
and planned developments, is given in the Chief Executive 
Officer’s review of operations on pages 6 to 11.

Business review
The Company is required by the Companies Act to include a 
business review in this report. The information that fulfils the 
requirements of the business review can be found in the 
Chairman’s statement, Chief Executive Officer’s review of 
operations and Group Finance Director’s report on pages  
6 to 13, which are incorporated in this report by reference.

Directors
Full details of the Directors of the Company are given on 
pages 14 and 15. The Directors who held office during 2012 
were as follows:

Executive Directors
>> Andrew Page
>> Stephen Critoph
>> Trish Corzine

Non-executive Directors
>> Alan Jackson
>> Tony Hughes
>> Simon Cloke

In respect of 2012, each of the non-executive Directors 
(excluding the Chairman) is considered by the Board to be 
independent. Tony Hughes held the position of senior 
non-executive Director. Alan Jackson transitioned from 
executive Chairman to non-executive Chairman on 1 January 
2006 and following his tenure as an executive Director, is not 
considered to be an independent non-executive Director as 
defined by the UK Corporate Governance Code (“the Code”).

16 Annual Report 2012 The Restaurant Group plc 

No Director has a service contract with the Company 
requiring more than twelve months’ notice. Ms Corzine has 
advised the Board that she wishes to retire from her role as 
an executive Director of the Company, and, consequently, 
she will not seek re-election at the Annual General Meeting to 
be held on 15 May 2013. Ms Corzine will therefore cease to 
be a Director of the Company with effect from the end of the 
Annual General Meeting to be held on 15 May 2013.

In accordance with the Code, the other Directors will be 
subject to re-election at the Annual General Meeting to be 
held on 15 May 2013.

During the year the Audit Committee comprised the following 
non-executive Directors:
>> Simon Cloke (Chairman)
>> Tony Hughes

During the year the Remuneration Committee comprised the 
following non-executive Directors:
>> Tony Hughes (Chairman)
>> Simon Cloke

During the year the Nominations Committee comprised the 
following Directors:
>> Tony Hughes (Chairman)
>> Simon Cloke
>> Alan Jackson
>> Andrew Page

The Directors’ remuneration report, which includes details  
of Directors’ remuneration and interests in the Company’s 
shares and options, together with information on service 
contracts, is set out on pages 28 to 33.

Directors’ shareholdings
The interests of the Directors in the shares of the Company, 
all being beneficially owned, were as follows:

At 
26 February
2013

At 
30 December
2012

At 
1 January
2012

Executive Directors
Andrew Page
Stephen Critoph
Trish Corzine

681,486
358,197
325,830

681,486
358,197
325,830

631,486
283,197
274,705

Non-executive Directors
Alan Jackson
Tony Hughes
Simon Cloke

400,191
400,000
15,000

400,191
400,000
15,000

400,191
400,000
15,000

Details of the Directors’ share options are disclosed in  
the Directors’ remuneration report on pages 32 and 33.  
The closing mid-market price of the ordinary shares on  
30 December 2012 was 382.9p and the range during the 
financial year was 269.2p to 391.7p.

Share capital structure
The Company has one class of shares, ordinary shares of 
281⁄8p. As at 30 December 2012, the issued, called up and 
fully paid number of shares in issue was 200,298,132 shares. 
There are no preference shares or special rights pertaining  
to any of the shares in issue.

Following the 2012 Annual General Meeting the Directors 
have had the authority to allot shares up to an aggregate 
nominal amount of £18,773,553 which represented 
approximately one third of the ordinary share capital of the 
Company at the time the authority was given by shareholders.

This authority expires at the Annual General Meeting to be 
held on 15 May 2013 and it will be proposed to extend this 
authority (updated for the current number of shares in issue) 
at the forthcoming Meeting. The Directors have no present 
intention of exercising this authority. At the 2012 Annual 
General Meeting the Directors were also provided with the 
authority to allot shares for cash other than on a pre-emptive 
basis, up to an aggregate nominal amount of £2,816,033 
which represented approximately 5% of the issued share 
capital at the time that the authority was given by 
shareholders. This authority also expires at the Annual 
General Meeting to be held on 15 May 2013 and it will be 
proposed to extend this authority (updated for the current 
number of shares in issue) at the forthcoming Meeting. The 
Directors have no present intention of exercising this authority.

In addition, following the 2012 Annual General Meeting, the 
Directors have the authority to make market purchases of 
shares in The Restaurant Group plc on behalf of the 
Company up to 20,025,123 ordinary shares (which 
represented 10% of the Company’s issued ordinary share 
capital at the time of the Notice of the 2012 Annual General 
Meeting). The minimum price that may be paid for such 
shares is 281⁄8p per share. The maximum price is the higher 
of 5% above the average middle market quotation for the 
ordinary shares for the five business days preceding the date 
of purchase and the higher of the price of the last 
independent trade and the highest current independent bid 
on the London Stock Exchange Daily Official List at the time 
the purchase is carried out.

This authority expires at the forthcoming Annual General 
Meeting and it will be proposed to extend this authority 
(updated for the current number of shares in issue) at the 
forthcoming Meeting. As noted in the Chief Executive 
Officer’s review of operations, the Directors will periodically 
review the capital structure of the Group to ensure there is an 
appropriate framework to enable shareholder value to grow 
and to recognise the operational and financial gearing 
inherent in TRG’s (predominantly) lease-based model.

The Group has entered into various contracts, including 
leases, during the course of ordinary business which  
may be terminated in the event of a change of control of  
The Restaurant Group plc.

Substantial shareholdings
At 13 February 2013 the Company had been notified of the 
following interests of 3% or more in the issued ordinary share 
capital of the Company:

Number 
of shares
BlackRock Inc.
13,864,261
M&G Investment Management Ltd 10,932,888
Legal & General Investment 
Management Ltd
Aviva Investors
Standard Life
Lloyds Banking Group
F&C Asset Management plc
Old Mutual Asset Managers
New Smith Asset Management 
LLP
Ameriprise Financial Inc.

9,930,358
9,054,168
8,050,502
7,720,227
6,605,215
6,154,628

6,153,386
6,025,158

% of issue
share capital
6.92%
5.46%

4.96%
4.52%
4.02%
3.85%
3.30%
3.07%

3.07%
3.01%

Corporate governance
The Company is committed to high standards of corporate 
governance and to observing the principles of corporate 
governance contained in the UK Corporate Governance 
Code that was issued in 2010 by the Financial Reporting 
Council (“the Code”) for which the Board is accountable to 
shareholders.

The Directors note the requirements of the Revised Corporate 
Governance Code and the Guidance on Audit Committees. 
The Board will consider the requirements in detail during the 
year and adopt in line with the requirements for the year 
ended 29 December 2013.

Statement of compliance with the UK Corporate 
Governance Code
Throughout the year ended 30 December 2012, the 
Company has been in compliance with the provisions set  
out in the Code except for provisions concerning the number 
of Directors considered to be independent, and the 
independence of the Chairman (who was previously executive 
Chairman before assuming the role of non-executive 
Chairman in January 2006). The Company currently has  
two non-executive Directors who are considered to be 
independent, which is less than the 50% of the Board  
best practice guidance under the Combined Code. As a 
consequence the Audit Committee and Remuneration 
Committees comprise two non-executive Directors rather 
than three as recommended by the Code.

The size and composition of the Board is regularly reviewed 
to ensure that the effectiveness of the Board (and 
performance of the Group) is at a high standard.

Statement about applying the principles of the Code
The Company has applied the principles set out in section 1  
of the Code, including both the Main Principles and the 
supporting principles, by complying with the Code as reported 
above. Further explanation of how the Main Principles have 
been applied is set out below and in the Directors’ 
remuneration report and the Audit Committee report.

The Restaurant Group plc Annual Report 2012 17

IntroductionBusiness reviewGovernanceFinancial statements 
Report of the Directors
continued

The Board
The Board’s role is to provide entrepreneurial leadership  
of the Company and Group within a framework of prudent 
and effective controls which enable risk to be assessed  
and managed. The Board reviews the Group’s business 
model and strategic objectives and looks to ensure that the 
necessary financial and human resources are in place to 
achieve these objectives, to sustain them over the long-term 
and to review management performance against these 
objectives. The Board also sets the Company’s values and 
standards and manages the business in a manner to meet  
its obligations to shareholders and other stakeholders. 

The Board currently comprises the non-executive Chairman, 
the Chief Executive Officer, the Group Finance Director,  
the Executive Director of the Concessions business and  
two non-executive Directors. Their biographies appear  
on pages 14 and 15 and these demonstrate a range of 
experience and sufficient calibre to bring independent 
judgement on issues of strategy, risk management, 
performance, resources and standards of conduct which  
is vital for the success of the Group. 

Tony Hughes acts as senior independent non-executive 
Director and is available to shareholders if they have reasons 
for concern on which contact through the normal channels  
is inappropriate or has failed to resolve an issue. 

The roles of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer are clearly 
defined. The Chairman is responsible for the leadership and 
effectiveness of the Board and the Chief Executive Officer  
is responsible for the strategic direction and operational 
management of the Group. The Board meets on a regular 
basis and there is a formal schedule of matters specifically 
reserved for its consideration. This includes approval of the 
annual budget and the three year business plan, approval  
of the interim and year-end Report and Accounts, review  
and approval of significant capital expenditure (including 
development of new sites), significant disposals of assets  
and acquisitions or disposals of businesses.

Operational management are responsible for the day-to-day 
running of the Group and report on a regular basis on  
that performance to the Board. The Board is responsible  
for reviewing, challenging and approving the strategic 
direction of the Group and monitoring operational 
performance. The Board is responsible to shareholders  
for the proper management of the Group and has access  
to the necessary information and training to enable it to 
discharge its duties. All Directors are subject to election by 
shareholders at the first opportunity after their appointment, 
except where they are appointed by shareholders, and to 
annual re-election thereafter.

18 Annual Report 2012 The Restaurant Group plc 

There is significant involvement from the non-executive 
Directors. This includes an ongoing dialogue with the 
executive Directors including constructive challenge of 
performance and the Group’s strategy. The non-executive 
Directors are provided with sufficient information to allow 
them to monitor, assess and challenge the executive 
management of the Group. 

Comprehensive Board papers including financial information 
are circulated to all Directors prior to Board meetings and, on 
a weekly basis, they receive up-to-date trading information. 
The non-executive Directors have the opportunity to meet 
without the executive Directors present, and this includes 
discussions of targets set and achieved by management.

All Directors have access to the advice and services of  
the Company Secretary and a procedure has been agreed 
for the Directors in the furtherance of their duties to take 
independent professional advice, if necessary, at the  
expense of the Company. On joining the Board there is a 
process for Directors to receive training as to their role and  
its requirements and for non-executive Directors to gain  
an understanding of the whole business. Non-executive 
Directors are actively encouraged to meet with operational 
management and to visit the Group’s operations in order to 
enhance their understanding of the Group’s business, its 
brands, employees and processes.

During 2012 there were seven Board meetings with full 
attendance by Board members. Executive Directors are 
included in the annual performance evaluation of all senior 
employees within the Group. This involves a comprehensive 
review of performance against objectives and covers areas 
for future development through appraisal documentation  
and meetings. The non-executive Directors also meet in the 
absence of the Chairman to appraise the Chairman’s 
performance in the light of his fee review.

The Company acknowledges the importance of developing 
the skills of the Directors to run an effective Board. To assist 
in this, Directors are given the opportunity to attend relevant 
courses and seminars and to acquire skills and experience 
which may enhance their contribution to the ongoing 
progress of the Group. The Board and committees of the 
Board have been subject to a formal performance appraisal, 
through an internal questionnaire, and the performance of all 
members of the Board is considered as part of the annual 
remuneration review process.

Communications with shareholders
Communications with shareholders are given high priority. 
The Chairman’s statement, Chief Executive Officer’s review  
of operations and Group Finance Director’s report on pages 
4 to 13 include a detailed review of the business and the  
Chief Executive Officer’s review of operations on pages  
6 to 11 includes a review of planned future developments. 
There is a regular dialogue with institutional investors 
including presentations after the Company’s announcement 
of the year-end results, and at the half year. Feedback from 
major institutional shareholders is provided to the Board on  
a regular basis and, where appropriate, the Board will take 
steps to address their concerns and recommendations.

The Board uses the Annual General Meeting to communicate 
with private and institutional investors and welcomes their 
participation. The Chairman aims to ensure that the chairmen 
of the Audit Committee, Remuneration Committee and 
Nominations Committee are available at the Annual General 
Meeting to answer questions, and for all Directors to attend.

Remuneration Committee
The Remuneration Committee consists of two non-executive 
Directors. There are written terms of reference for the 
Remuneration Committee. There was 100% attendance of 
the three Remuneration Committee meetings held during 
2012. The role of this Committee and details of how the 
Company complies with the principles of the Code are set 
out in the Directors’ remuneration report on pages 28 to 33.

Nominations Committee
The Nominations Committee consists of the non-executive 
Directors, the non-executive Chairman and the Chief 
Executive Officer. It met once during 2012 with full attendance 
at the meeting. There are written terms of reference for  
the Nominations Committee. It is responsible for making 
recommendations to the Board for the appointment or 
replacement of additional Directors and ensuring there is  
an appropriate balance and diversity of skills, experience, 
knowledge and independence both now and in the future. 

It is also responsible for succession planning for the Group. 
The Board acknowledges the importance of diversity and 
promoting equal opportunities throughout the Group. Since 
2003, at least 25% of the executive Directors have been 
female and currently over 40% of senior management within 
the Group are female. The Nominations Committee will have 
regard to the recommendations of the “Women on Boards” 
report from Lord Davies published in February 2011 in its 
deliberations on future appointments.

Audit Committee
The Audit Committee consists of two non-executive 
Directors. During the year the Committee was chaired by 
Simon Cloke. There are written terms of reference for the 
Audit Committee. The Audit Committee met twice during 
2012 with full attendance at each meeting. A more detailed 
description of the work undertaken by the Audit Committee  
is included in the Audit Committee report on pages 34  
and 35. Shareholders of the Company have the opportunity 
to re-appoint Deloitte LLP as the external auditor of the 
Company at the Annual General Meeting to be held on 
15 May 2013.

The Restaurant Group plc – strategy
The Restaurant Group’s key objective is to grow shareholder 
value and the strategy deployed to achieve this is to build a 
business capable of generating long-term, sustainable and 
growing cash flows. In pursuit of this we have built a scalable 
business model which is focused on the growing casual 
eating out market. We have targeted segments of this market 
which offer distinct barriers to entry and where we can be 
confident of delivering good growth in profits and cash flows 
and where there is good potential for high returns on 
investment. This has led the Group to focus on edge and out 
of town leisure and retail developments, rural and semi-rural 
pubs and our Concessions business which operates 
principally on airports. The Group operates in the expanding 
casual dining market, and our offerings continue to provide 
good value for money in comfortable surroundings and 
excellent service from our dedicated teams.

The Group’s strategy is to deliver further organic growth 
through the roll out of our brands – Frankie & Benny’s,  
Coast to Coast, Chiquito, Garfunkel’s and our Pub restaurant 
business. We have a solid pipeline of sites for development, 
coupled with a strong focus on continuing to deliver  
like-for-like sales growth from our existing restaurants.  
Our Concessions business operates in a dynamic and 
complicated market where our management teams have 
market-leading expertise and a track record of innovation  
and improving sales performance and the Group continues  
to look for opportunities to expand this business.

The Restaurant Group plc – risk factors
The Board of Directors regularly identify, monitor and manage 
potential risks and uncertainties to the Group. The list on the 
following page sets out what the Directors consider to be the 
current principal risks and uncertainties, with an overview of 
the mitigation process for these. This list is not presumed to 
be exhaustive and is, by its very nature, subject to change.

The Restaurant Group plc Annual Report 2012 19

IntroductionBusiness reviewGovernanceFinancial statementsReport of the Directors
continued

Risks and uncertainties

Mitigation process

Adverse economic conditions and a decline in consumer 
confidence and spend in the UK

Increased supply of new restaurant concepts into the market

Impact of terrorism in key locations (including airports)

Possible health pandemic that may cause customers to stay  
away or prevent restaurants being adequately staffed

Regular monitoring of performance and appropriate action plans

Concentration on segments offering higher barriers to entry and 
good growth prospects; regular monitoring of performance and 
appropriate action plans

Contingency planning and training; liaison with authorities and 
landlords in key locations

Contingency planning and communication with employees

Lack of new site opportunities, and risks to existing  
Concession agreements

Dedicated property department focusing on new site development, 
strong relationships with Concessions partners

Failure to provide customers with brand-standard value for  
money offerings and service levels

Training, mystery diner visits, monitoring of customer feedback, 
internal quality control testing

Major failure of key suppliers to deliver products  
into restaurants

Contingency planning for supply chain and suppliers

Damage to our brands’ images due to failures in environmental 
health compliance in the restaurants or from contamination  
of products

The loss of key personnel or failure to manage  
succession planning

Training of restaurant and pub teams; detailed health and  
safety manual; regular internal and external auditing of all sites; 
auditing of supply chain and suppliers; health and safety  
incentives and awards

Benchmarking of remuneration packages; analysis of staff 
turnover; performance appraisal and review system to retain 
existing talent; Long-Term Incentive Plan

Increase in prices of key raw materials (including foreign currency 
fluctuations), wages, overheads and utilities

Rolling programme of securing longer-term contracts to mitigate 
short-term pricing fluctuations; energy efficiency programme

Reversion of formerly sold or disposed leases following business 
failure of new occupiers

Monitoring of sub-let properties; ongoing relationships with 
property agents

Failure to meet banking covenants

Signed facility agreement, monitoring of financial performance 
against covenant levels; banking relationships; significant levels  
of headroom against covenants

Increased regulation of the food and beverage industry leading  
to higher costs

Monitoring of developments and liaison with external authorities 
such as the Food Standards Agency and Department of Health

Breakdown in internal controls through fraud or error, major  
failure of IT systems

Experienced staff in key roles; segregation of duties; internal and 
external audit processes; Audit Committee role

Changes to tax regime, including VAT, corporation tax and  
income tax

Ongoing monitoring in conjunction with external advisers

20 Annual Report 2012 The Restaurant Group plc 

Further information on the management of risks highlighted 
above is provided in the Chief Executive Officer’s review of 
operations and Group Finance Director’s report on pages  
6 to 13.

The Restaurant Group plc – key performance 
indicators
The Board of Directors and executive management receive  
a wide range of management information delivered in a  
timely manner. Listed below are the principal measures  
of progress that are reviewed on a regular basis to monitor 
the development of the Group.

Like-for-like sales
This measure provides an indicator of the underlying 
performance of our existing restaurants, and highlights 
successful development of our offerings to best match 
changing consumer demands over time. There is no 
accounting standard or consistent definition of “like-for-like 
sales” across the industry, although the Group has  
applied a consistent basis of calculation across years  
for reporting like-for-like performance. During 2012,  
the Group like-for-like sales increased by 4.5% which  
followed a 3.25% increase in 2011. 

New sites opened
The expansion of our brands is a key driver of the Group’s 
profitability. As noted in the Group Finance Director’s  
report, potential new sites are subject to a rigorous appraisal 
process before they are presented to the Board for approval. 
This process ensures we maintain the quality of openings as 
well as the quantity of sites opened. During 2012 the Group 
opened 28 new sites (2011: 25) and plans to open 28 to 35 
new restaurants during 2013.

EBITDA
The ability of the Group to finance its roll-out programme is 
aided by strong cash flows from the existing business. The 
Group defines EBITDA as operating profit before depreciation, 
amortisation and non-trading items. EBITDA serves as a 
useful proxy for cash flows generated by operations and is 
closely monitored. During 2012 the Group generated £95.5m 
EBITDA, an increase of 6.5% on the 2011 level of £89.7m.

Operating profit margin
The Board and management closely monitor profit margins 
as an indicator of operating efficiency within restaurants and 
across the Group. For 2012 the Group adjusted operating 
margin was 12.5% (2011: 12.6%). 

In addition, the Group closely scrutinises the returns on 
invested capital from new site openings and the average 
EBITDA generated by restaurants. Further information on 
these key metrics is provided in the Chief Executive Officer’s 
review of operations and the Group Finance Director’s report.

Internal control
The Board is responsible for the Group’s system of internal 
control and for reviewing its effectiveness. In accordance with 
guidance for directors “Internal Control: Guidance for Directors 
on the Combined Code” (the “Turnbull Guidance”), the Board 
has ensured that there is an ongoing process for reviewing  
the effectiveness of the system of internal control including 
identifying, evaluating and managing the significant risks  
faced by the Group. This process, which is regularly reviewed 
by the Board, is carried out in conjunction with business 
planning and is documented in a risk register that has been 
progressively enhanced during the financial year and up to  
the date of approval of the Annual Report and Accounts. 

Whilst acknowledging its overall responsibility for the system 
of internal control, the Board is aware that the system is 
designed to manage rather than eliminate the risk of failure  
to achieve business objectives and can only provide 
reasonable, but not absolute, assurance against material 
misstatement or loss.

The Group has well-established procedures which have been 
developed over many years which meet the requirements  
of the Turnbull Guidance. A key control procedure is the 
day-to-day involvement of executive members of the Board  
in all aspects of the business and their attendance at regular 
management meetings at which performance against plan 
and business prospects are reviewed. The Group has a 
monthly executive management meeting where the three 
executive Directors, senior operational managers and heads 
of functional departments review Group performance and 
issues affecting the Group. Additionally, the Board seeks  
to continually strengthen the internal control system where 
this is consistent with improving the relationship between  
risk and reward. 

The Group’s associate company, Living Ventures Restaurants 
Group Limited, does not fall under the same internal controls 
as the Group. The internal controls within the associate are 
discussed with management of that company during 
shareholder meetings and are considered to be appropriate 
for an entity of its size.

Other key features and the processes for reviewing 
effectiveness of the internal control system are  
described below:
>> Terms of reference for the Board and its sub-committees, 

including a schedule of matters reserved for the Board and 
an agreed annual programme of fixed agenda items for 
Board approval;

>> An established organisational structure with clear lines of 

responsibility and rigorous reporting requirements;
>> Operational performance and operational matters are 

considered at monthly meetings of the executive Directors 
with senior management. Financial performance is 
monitored and action taken through weekly reporting to 
the executive Directors and monthly reporting to the Board 
against annual budgets approved by the Board;

The Restaurant Group plc Annual Report 2012 21

IntroductionBusiness reviewGovernanceFinancial statementsReport of the Directors
continued

>> Capital investment is regulated by a budgetary process 

and authorisation levels, with appraisals and post-
investment reviews;

>> Comprehensive policy manuals setting out agreed 

standards and control procedures. These include human 
resources related policies, information technology and 
health and safety. The Group employs a firm of external 
auditors to monitor restaurants on a regular basis for 
compliance with statutory and internal health and safety 
requirements; and

>> An internal audit function headed by an experienced 

internal auditor has access to all areas of the Company 
and Group’s business and reports into the Board.

Statement of Directors’ responsibilities  
in relation to the accounts
The Directors are responsible for preparing the Annual 
Report, Directors’ remuneration report and the financial 
statements in accordance with applicable law and 
regulations. Company law requires the directors to prepare 
financial statements for each financial year. Under that law  
the directors are required to prepare the Group financial 
statements in accordance with International Financial 
Reporting Standards (“IFRSs”) as adopted by the European 
Union and Article 4 of the IAS Regulation and have chosen  
to prepare the parent company financial statements in 
accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted 
Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards 
and applicable law). Under company law the directors must 
not approve the accounts unless they are satisfied that they 
give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company 
and of the profit or loss of the company for that period.

In preparing the Group financial statements, International 
Accounting Standard 1 requires that Directors:
>> properly select and apply accounting policies;
>> present information, including accounting policies, in a 

manner that provides relevant, reliable, comparable and 
understandable information;

>> provide additional disclosures when compliance with the 
specific requirements in IFRSs are insufficient to enable 
users to understand the impact of particular transactions, 
other events and conditions on the entity’s financial 
position and financial performance; and 

>> make an assessment of the company’s ability to continue 

as a going concern.

In preparing the parent company financial statements,  
the Directors are required to:
>> select suitable accounting policies and then apply  

them consistently;

>> make judgements and accounting estimates that are 

reasonable and prudent;

>> state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards  

have been followed; and

>> prepare the financial statements on the going concern 
basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the 
company will continue in business.

22 Annual Report 2012 The Restaurant Group plc 

The Directors are responsible for keeping adequate 
accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain  
the company’s transactions and disclose with reasonable 
accuracy at any time the financial position of the company 
and enable them to ensure that the parent company financial 
statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are 
also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the company 
and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and 
detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The Directors are responsible for the maintenance and 
integrity of the corporate and financial information included  
on the company’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom 
governing the preparation and dissemination of financial 
statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Information provided to auditor
Each of the current Directors have taken all the steps that 
they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any 
relevant information needed by the Company’s auditor for  
the purpose of their audit and to establish that the auditor is 
aware of that information. The Directors are not aware of any 
relevant information of which the auditor is unaware. This 
information is given and should be interpreted in accordance 
with the provisions of s418 of the Companies Act 2006.

Going concern
As referred to in the Chief Executive Officer’s review of 
operations there continue to be significant economic 
concerns facing the United Kingdom and consumer-facing 
industries in particular. The Group Finance Director’s report 
contains a summary of the cash flows and borrowing position 
of the Group.

Further information on the Group’s policies for capital risk 
management and financial risk management are set out 
below. Potential risk factors and uncertainties that could 
affect the business are listed above.

The Group is highly cash generative, as explained in the 
Group Finance Director’s report, and enjoys negative working 
capital as, given the nature of the business, it generally does 
not give credit to its customers. During 2011 the Group 
renegotiated its banking facility and a new £140m rolling 
facility was entered into. This facility expires in October 2016. 
At 30 December 2012 the Group had net debt of £36.0m 
(1 January 2012: £41.6m).

Based on the Group’s plans for 2013 and after making 
enquiries (including preparation of reasonable trading 
forecasts, consideration of current financing arrangements 
and current headroom for liquidity and covenant compliance), 
the Directors have a reasonable expectation that the Group 
has adequate resources to continue operations for the 
foreseeable future. For this reason they continue to adopt the 
going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.

Capital risk management
The Group manages its capital to ensure that it will be able  
to continue as a going concern while looking to maximise 
returns to shareholders. The capital structure of the Group 
consists of equity (comprising issued share capital, reserves 
and retained earnings), debt, finance leases and cash and 
cash equivalents.

The Group monitors its capital structure on a regular basis 
through cash flow projections and consideration of the cost 
of financing its capital. In October 2011 the Group completed 
a refinancing exercise. As part of this the Group has externally 
imposed borrowing requirements. The Group has a £140m 
revolving facility in place until October 2016 and a £10m 
overdraft facility. Under the terms of the £140m revolving 
facility the Group is required to comply with its financing 
covenants whereby net interest charges must be covered at 
least four times by EBITDA and net debt must not exceed 
three times EBITDA. The margin (on interest rates) applied to 
the revolving facility is dependent on the ratio of net debt to 
EBITDA. The banking facility covenants are tested twice 
annually and are monitored on a regular basis. The Group 
remained within its banking facility covenant limits throughout 
2012. Further information concerning the Group’s capital risk 
management is set out in the Chief Executive’s review of 
operations and the Group Finance Director’s report.

Financial risk management
The Board of The Restaurant Group plc regularly reviews the 
financial requirements of the Group and the risks associated 
therewith. The Group does not use complex financial 
instruments, and where financial instruments are used it is for 
reducing interest rate risk. The Group does not use derivative 
financial instruments for trading purposes. Group operations 
are primarily financed from retained earnings and bank 
borrowings (including an overdraft facility).

In addition to the primary financial instruments, the Group 
also has other financial instruments such as debtors, 
prepayments, trade creditors and accruals that arise directly 
from the Group’s operations. Further information is provided 
in note 23 to the accounts. 

The average rate of interest charged during the year on the 
Group’s debt was 2.64% (2011: 1.87%), and the average 
year-end rate was 1.75% (2011: 2.02%). On 2012 results, net 
interest was covered 35.4 times (2011: 35.8 times) by profit 
before tax, interest and non-trading items. Based on year end 
debt and profits for 2012, a 1% rise in interest rates would 
reduce profits before tax and non-trading items by 0.8% 
(2011: 0.9%) and interest cover would reduce to 28.0 times 
(2011: 27.3 times). 

At 30 December 2012 the Group had gross borrowings 
attracting interest (including overdraft) of £50.0m (2011: 
£53.0m) and cash balances of £12.9m (2011: £10.2m).

Creditor payment policy
The Company’s policy is to agree the terms of payments with 
its suppliers as and when a trading relationship is established. 
The Company ensures that the terms of payment are clear 
and its policy is to abide by the agreed terms, provided the 
supplier meets its obligations. At 30 December 2012 the 
Company had no trade creditors. The Group had an average 
of 33 days (2011: 39 days) purchases outstanding in trade 
creditors.

Donations
No donations for political purposes have been directly made 
by the Company during the year. During the year, £69,758 
was donated by the Group to the Caudwell Children’s Charity 
as part of the “Help Susanna Walk” appeal, with a further 
£75,000 raised through fundraising activities for this charity. 
Other charitable events, fund raising and sponsorship are 
organised by restaurants for organisations in their locality  
as described in the corporate responsibility report on pages 
24 to 27. 

Annual General Meeting
A separate Circular is included with the mailing of the Annual 
Report to shareholders setting out the resolutions to be voted 
on at the Annual General Meeting, which is to take place on 
15 May 2013.

The Board believes that the proposed resolutions to be put to 
the shareholders at the Annual General Meeting are in the 
best interests of shareholders and, accordingly, recommends 
that shareholders vote in favour of the resolutions, as the 
Directors intend to do in respect of their own beneficial 
shareholdings in the Company.

Auditor
Deloitte LLP have expressed their willingness to continue as 
auditor and a resolution will be proposed at the Annual 
General Meeting for their reappointment.

Directors’ responsibilities statement
The Directors confirm that to the best of their knowledge:
1.  the financial statements, prepared in accordance with the 
applicable accounting standards, give a true and fair view 
of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit of the 
Company and Group; and

2.  the Chairman’s statement, Chief Executive Officer’s review 
of operations, Group Finance Director’s report and report 
of the Directors include a fair review of the development 
and performance of the business and the position of the 
Company and Group, together with a description of the 
principal risks and uncertainties faced.

By Order of the Board,

Robert Morgan
Company Secretary
27 February 2013

The Restaurant Group plc Annual Report 2012 23

IntroductionBusiness reviewGovernanceFinancial statementsCorporate responsibility report

The Restaurant Group plc (“TRG” or “the Group”) 
acknowledges that it has a significant role to play with regard 
to the community and wider environment in which it operates.

This statement sets out the principal areas of focus and 
activity that the Group has undertaken to date, and what the 
Group is looking at for future development, in managing its 
impact on customers, employees, communities and the  
wider environment.

TRG is currently committed to three pledges within the 
Responsibility Deal:
>> We have removed all added trans fats from our products;
>> We will use our local presence to encourage children and 

adults to become more active;

>> We commit to ensuring effective action is taken in all 

premises to reduce and prevent under-age sales of alcohol 
(primarily through rigorous application of Challenge 21 and 
Challenge 25).

This is split into five sections:
>> Our market – the area of business that our strategy  

is focused on.

>> Our people – the Group’s policies and actions towards  

our 11,000 employees.

>> Our communities – how TRG interacts with those 

communities from which our customers and employees 
are drawn.

>> Our environment – the impact of TRG on the wider 

environment, and how we are seeking to reduce this.
>> Our shareholders – those that have invested capital  
in the development of The Restaurant Group plc,  
and to whom the Directors and management of the  
Group are accountable.

Our market
The Restaurant Group plc has focused its attention on 
markets in the United Kingdom which have significant  
growth potential. For a number of years, dining out has been 
a growing market, and, partially as a result of this, there has 
been an increased focus from customers and regulatory 
authorities on health issues relating to our sector. We have 
seen initiatives on alcohol, food (in particular on calorie 
consumption and fat and salt content) and smoking over 
recent years and these are set to continue to be a focus.

It is important that the Group continues to monitor  
closely these developments and ensure that we offer our 
customers a broad range of choice in our restaurants, 
including healthy options.

Healthy eating
In 2011, The Restaurant Group became a partner of the 
Public Health Responsibility Deal (“the Responsibility Deal”), 
launched by the Department of Health. The Responsibility 
Deal has been established to tap into the potential for 
businesses and other organisations to improve public health 
through their influence over food, alcohol, physical activity 
and health in the workplace.

Being a Responsibility Deal partner means that TRG is 
required to monitor and provide regular updates to the 
Department of Health with regard to the actions we are  
taking to fulfil our commitments within the pledge. 

Healthy eating is a personal responsibility but TRG 
acknowledges that as a provider of food and drink we have  
a role to play in providing appropriate options from which 
individuals may choose when they eat out. TRG strongly 
believes that we should offer our guests choices on the 
menu. Whilst we do not wish to be prescriptive we aim to 
provide a healthy choice at each menu point, alongside more 
indulgent options. For many people dining out is a treat, and 
therefore the normal restrictions which may be applied to 
healthy eating on a day-to-day basis may be waived in favour 
of enjoyment and experience. For example, whilst completing 
the weekly shop a consumer may choose chocolate fudge 
cake for their weekend dessert as opposed to a piece of fruit 
during the week.

Other initiatives
We have taken significant steps to reduce our “food miles” 
and this process will continue in 2013, with a focus on 
improving our supply chain efficiency and reducing the 
number of deliveries, and therefore food miles, to our 
restaurants. Our Concessions business use only free range 
eggs and our pubs source locally where possible, supporting 
local producers and brewers.

TRG is a member of the Supplier Ethical Data Exchange 
(“SEDEX”), which facilitates measurement and improvement 
in ethical business practices across the supply chain; 147 of 
our food suppliers and 30 other (non-food) suppliers provide 
information describing their procedures and practices to the 
Group via SEDEX. 

For customers with dietary requirements, we will shortly be 
providing allergen information via our website for ease of 
access prior to or even during their visit (via free guest Wi-Fi). 

As in previous years, there continue to be no known 
genetically modified foods in any product the Group uses  
and new suppliers are required to confirm that they will not 
provide the Group with such products. We are also working 
with our suppliers to target and remove the “Southampton 
Institute” colourings that can cause hyperactivity in children 
and this will remain an on-going focus during 2013.

24 Annual Report 2012 The Restaurant Group plc 

Drink aware
All our restaurants operate a “Challenge 21” policy, whereby 
we will ask for proof of identification to anyone who appears 
to be under 21. We also participate in the “Challenge 25” 
policy in Scotland. We also do not permit the sale of alcohol 
to under 18’s, even if the alcohol is for consumption with a 
meal. All of our restaurants offer a wide range of non-
alcoholic drinks including fruit juices, carbonates, minerals 
and non-alcoholic cocktails and tap water is available for 
customers free of charge.

Smoking
From 1 July 2007 we have complied fully with the legislation 
throughout the United Kingdom which has banned smoking 
in public areas.

Our people 
The most important asset any company can have is its 
people. At The Restaurant Group plc we strive to nurture our 
individuals to build great teams. Anyone in our teams has the 
opportunity to develop within the Group and we endeavour to 
give them the tools and knowledge to encourage this. This is 
the key to any successful business and our team is one of 
which we are especially proud.

Our “Managers in Training” scheme continues to identify and 
develop talent. This scheme is a key feature of the Group’s 
succession planning strategy and is designed to equip 
managers and staff with the skills they need to develop their 
careers at the next level and to ensure TRG remains their 
employer of choice over the long-term.

We employ over 11,000 people and continue to increase this 
number as we expand our business. The Group opened a 
further 28 restaurants during 2012 and created over 700 jobs 
for local communities in the process. Our policies ensure that 
we provide equal rights regardless of age, colour, gender, 
sexual orientation, disability or religion and the diversity of  
our people reflects the diversity of the customers we serve.

The diversity of our people means we are able to meet the 
challenges our market presents. We have a fair and open 
recruitment process with clear terms of employment and  
we have developed a website (www.therestaurantgroup.jobs) 
to allow easier access to available jobs for potential 
employees across our Group. All staff are provided with a 
contract of employment and copies of our staff handbook 
along with other policies to ensure everyone is aware of our 
rules, expectations and procedures, including grievance and 
disciplinary issues. The Group has an ethical dealings policy 
in place which incorporates a strict prohibition on bribery and 
corruption in compliance with the Bribery Act 2010. 

The Group also has a defined termination policy, should this 
be required. Our focus on ensuring the recruitment of our 
teams complies with current legislation continues. With the 
UK Border Agency instigating regular visits to employers to 
check the validity of our employees’ rights to work in the UK 
we have instigated robust measures to prevent the possibility 
of TRG contravening the rules.

The Restaurant Group plc pays all of its employees at least 
the national minimum wage and does not utilise tips in  
any form to make up this rate. All gratuities are paid to the 
employees, with credit card tips attracting only the usual  
tax deductions but, unlike some of our competitors, no 
administration fee is taken by the company.

The Group allocates considerable resources to provide high 
quality training to our teams. Our training team is fully qualified 
and delivers high quality courses to all of our staff, as well as 
guiding new and established team members throughout their 
development. Training begins on the first day and is an 
on-going process of development and support throughout 
their career. 

With our portfolio of sites it is vital that our communication is 
of a very high standard. Each day branch staff are given team 
briefings, weekly meetings for staff and management are held 
and weekly communications packs are issued from head 
office to each brand. Our senior managers are out in the 
business extensively and interact daily with their branch 
management and team members to ensure full two-way 
communication is present throughout the business.

The health and safety of our customers and employees is  
of paramount importance. The Group has comprehensive 
procedures to ensure we mitigate risks to our guests and 
teams as far as possible. We have very clear procedures and 
standards in place, and to enforce these we employ external 
auditors to perform a rolling programme of independent 
safety audits and carry out benchmarking of our restaurants. 
We have invested significant time and resources in health and 
safety matters across the Group in recent years to maintain 
and enhance a clean, safe environment for our customers 
and staff.

Our communities
Active involvement in the local communities around our 
restaurants and pub restaurants is important to the Group. 
Whilst we operate successful national brands our focus is on 
local marketing, whether this is for Frankie & Benny’s, with 
over 200 restaurants, or the individual pub at the heart of the 
community. TRG supports staff fundraising activities at a 
brand and local level.

The Restaurant Group plc Annual Report 2012 25

IntroductionBusiness reviewGovernanceFinancial statementsCorporate responsibility report
continued

During 2012 we engaged in a number of local and national 
charitable events:
>> Frankie & Benny’s have helped to raise in excess of 

£300,000 for multiple charities. Our support for CHAS 
(Children’s Hospice Association Scotland) alongside Real 
Radio, saw £100,000 raised over Easter this year following 
the annual CHAS Easter Bash event in Glasgow. 

>> During 2012, Frankie & Benny’s were made aware that the 
daughter of one of our employees suffers from cerebral 
palsy. The family were going to great lengths to raise the 
money for five year old Susanna to have an operation in 
the United States that would enable her to walk unaided.  
A weekend of fundraising in July 2012, including a 
donation by the company of almost £70,000 saw Frankie 
& Benny’s raise over £144,000; more than double the 
amount required for Susanna’s operation. The remaining 
funds were donated to Caudwell Children’s Charity to help 
assist other children in a similar situation to Susanna. 
Susanna had her operation in Missouri in late October 
2012 and is recovering well. She took her first steps 
unaided just one day after surgery.

>> Each year we also support BBC Children in Need and in 

2012 we raised £55,000 following fundraising activity over 
Halloween, the October half term and the evening of the 
live Telethon. 

>> In addition to the large fundraising drives above there any 

many other charities that have benefitted from our support 
this year. We regularly host charity breakfasts whereby we 
offer free breakfasts in return for a donation to local 
charities. Coast to Coast teamed up with the Teenage 
Cancer Trust in 2012 raising money at various events 
during the year. 

Junior Sports Team Sponsorship
Frankie & Benny’s have a long history of sponsoring local 
junior sports. During 2012, we have sponsored a total of  
196 junior teams across the country playing football, rugby, 
hockey, swimming, gymnastics, netball and much more.  
Not only do we provide kits for the teams, but we also take  
an active role during the season and invite them to enjoy  
end of season celebration dinners at Frankie & Benny’s.

Schools visit programme
The Frankie & Benny’s schools visit programme has been in 
place for more than four years now and continues to grow in 
popularity with over 1,200 visits taking place in 2012, 200 
more than in 2011. Schoolchildren, accompanied by their 
teachers, are given the opportunity to visit our restaurants to 
bring curriculum based subjects such as maths, science and 
food hygiene to life. The children also get to make their own 
pizzas by choosing their toppings. Whilst we leave the 
cooking to the chefs, school children are given an educational 
activity book to complete – a pack that has been designed by 
educational experts. In 2012 alone, 30,000 children enjoyed 
the programme up and down the country and continued 
expansion of the scheme is expected in 2013. 

Our environment
2012 has seen further work in pursuit of the Group’s 
commitment to minimising its impact on the environment.  
Not only are the attitudes and expectations of our customers 
changing over time but we recognise that the Group’s 
activities impact the natural environment, most significantly 
with regard to energy consumption (and carbon emissions), 
water consumption and the creation and removal of waste. 
Innovative regulatory mechanisms are also being introduced 
that may in future create a direct link between environmental 
outcomes and financial benefits or penalties. 

Following successful trials in 2011, 2012 saw the roll out of 
energy efficient lighting systems to almost 300 TRG sites 
which we estimate will save upwards of four million kilowatt 
hours of energy on an annual basis.

TRG is proud to have achieved the Carbon Saver Gold 
Standard in January 2012 in recognition of the Group’s 
sustained reductions in energy. Through on-going investment 
in energy efficient equipment, energy control systems  
and the active involvement of our staff we aim to reduce 
energy consumption by 2.5% a year for five years to further 
reduce carbon dioxide emissions and minimise our impact  
on the environment.

We recognise that lasting change in energy consumption by 
the Group requires changes in behaviour for our whole team. 
The provision of accurate and timely management information 
covering energy consumption is an essential tool supporting 
the change. A web-based energy-information portal to 
provide consumption data to restaurants and our operators 
has been developed and implemented in association with our 
energy consultants which allows us to target more inefficient 
sites and challenge our teams through league tables to 
improve their energy efficiency.

We continue to promote our energy saving campaign to all 
restaurants. Through the timely supply of accurate information, 
area managers and operational managers have access to 
monthly reporting designed around their needs to enable 
them to monitor and improve consumption. By February 2013 
we had installed automated meter readers to supplement 
half-hourly monitoring of electricity supplies at over 99% of  
our eligible restaurants in Frankie & Benny’s, Chiquito and 
Garfunkel’s, and 97% of available sites for gas supplies.

New build sites now include heat recovery systems, energy 
saving lighting and low energy hand dryers. We continue  
to review the energy performance of all sites with a view  
to including energy and financially efficient equipment in  
new restaurants.

26 Annual Report 2012 The Restaurant Group plc 

Reducing the resources we use and the waste we generate  
is also a key objective for the Group. In 2012:
>> We recycled over 830,000 litres of used cooking oil  

(an increase of around 80,000 litres from 2011); waste oil  
is re-used at a bio-diesel production facility; 

>> We diverted over 7,000 tons of waste from landfill following 
the further implementation of mixed recycling, an increase 
of over 60% on the prior year; and 

>> Food recycling trials have proven successful and will be 
implemented across the estate at sites where we control 
the collection. We are now able to recycle food, glass,  
oil and also have facilities for mixed recycling.

Our shareholders
The Group has had a clear strategy since 2001 – to deliver 
value for shareholders by focusing on sectors within the 
eating out market that offer high barriers to entry, where  
we can generate sustainable and growing cash flows and 
which offer high returns on investment. This has led the 
Group to focus investment in edge and out of town leisure 
locations, rural and semi-rural pubs and our Concessions 
business, which operates principally on airports. The Group 
has maintained a progressive dividend policy and has a 
strong track record of growing profits and dividends for 
shareholders. The Chairman’s statement, Chief Executive 
Officer’s review of operations and Group Finance Director’s 
report provide further detail on the Group’s strategy, 
performance during 2012 and prospects for the Group.

The Restaurant Group plc Annual Report 2012 27

IntroductionBusiness reviewGovernanceFinancial statementsDirectors’ remuneration report

Introduction
This report has been prepared in accordance with Schedule 
8 of the Accounting Regulations under the Companies Act 
2006. The report also meets the relevant requirements  
of the Listing Rules of the Financial Services Authority and 
describes how the Board has applied the Principles of Good 
Governance relating to Directors’ remuneration in the UK 
Corporate Governance Code (“the Code”). 

To achieve this objective, executive Directors and senior 
management receive remuneration packages with elements 
of fixed and variable pay. Fixed pay elements (basic salary, 
pension arrangements and other benefits) are set at a level  
to recognise the experience, contribution and responsibilities 
of the individuals and to take into consideration the level  
of remuneration available from a range of the Group’s  
broader competitors. 

Variable pay elements (annual bonuses and Long-Term 
Incentive Plans (“LTIPs”)) are set at a level to incentivise 
executive Directors and senior management to deliver 
outstanding performance in line with the Group’s strategic 
objectives. The balance of the potential remuneration 
package available for executive Directors is weighted towards 
variable pay elements, which have stretching performance 
targets attached to them.

Financial performance measures (profit before tax, earnings 
per share (“EPS”) and total shareholder return (“TSR”)) are 
used as the key performance indicators. The Group’s KPI’s, 
as set out on page 21 in the report of the Directors, contribute 
to the delivery of profit before tax, EPS and TSR.

TSR is a clear indicator of the relative success of the Group in 
delivering shareholder value and, as a performance measure, 
firmly aligns the interests of Directors and shareholders. 

Set out below is a summary of the four main elements  
of the remuneration package for executive Directors,  
together with further information on how these aspects  
of remuneration operate:
>> Basic annual salary and benefits;
>> Pension arrangements;
>> Annual bonus payments; and
>> Long-Term Incentive Plan (“LTIP”) awards. 

As required by the Regulations, a resolution to approve  
the report will be proposed at the Annual General Meeting  
of the Company at which the financial statements are  
subject to approval. The Act requires the auditor to report  
to the Company’s members on the part of the Directors’ 
remuneration report subject to audit and to state whether,  
in their opinion, that part of the report has been properly 
prepared in accordance with Schedule 8 of the Accounting 
Regulations under the Companies Act 2006. The report  
has therefore been divided into separate sections for audited 
and unaudited information.

Unaudited information
Remuneration Committee
The Company has established a Remuneration Committee 
(“the Committee”) which is constituted in accordance with  
the recommendations of the Code. The members of the 
Committee during the year were Tony Hughes and Simon 
Cloke, who were independent non-executive Directors.  
The Committee is chaired by Tony Hughes. None of the 
Committee has any personal financial interest in the 
Company (other than as shareholders). 

The Committee makes recommendations to the Board.  
No Director plays a part in any discussion about his own 
remuneration. In determining the executive Directors’ 
remuneration for the year the Committee consulted Alan 
Jackson (non-executive Chairman) about its proposals. 

New Bridge Street (appointed independent advisers who 
provided no other services to the Group during the year) 
provided advice to the Committee, encompassing all 
elements of the remuneration packages. The Remuneration 
Committee carried out a full review of the remuneration policy 
for executive Directors during 2010. The objective of the 
review was to ensure that the Group has a remuneration 
framework in place to attract, retain and incentivise a high 
calibre of senior management who can direct the business 
and deliver the Group’s core objective of growth in 
shareholder value by building a business that is capable of 
delivering long-term, sustainable and growing cash flows. 
This objective has remained in place for the deliberations  
of the Committee during 2012.

28 Annual Report 2012 The Restaurant Group plc 

Operation

Opportunity

Performance 
metrics
None

Change in year

Directors’ salaries 
increased by 2%  
for 2013

Key elements of remuneration

Basic  
salary

Benefits

Pension

Annual  
bonus

Purpose and  
link to strategy
Attract and retain  
key personnel
Reflects individual 
responsibilities, skills 
and achievement of 
objectives
Health care, life 
assurance, car etc.

Rewards sustained 
contribution
Rewards the 
achievement of annual 
financial targets and 
other key performance 
indicators, depending 
on job responsibilities

LTIP

Promote achievement 
of strategic objectives 
over the longer term 

Reviewed annually from 1 
January. Increases based on 
role, experience, performance 
and consideration of the 
broader workforce pay review 
and competitor pay levels

Contractual entitlement

Personal pension plans (no 
defined benefit schemes)
Targets renewed annually 
and relate to areas of the 
business which the executive 
has particular control as well 
as Group performance.
Bonus level is determined by 
the Committee after the year 
end, based on performance 
conditions drawn up before 
the financial year commences
Annual awards granted under 
2005 Plan.
Award consists of Conditional 
and Matching Award; 
Matching Award requires a 
level of investment from the 
Director or employee

Basic salary
Executive Directors’ basic salaries are determined by the 
Committee prior to the beginning of each year or when an 
individual changes position or responsibility. In deciding 
appropriate levels, the Committee considers the Group  
as a whole and by reference to remuneration levels at  
other companies in the leisure and hospitality sectors. The 
Committee awarded the executive Directors a 2% increase in 
December 2012 in respect of salaries for 2013. The average 
increase for managerial and administrative employees across 
the Group was 3% for the 2013 pay review.

Basic salary
Andrew Page
Stephen Critoph
Trish Corzine

2013
£
602,000
283,500
252,500

2012
£
590,000
278,000
247,500

In addition to basic salary, the executive Directors receive 
pension contributions and certain benefits-in-kind, principally 
a car (or car allowance), and health and life insurance.

Mr Page’s salary reflects his outstanding leadership and 
ongoing contribution to the successful development of the 
Group and recognises the importance of continuity and 
retention of a highly regarded CEO in a competitive and 
challenging market. 

Full maximum cost  
of annual policies c. 
£45,000 per Director
Up to 20% of basic salary 

None

None

Maximum of 165% for 
CEO, 137.5% for Group 
Finance Director. Not 
pensionable. A claw back 
mechanism operates

Individual and 
Company 
performance, 
determined by job 
responsibilities

No change

No change

No change  
to scheme

TSR vs 
comparator 
group, EPS

No change

CEO: Maximum of  
200% of base salary 
(150% Conditional Award, 
50% Matching Award)
Other Directors: 150%  
of base salary (100% 
Conditional Award,  
50% Matching Award)

Annual bonus payments
The annual bonus is based on the achievement of stretching 
targets based on Group profit before tax and certain personal 
objectives. Performance targets are set annually as part of 
the budgeting process and performance is reviewed against 
those targets at the end of the financial year. 

Following a policy review of the remuneration packages 
available to executive Directors in 2010, the maximum bonus 
that was payable in respect of performance in 2011 was 
150% of basic salary for the Chief Executive Officer, 125%  
of basic salary for the Group Finance Director and 100% of 
basic salary for the Executive Director, Concessions. 

For the financial year ending 30 December 2012, the 
Remuneration Committee determined that, for 15 senior 
managers (including executive Directors) within the Group, an 
additional 10% of maximum bonus may be payable providing 
the Group achieved a very challenging additional stretch 
target. The Group achieved record profits in respect of 2012, 
with Group profit before tax at a level ahead of the stretch 
target. Consequently the Group element of the bonus target 
for the Directors was met in full. 

The Remuneration Committee has determined that for  
2013 a similar bonus structure, but with higher profit  
targets, will be applied. Therefore, as for 2012, an additional 
10% of maximum bonus may be payable for 13 senior 
managers (including executive Directors) providing the  
Group achieves a very challenging additional stretch target, 
significantly ahead of the record profit delivered in 2012. 

The Restaurant Group plc Annual Report 2012 29

IntroductionBusiness reviewGovernanceFinancial statementsDirectors’ remuneration report
continued

Bonuses payable in excess of 100% of salary are to be 
deferred into shares (in accordance with the terms of  
the Matching Award of the Long-Term Incentive Plan,  
as described below). 

Long-term incentives
The Company operates the 2005 Long-Term Incentive Plan 
(“LTIP” or “Plan”), and the 2003 Save As You Earn (“SAYE”) 
Scheme under which awards may be granted to executive 
Directors. Both of these schemes have received approval 
from the Company’s shareholders.

Long-Term Incentive Plan
The 2005 LTIP (as amended by an ordinary resolution of  
the shareholders in 2011) is the primary long-term incentive 
scheme of the Company. Under the Plan, individuals may 
receive an award of conditional free shares (“Conditional 
Awards”) with a face value at grant of up to 150% of salary 
per annum, vesting three years after grant subject to 
performance conditions and continued employment.

In addition, the Plan has the flexibility to grant conditional 
awards on a matching basis, pro rata to the number of  
shares purchased via the annual bonus (“Matching Awards”). 
Matching Awards may be granted over shares worth up to 
50% of basic salary per annum. The total LTIP opportunity  
is therefore 200% of basic salary, subject to 50% of basic 
salary being invested into the matching plan. 

For awards made in 2012, Conditional Award levels were set 
at 150% of basic salary for the Chief Executive Officer and 
100% of salary for the Group Finance Director and the 
Executive Director, Concessions, and Matching Award levels 
were up to 50% of basic salary for all three individuals. 

Awards continue to be structured with a combination of total 
shareholder return (“TSR”) and earnings per share (“EPS”) 
performance conditions. For awards to be made in March 
2013, the level of Conditional Awards and Matching Awards 
will be calculated on a consistent basis to that applied in  
2012 in respect of Mr Page and Mr Critoph. Following her 
decision to retire from her role at the conclusion of the  
2013 Annual General Meeting, no award will be made to 
Ms Corzine in 2013. 

The performance conditions for those awards made in  
2013 will be as follows:
>> The performance condition attached to 50% of the 

Conditional Awards and Matching Awards will require 
average annual EPS growth over the three year period  
of the award of between RPI plus 4% to RPI plus  
10% per annum for between 30% and 100% of this  
part of the award to vest (i.e. between 15% and 50%  
of the total award).

>> The performance condition attached to the other 50%  
of the Conditional Awards and Matching Awards will  
be based on TSR performance measured against  
the constituents of the FTSE Travel & Leisure Index 
(excluding airlines) over a single three year period.
>> Awards will vest on a straight line basis between  

minimum and maximum thresholds.

30 Annual Report 2012 The Restaurant Group plc 

This is on a consistent basis to the awards made in 2012.  
The combination of EPS and TSR performance conditions 
provides a balance between rewarding management  
for growth in sustainable profitability and stock market 
outperformance. The EPS target range will require growth 
from the current all-time high level of profitability and the  
TSR condition will be based from a strong recent share  
price performance.

Performance against the TSR and EPS targets will be 
independently calculated and reviewed by the Committee.  
By way of example, for the award made in March 2012, the 
base EPS was 21.86p (being the audited adjusted EPS for  
the year ending 1 January 2012). Assuming RPI for the three 
years is 4% per annum this will require EPS of 31.8p in 2014 in 
order for the EPS element of the award made in March 2012 
to vest in full. This represents an increase of over 45% in the 
three year performance measurement period from the base 
start period. For awards made in 2013, the EPS component 
will be based off an all-time high of 24.08p. 

SAYE Scheme
The Company also operates an SAYE Share Option Scheme 
for eligible employees under which options may be granted at 
a discount of up to 20% of market value. Under the terms of 
the SAYE scheme, eligible employees are able to purchase 
shares under a three year savings contract. Awards under the 
SAYE scheme were made in 2010 and 2012 to eligible 
employees and Directors. A new SAYE scheme will be put to 
shareholders for approval at the Annual General Meeting to 
be held on 15 May 2013.

Clawback
Clawback provisions operate within both the annual bonus 
and the LTIP schemes.

Pension arrangements
Executive Directors have individual pension arrangements  
in the form of personal pension plans. The Company makes  
a contribution of 20% of basic salary for the Chief Executive 
Officer and Group Finance Director and 10% of salary for  
the Executive Director, Concessions towards funding each 
executive Director’s pension plan. To the extent that this 
funding exceeds the relevant current HMRC limit, the surplus 
may be paid as a salary supplement. There are no unfunded 
pension promises or similar arrangement for Directors.

Shareholding guidelines
The Company operates shareholding guidelines for executive 
Directors, linked to the out-turn of the Plan. At the time 
Conditional and Matching Awards vest under the Plan (or any 
other executive plan established in the future), there is a 
requirement to retain no fewer than 50% of the shares, net of 
taxes, vesting under an LTIP award until a shareholding with  
a market value (calculated by reference to purchase price) in 
line with the policy is achieved. Shareholding guidelines are 
set at 200% of basic salary in respect of the Chief Executive 
Officer, 150% in respect of the Group Finance Director and 
100% of basic salary for the Executive Director, Concessions. 
As highlighted in the report of the Directors, as at 30 
December 2012 Mr Page held 681,486 shares, Mr Critoph 
held 358,197 shares and Ms Corzine held 325,830 shares,  
all in excess of the shareholding guidelines.

Leaver provisions
The Remuneration Committee has formalised a policy for 
senior management (including executive Directors) who retire 
from full time employment or leave the Group as a “good 
leaver”. Under the terms of this policy, a good leaver will be 
entitled to their salary until the last day of employment 
together with any accrued holiday pay. Bonuses will be paid 
on a pro-rata basis up to their last day of full time employment, 
dependent on performance conditions being met. 

In line with the scheme rules of the Long-Term Incentive Plan, 
good leavers will be eligible to exercise awards on a time 
pro-rata basis up to the date on which their employment 
terminates, subject to performance conditions being met.  
In determining to what extent such performance conditions 
have been met, the following apply:
1.  For EPS conditions the most recent set of audited results 
will be used to determine the level of achievement of the 
performance conditions; and 

2.  For the TSR element the relevant time period will be used, 

as determined by the Committee. 

Performance graph
As required by the Regulations, the graph below compares 
the Company’s TSR performance with the FTSE 350 Travel 
and Leisure Index for each of the past five years. The FTSE 
350 Travel & Leisure Index has been selected for this 
comparison because it is the index most relevant to gauging 
the Company’s relative performance. This graph shows the 
value, by 30 December 2012, of £100 invested in The 
Restaurant Group plc on 31 December 2007 compared with 
the value of £100 invested in the FTSE All-Share Index and 
the FTSE 350 Travel and Leisure Index. On this basis the 
value, as at 30 December 2012, of £100 invested is as follows:

Directors’ contracts
It is the Company’s policy that executive Directors should 
have contracts with an indefinite term providing for a 
maximum of one year’s notice. However, it may occasionally 
be necessary to offer longer initial notice periods to new 
Directors. All executive Directors have contracts which are 
subject to one year’s notice by either party. In the event  
of early termination (including following a change of control  
in the Company), the Directors’ contracts provide for 
compensation in line with their contractual notice period.  
The details of the executive Directors’ contracts are 
summarised in the table below:

Andrew Page
Stephen Critoph
Trish Corzine

Date of contract
28 August 2002
7 July 2004
31 March 2003

Notice period
1 year
1 year
1 year

Appointments outside the Group
Executive Directors are entitled to accept appointments 
outside the Company or Group and there is no requirement 
for Directors to remit any fees to The Restaurant Group plc. 
Andrew Page was a non-executive director of Arena Leisure 
plc until 31 March 2012 and received fees as a non-executive 
director of Arena Leisure plc of £25,500 in respect of 2012 
(2011: £51,000).

Non-executive Directors
Letters of appointment for the non-executive Directors were 
each set for an initial three year period (thereafter renewable 
for periods of three years). They are required to submit 
themselves for re-election every year. The non-executive 
Directors’ appointments were made as follows:

Date of
appointment as
non-Executive
Director
9 November 2005
1 January 2008
26 March 2010

Notice period
1 year
Nil
Nil

The Restaurant Group plc (dividends re-invested)
FTSE All-Share Index
FTSE 350 Travel & Leisure Index

£259
£113
£111

Alan Jackson*
Tony Hughes
Simon Cloke

This demonstrates the very significant outperformance of  
The Restaurant Group plc; a 129% outperformance against 
the FTSE All-Share Index and a 133% outperformance 
against the FTSE 350 Travel & Leisure Index.

Value (£)

300

200

100

0

30-Dec-07

28-Dec-08

27-Dec-09

02-Jan-11

01-Jan-12

30-Dec-12

Source: Thomson Reuters

The Restaurant Group
FTSE All-Share index
FTSE 350 Travel & Leisure index

*   Alan Jackson was previously Executive Chairman of the Company, and was 
appointed in March 2001. From 1 January 2006 he has held the position of 
non-executive Chairman.

All non-executive Directors have specific terms of 
engagement and their remuneration (with the exception of 
Alan Jackson) is determined by the Board based on a review 
of fees paid to non-executive Directors of similar companies 
and reflects the time commitment and responsibilities of  
each role. The basic fee paid to the non-executive Directors 
(excluding Alan Jackson) in the year was £51,500 (2011: 
£50,000) (pro-rated by tenure of service). Alan Jackson’s fee, 
which is set by the Remuneration Committee, was £309,000 
(2011: £300,000). For 2013, fees to the non-executive
Directors have been increased by 2%, in line with the average 
salary increase to executive Directors. Alan Jackson will 
receive a fee of £315,000 per annum and Tony Hughes and 
Simon Cloke will receive a fee of £52,500 per annum.

The Restaurant Group plc Annual Report 2012 31

IntroductionBusiness reviewGovernanceFinancial statementsDirectors’ remuneration report
continued

Voting at the Annual General Meeting
The Directors’ remuneration report for the financial year ending 1 January 2012 was put to shareholders at the Annual  
General Meeting held on 17 May 2012, on an advisory basis. The resolution received 91% approval from shareholders.  
A resolution to approve this Directors’ remuneration report will be put to shareholders at the Annual General Meeting to  
be held on 15 May 2013. 

Audited information
Aggregated Directors’ remuneration
The total amounts for Directors’ remuneration were as follows:

Executive Directors
Andrew Page
Stephen Critoph
Trish Corzine

Non-executive Directors
Alan Jackson
Tony Hughes
Simon Cloke

Basic 
salary/fee
£’000

590
278
248

309
52
52
1,529

2012
Benefits 
in kind
£’000

Pensions
£’000

27
14
12

46
1
–
100

118
56
25

–
–
–
199

Bonus
£’000

974
358
252

–
–
–
1,584

Total
£’000

1,709
706
537

355
53
52
3,412

2011

Total
£’000

1,417
625
482

329
51
51
2,955

Long-term incentives
Aggregate emoluments disclosed above do not include any amounts for the long-term incentives granted to or held by the 
Directors. The policy for long-term incentives is described earlier in this report and the table below sets out the outstanding 
awards held by executive Directors.

Name of Director
Andrew Page

At 1 
January 

Scheme
2003
LTIP (1)
LTIP (2)
LTIP (3)
LTIP (4)

2012 Granted Exercised
–
–
– (780,208)
– (111,457)
–
–
–
–

100,000
780,208
111,457
264,878
97,865

Lapsed
–
–
–
–
–

LTIP (5)

284,790

LTIP (6)

94,930

–

–

–

–

–

Stephen Critoph

LTIP (7)

LTIP (8)
2012 SAYE
LTIP (1)
LTIP (2)
LTIP (3)
LTIP (4)
2010 SAYE

–

–
–

300,000
75,000
118,780
43,902
4,932

318,804

100,504
3,180

–
–
– (300,000)
(75,000)
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

LTIP (5)

91,867

LTIP (6)

45,933

–

–

LTIP (7)

LTIP (8)

–

–

100,144

48,631

–

–

–

–

32 Annual Report 2012 The Restaurant Group plc 

At 30 
December 
2012
100,000

–
–

264,878
97,865

284,790

94,930

318,804

100,504
3,180
–
–

118,780
43,902
4,932

91,867

45,933

100,144

48,631

Exercise 
price
134.4p
–
–
–
–

–

–

–

–
283.0p
–
–
–
–
184.0p

–

–

–

–

Date from 
which 
exercisable
4.4.2008
5.3.2012
5.3.2012
4.3.2013
4.3.2013
Publication of
2013 results
Publication of
2013 results
Publication of
2014 results
Publication of
2014 results
1.12.2015
5.3.2012
5.3.2012
4.3.2013
4.3.2013
1.6.2013
Publication of
2013 results
Publication of
2013 results
Publication of
2014 results
Publication of
2014 results

Expiry date
4.4.2015
5.9.2012
5.9.2012
4.9.2013
4.9.2013
6 months 
after vesting
6 months 
after vesting
6 months 
after vesting
6 months 
after vesting
1.6.2016
5.9.2012
5.9.2012
4.9.2013
4.9.2013
1.12.2013
6 months 
after vesting
6 months 
after vesting
6 months 
after vesting
6 months 
after vesting

–

–

–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–

–

–

–

Name of Director
Trish Corzine

At 1 
January 

Scheme
LTIP (1)
LTIP (2)
LTIP (3)
LTIP (4)

2012 Granted Exercised
– (287,500)
(71,874)
–
–
–
–
–

287,500
71,874
113,902
42,073

Lapsed
–
–
–
–

At 30 
December 
2012
–
–

113,902
42,073

Exercise 
price
–
–
–
–

LTIP (5)

81,660

LTIP (6)

40,830

–

–

LTIP (7)

LTIP (8)

–

–

89,157

43,227

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

81,660

40,830

89,157

43,227

–

–

–

–

Date from 
which 
exercisable
5.3.2012
5.3.2012
4.3.2013
4.3.2013
Publication of
2013 results
Publication of
2013 results
Publication of
2014 results
Publication of
2014 results

Expiry date
5.9.2012
5.9.2012
4.9.2013
4.9.2013
6 months 
after vesting
6 months 
after vesting
6 months 
after vesting
6 months 
after vesting

LTIP (1) and LTIP (2) – Conditional and Matching Awards: Vesting of these awards was dependent on the TSR performance of the Group against a comparator 
group comprising the FTSE 350 Travel and Leisure sector (excluding airlines) over a three year period from 1 March 2009 to 1 March 2012. 30% of the awards 
would vest for median performance and for 100% vesting, the Group needed to be in the upper quartile. The Restaurant Group plc was the highest ranked 
company against its comparator group for the relevant period and consequently the awards vested in full. 
LTIP participants also received a cash sum as payment for the dividends that would have been paid on the vested shares between the grant and vesting dates  
in accordance with the LTIP scheme rules. This included the following Directors: Andrew Page received £243,425, Stephen Critoph received £102,375 and Trish 
Corzine received £98,109.
LTIP (3) – Conditional Awards: Vesting of 50% of the award is based on TSR performance of the Group against a comparator group comprising the FTSE 350 
Travel and Leisure Sector (excluding airlines) over the three years from 2009 to 2012, with 30% of this part of the award vesting at median performance and full 
vesting of this part of the award for upper quartile performance. The remaining 50% of the award is based on EPS growth of the 2012 results compared with the 
2009 results, with a requirement for average annual growth of between RPI+4% and RPI+10% p.a.. For the TSR element of the award, The Restaurant Group plc 
was the highest ranked company against its comparator group (for the second year running) and consequently the TSR element of the award will vest in full.  
In respect of the EPS element of the award the growth in EPS was between RPI +4% and RPI +10% and 71.9% of this part of the award will vest.
LTIP (4) – Matching Awards: Vesting is based on EPS growth of the 2012 results compared with the 2009 results, with a requirement for average annual growth 
of between RPI+4% and RPI+10% p.a.. As noted above, based on the 2012 results this equates to 71.9% of the award vesting.
LTIP (5) – Conditional Awards: Vesting of 50% of the award is based on TSR performance of the Group against a comparator group comprising the FTSE 350 
Travel and Leisure Sector (excluding airlines) over the three years from 2010 to 2013, with 30% of this part of the award vesting at median performance and full 
vesting of this part of the award for upper quartile performance. The remaining 50% of the award is based on EPS growth of the 2013 results compared with the 
2010 results, with a requirement for average annual growth of between RPI+4% and RPI+10% p.a..
LTIP (6) – Matching Awards: Vesting is based on EPS growth of the 2013 results compared with the 2010 results, with a requirement for average annual growth 
of between RPI+4% and RPI+10% p.a..
LTIP (7) and (8) – Conditional Awards and Matching Awards: Vesting of 50% of the award is based on TSR performance of the Group against a comparator 
group comprising the FTSE 350 Travel and Leisure Sector (excluding airlines) over the three years from 2011 to 2014, with 30% of this part of the award vesting 
at median performance and full vesting of this part of the award for upper quartile performance. The remaining 50% of the award is based on EPS growth of the 
2014 results compared with the 2011 results, with a requirement for average annual growth of between RPI+4% and RPI+10% p.a..

During 2012 certain Directors exercised options under the Long-Term Incentive Plan that had vested. Details of these 
transactions during 2012 are detailed below:

Name of Director
Andrew Page
Stephen Critoph
Trish Corzine

Scheme
LTIP
LTIP
LTIP

Number of 
options exercised
891,665
375,000
359,374

Exercise
price
–
–
–

Market price at 
date of exercise
283.75p
283.75p
283.75p

Gain on exercise
before tax (£’000)
2,575
1,085
1,038

For comparative information, during 2011 the following exercises of shares were made by Directors: 

Name of Director
Alan Jackson
Andrew Page

Stephen Critoph
Trish Corzine

Scheme
2003 scheme
LTIP
SAYE
LTIP
LTIP
SAYE

Number of 
options exercised
100,000
663,509
7,680
274,555
261,917
7,680

Exercise
price
134.4p
–
125.0p
–
–
125.0p

Market price at 
date of exercise
302.75p
302.75p
296.0p
302.75p
295.74p
296.0p

Gain on exercise
before tax (£’000)
168
2,009
13
831
775
13

Approval
This report was approved by the Board of Directors on 27 February 2013 and signed on its behalf by:

Tony Hughes
Chairman of the Remuneration Committee

The Restaurant Group plc Annual Report 2012 33

IntroductionBusiness reviewGovernanceFinancial statements 
 
 
Audit Committee report 

This report sets out the work carried out by the Audit 
Committee of the Board with reference to the UK Corporate 
Governance Code and associated best practice guidance 
issued by the Financial Reporting Council (“FRC”).

Audit Committee composition
The Audit Committee is appointed by the Board and 
comprises independent non-executive Directors of the 
Company. The Committee is chaired by Simon Cloke, who 
has significant financial experience gained as a Managing 
Director within HSBC Bank’s Corporate Sector Group. Tony 
Hughes is also a member of the Committee. The Code 
recommends that audit committees be comprised of at least 
two independent non-executive directors in the case of 
smaller companies (defined as those outside the FTSE 350) 
or at least three for companies with a premium listing,  
such as The Restaurant Group plc. During 2012 the Audit 
Committee was comprised of two independent non-
executive directors.

The Board continues to review the composition of the Audit 
Committee to ensure that it remains proportionate to the task 
and provides sufficient scrutiny of risk management and 
internal and external controls.

The Committee regularly invites the external auditor, the 
Chairman of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer and the 
Group Finance Director to its meetings. The Company 
Secretary attends the meetings and is secretary to the 
Committee. Discussions are held in private when appropriate.

Responsibilities of the Audit Committee
The responsibilities of the Audit Committee are set out in its 
terms of reference and the principal matters are to:
>> provide additional assurance regarding the integrity,  

quality and reliability of financial information used by the 
Board and in financial statements issued to shareholders 
and the public;

>> review the Company’s internal procedures for control and 
compliance with regard to financial reporting to satisfy 
itself that these are adequate and effective;

>> review the principles, policies and practices adopted in the 
preparation of the Group’s financial statements to ensure 
they comply with statutory requirements and generally 
accepted accounting principles;

>> receive reports from the Group’s external auditor 

concerning external announcements, in particular the 
Annual Report and Accounts and the Interim Report;
>> develop and oversee the Company’s policy regarding the 

engagement of the external auditor, review the 
independence of the external auditor, review the provision 
of non-audit services provided by the external auditor and 
review remuneration paid to the external auditor; and
>> consider any other matter that is brought to its attention  

by the Board or the external auditor.

34 Annual Report 2012 The Restaurant Group plc 

The Audit Committee also reviews the arrangements whereby 
staff of the company may, in confidence, raise concerns 
about possible improprieties in financial reporting or other 
matters to ensure there are proportionate and independent 
procedures in place for such an occurrence.

The Board as a whole reviews the risks facing the Group,  
and the processes on mitigating those risks, on a regular  
and formal basis. The Board also reviews the work carried  
out by the Internal Audit function.

Audit Committee frequency
The Committee meets at least twice a year. Two meetings of 
the Committee were held during 2012 with full attendance.

Audit Committee process
The Committee discharges its responsibilities, as defined in its 
terms of reference, through Audit Committee meetings during 
the year, at which detailed reports are presented for review. 
From time to time, the Committee commissions reports from 
external advisers or Company management, either after 
consideration of the Company’s major risks or in response to 
developing issues. The Committee has the opportunity to 
meet privately with the external auditor at least twice a year 
and liaises with Company management in considering areas 
for review.

During the year, the Committee considered the  
following matters:
>> interim and full year financial results. As part of this review 
the Committee received reports from the external auditor 
on their audit of the Annual Report and Accounts and their 
review of the Interim Report;

>> the scope and cost of the external audit;
>> the external auditor’s interim and full year reports;
>> non-audit work carried out by the external auditor in 

accordance with the Committee’s policy to ensure the 
safeguard of audit independence;

>> the change in senior statutory audit partner following  
the rotation from the audit of the previous incumbent  
who held office for five years;

>> the effectiveness of the external auditor and consideration 

of its reappointment; and

>> the suitability of the Group’s accounting policies  

and practices.

The Company’s public financial statements are reviewed by 
the Committee in advance of their consideration by the Board.

Independence of the external auditor
The Committee has adopted a policy on the use of the 
external auditor for non-audit work which is in compliance 
with the Code. The pre-approved services may be 
summarised as follows:
>> audit related services, including work related to the annual 
Group financial statements audit, subsidiary audits and 
local statutory accounts; and

>> certain specified tax services, including tax compliance, 

tax planning and tax advice.

Other work to be carried out by the external auditor is subject 
to review by the Audit Committee. To fulfil its responsibility 
regarding the independence of the external auditor, the Audit 
Committee takes into account the following:
>> the external auditor’s plan for the current year, noting the 
role of the senior statutory audit partner who signs the 
audit report and who, in accordance with professional 
rules, has not held office for more than five years;
>> the arrangements for day-to-day management of the  

audit relationship;

>> a report from the external auditor describing their 
arrangements to identify, report and manage any  
conflicts of interest;

>> the overall extent of non-audit services provided by the 

external auditor, in addition to its case-by-case approval  
of the provision of non-audit services by the external 
auditor; and

>> the past service of the auditor which was first appointed  

in 2007.

To assess the effectiveness of the external auditor,  
the Audit Committee takes into account:
>> the arrangements for ensuring the independence and 

objectivity of the external auditor;

>> the external auditor’s fulfilment of the agreed audit  

plan; and

>> the robustness and perceptiveness of the auditor in its 
handling of the key accounting and audit judgements.

Overview
As a result of its work during the year, the Audit Committee 
has concluded that it has acted in accordance with its terms 
of reference. The Committee has reviewed the independence 
and objectivity of Deloitte LLP as external auditor and 
recommends the re-appointment of Deloitte LLP by 
shareholders at the Annual General Meeting to be held on 
15 May 2013.

On behalf of the Audit Committee,

Simon Cloke
27 February 2013

The Restaurant Group plc Annual Report 2012 35

IntroductionBusiness reviewGovernanceFinancial statementsIndependent auditor’s report 
to the members of The Restaurant Group plc

Opinion on other matters prescribed by the  
Companies Act 2006
In our opinion the information given in the report of the 
Directors for the financial year for which the Group financial 
statements are prepared is consistent with the Group 
financial statements.

Matters on which we are required to report  
by exception
We have nothing to report in respect of the following:

Under the Companies Act 2006 we are required to report  
to you if, in our opinion:
>> certain disclosures of Directors’ remuneration specified  

by law are not made; or

>> we have not received all the information and explanations 

we require for our audit.

Under the Listing Rules we are required to review:
>> the Directors’ statement, contained within the report  

of the Directors, in relation to going concern; 

>> the part of the Corporate Governance Statement relating 
to the Company’s compliance with the nine provisions  
of the UK Corporate Governance Code specified for  
our review; and

>> certain elements of the report to shareholders by the 

Board on Directors’ remuneration.

Other matter
We have reported separately on the parent company financial 
statements of The Restaurant Group plc for the 52 week 
period ended 30 December 2012 and on the information in 
the Directors’ remuneration report that is described as having 
been audited. 

Mark Lee-Amies, FCA (Senior statutory auditor)
for and on behalf of Deloitte LLP
Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditor
London, United Kingdom
27 February 2013

We have audited the Group financial statements of The 
Restaurant Group plc for the 52 weeks ended 30 December 
2012 which comprise the consolidated income statement,  
the consolidated statement of comprehensive income, the 
consolidated statement of changes in equity, the consolidated 
balance sheet, the consolidated cash flow statement and the 
related notes 1 to 27. The financial reporting framework that 
has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and 
International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRSs”) as 
adopted by the European Union.

This report is made solely to the Company’s members,  
as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the 
Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken 
so that we might state to the Company’s members those 
matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report 
and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by 
law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone 
other than the Company and the Company’s members as  
a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions 
we have formed.

Respective responsibilities of Directors and auditor
As explained more fully in the Directors’ responsibilities 
statement, the Directors are responsible for the preparation  
of the Group financial statements and for being satisfied that 
they give a true and fair view. Our responsibility is to audit and 
express an opinion on the Group financial statements in 
accordance with applicable law and International Standards 
on Auditing (UK and Ireland). Those standards require us to 
comply with the Auditing Practices Board’s Ethical Standards 
for Auditors.

Scope of the audit of the financial statements
An audit involves obtaining evidence about the amounts and 
disclosures in the financial statements sufficient to give 
reasonable assurance that the financial statements are free 
from material misstatement, whether caused by fraud or error. 
This includes an assessment of: whether the accounting 
policies are appropriate to the Group’s circumstances and 
have been consistently applied and adequately disclosed;  
the reasonableness of significant accounting estimates made 
by the Directors; and the overall presentation of the financial 
statements. In addition, we read all the financial and non-
financial information in the Annual Report to identify material 
inconsistencies with the audited financial statements. If we 
become aware of any apparent material misstatements or 
inconsistencies we consider the implications for our report.

Opinion on financial statements
In our opinion the Group financial statements:
>> give a true and fair view of the state of the Group’s affairs 
as at 30 December 2012 and of its profit for the 52 week 
period then ended;

>> have been properly prepared in accordance with IFRSs  

as adopted by the European Union; and

>> have been prepared in accordance with the requirements 

of the Companies Act 2006 and Article 4 of the IAS 
Regulation.

36 Annual Report 2012 The Restaurant Group plc 

Accounting policies for  
the consolidated accounts

Significant accounting policies
The Restaurant Group plc (the “Company”) is a company 
incorporated and registered in Scotland. The consolidated 
financial statements of the Company for the year ended 30 
December 2012 comprise the Company and its subsidiaries 
(together referred to as the “Group”) and the Group’s interest 
in its associate. 

(a) Statement of compliance
The consolidated financial statements have been prepared in 
accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards 
(“IFRSs”) and its interpretations adopted by the International 
Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”) and as adopted by the 
European Union. 

(b) Going concern basis
The consolidated financial statements have been prepared on 
a going concern basis as, after making appropriate enquires, 
the Directors have a reasonable expectation that the Group 
has adequate resources to continue in operational existence 
for the foreseeable future at the time of approving the financial 
statements. The principal risks and uncertainties facing the 
Group and further comments on going concern are set out  
in the report of the Directors on pages 16 to 23.

(c) Basis of preparation
The accounting year runs to a Sunday within seven days of 
31 December each year which will be a 52 or 53 week period. 

The financial statements are presented in sterling, rounded  
to the nearest thousand. They have been prepared on the 
historical cost basis except derivative financial instruments 
which are held at their fair value. Non-current assets and 
assets held for sale are stated at the lower of carrying amount 
and fair value less costs to sell. 

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with 
IFRS requires management to make judgements, estimates 
and assumptions that affect the application of policies and 
reported amounts of assets and liabilities, income and 
expenses. The estimates and associated assumptions are 
based on historical experience and various other factors that 
are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the 
results of which form the basis of making the judgments 
about carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not 
readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ 
from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed  
on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are 
recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised  
if the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the 
revision and future periods if the revision affects both current 
and future periods.

Future accounting policies
At the date of authorisation of these financial statements,  
the following Standards and Interpretations which have not 
been applied in these financial statements were in issue but 
not yet effective (and in some cases had not yet been 
adopted by the EU):

>> IFRS 1 (amended) 
>> IFRS 7 (amended) 

Government Loans
 Disclosures – Offsetting Financial 
Assets and Financial Liabilities

>> Annual Improvements   (2009 – 2011) Cycle 

to IFRSs 

>> IFRS 9 
>> IFRS 10 
>> IFRS 10, IFRS 12  

and IAS 27 (amended)  

>> IFRS 11 
>> IFRS 12 

>> IFRS 13 
>> IAS 27 (revised) 
>> IAS 28 (revised) 

>> IAS 32 (amended) 

>> IFRIC 20 

Financial Instruments
 Consolidated Financial Statements
Investment entities 

Joint Arrangements
 Disclosure of Interests  
in Other Entities
Fair Value Measurement
 Separate Financial Statements
 Investments in Associates  
and Joint Ventures
 Offsetting Financial Assets  
and Financial Liabilities
 Stripping Costs in the Production 
Phase of a Surface Mine

The Directors do not expect that the adoption of the standards 
listed above will have a material impact on the financial 
statements of the Group in future periods, except as follows:
>> IFRS 7 (amended) will increase the disclosure 

requirements where netting arrangements are in place  
for financial assets and financial liabilities;

>> IFRS 9 will impact both the measurement and disclosures 

of Financial Instruments;

>> IFRS 12 will impact the disclosure of interests the Group  

has in other entities; and

>> IFRS 13 will impact the measurement of fair value for 
certain assets and liabilities as well as the associated 
disclosures.

Beyond the information above, it is not practicable to provide 
a reasonable estimate of the effect of these standards until  
a detailed review has been completed.

The Restaurant Group plc Annual Report 2012 37

IntroductionBusiness reviewGovernanceFinancial statementsAccounting policies for  
the consolidated accounts
continued

(d) Basis of consolidation
(i) Subsidiaries
Subsidiaries are entities controlled by the Company. Control 
exists when the Company has the power, directly or indirectly, 
to govern the financial and operating policies of an entity  
so as to obtain benefits from its activities. In assessing 
control, potential voting rights that presently are exercisable  
or convertible are taken into account, regardless of 
management’s intention to exercise that option or warrant. 
The financial statements of subsidiaries are included in the 
consolidated financial statements from the date that control 
commences until the date that control ceases.

(ii) Associates
Associates are those entities in which the Group has 
significant influence, but not control, over the financial and 
operating policies. The consolidated financial statements 
include the Group’s share of the total recognised gains and 
losses of associates on an equity accounted basis, from  
the date that significant influence commences until the date 
that significant influence ceases. When the Group’s share  
of losses exceeds its interest in an associate, the Group’s 
carrying amount would be reduced to £nil and recognition  
of further losses is discontinued except to the extent that  
the Group has incurred legal or constructive obligations or 
made payments on behalf of an associate.

(iii) Transactions eliminated on consolidation
Intragroup balances and any gains and losses or income and 
expenses arising from intragroup transactions are eliminated 
in preparing the consolidated financial statements. Unrealised 
gains arising from transactions with associates are eliminated 
to the extent of the Group’s interest in the entity. Unrealised 
losses are eliminated in the same way as unrealised gains, 
but only to the extent that there is no evidence of impairment.

(e) Foreign currency
Assets and liabilities in foreign currencies are translated  
into sterling at the rates of exchange ruling at the date of  
the balance sheet. Transactions in foreign currencies are 
translated into sterling at the rate of exchange at the date of 
the transaction. The profit and loss accounts for overseas 
operations are translated at the average rate of exchange for 
the periods covered by the accounts. Exchange differences 
that relate to the net equity investment in overseas activities 
are taken directly to reserves. 

(f) Derivative financial instruments
The Group uses derivative financial instruments, where 
appropriate, to hedge its exposure to interest rate risks  
arising from operational, financing and investment activities. 
In accordance with its treasury policy, the Group does not 
hold or issue derivative financial instruments for trading 
purposes. However, derivatives that do not qualify for hedge 
accounting are accounted for as trading instruments.

Derivative financial instruments are recognised initially at  
cost. Subsequent to initial recognition, derivative financial 
instruments are stated at fair value. The gain or loss on 
remeasurement to fair value is recognised immediately in the 
income statement. However, where derivatives qualify for 
hedge accounting, recognition of any resultant gain or loss 
depends on the nature of the item being hedged. The Group 
does not currently hold any derivative financial instruments.

The fair value of interest rate swaps is the estimated amount 
that the Group would receive or pay to terminate the swap  
at the balance sheet date, taking into account current  
interest rates and the current creditworthiness of the swap 
counterparties.

(g) Property, plant and equipment
Items of property, plant and equipment are stated at cost less 
accumulated depreciation (see below) and impairment losses 
(see accounting policy l). 

Where parts of an item of property, plant and equipment have 
different useful lives, they are accounted for as separate items 
of property, plant and equipment.

Leases in which the Group assumes substantially all the risks 
and rewards of ownership are classified as finance leases. 
The owner-occupied properties (excluding land element) 
acquired by way of finance lease are stated at an amount 
equal to the lower of their fair value and the present value of 
the minimum lease payments at inception of the lease, less 
accumulated depreciation (see below) and impairment losses 
(see accounting policy l). Lease payments are accounted for 
as described in accounting policy s.

Subsequent costs
The Group recognises in the carrying amount of an item of 
property, plant and equipment the cost of replacing part  
of such an item when that cost is incurred if it is probable  
that the future economic benefits embodied with the item will 
flow to the Group and the cost of the item can be measured 
reliably. All other costs are recognised in the income 
statement as an expense as incurred.

Depreciation
Depreciation is charged to the income statement on a 
straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of each part 
of an item of property, plant and equipment. The estimated 
useful lives are as follows:

Freehold land 
Freehold buildings  
Long and short leasehold property  

Fixtures and equipment  
Motor vehicles  
Computer equipment  

Indefinite
50 years
 Term of lease or 50 
years, whichever is lower
3-10 years
4 years
3-5 years

38 Annual Report 2012 The Restaurant Group plc 

(h) Intangible assets – Goodwill
All business combinations are accounted for by applying  
the acquisition method. Goodwill represents amounts arising 
on acquisition of subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures. 
In respect of business acquisitions that have occurred since 
1 January 2004, goodwill represents the difference between 
the cost of the acquisition and the fair value of the net 
identifiable assets acquired.

The classification and accounting treatment of business 
combinations that occurred prior to 1 January 2004 has not 
been reconsidered in preparing the Group’s opening IFRS 
balance sheet at 1 January 2004.

Goodwill is stated at cost less any accumulated impairment 
losses. Goodwill is allocated to cash generating units and is 
formally tested bi-annually for impairment (see accounting 
policy l). In respect of associates, the carrying amount of 
goodwill is included in the carrying amount of the investment 
in the associate.

Any excess of fair value of net assets over consideration on 
acquisition is recognised directly in the income statement.

(i) Trade and other receivables
Trade and other receivables are stated at their cost less 
impairment losses (see accounting policy l).

(j) Stock
Stock is stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value. 
Net realisable value is the estimated selling price in the 
ordinary course of business, less the estimated costs of 
completion and selling expenses.

(k) Cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash balances and call 
deposits. Bank overdrafts that are repayable on demand and 
form an integral part of the Group’s cash management are 
included as a component of cash and cash equivalents for 
the purpose of the statement of cash flows.

(l) Impairment
The carrying amounts of the Group’s assets are reviewed at 
each balance sheet date to determine whether there is any 
indication of impairment. 

For property, plant and equipment, the carrying value of  
each cash generating unit (“CGU”) is compared to its 
estimated value in use. Value in use calculations are based  
on discounted cash flows over the remaining useful life of the 
CGU (between 2 and 50 years). The discount rate used is  
the rate believed by the Board to reflect the risks associated 
with each CGU. Impairment losses are recognised in the 
income statement.

For goodwill and assets that have an indefinite useful life, the 
recoverable amount is estimated at each balance sheet date. 
An impairment loss is recognised whenever the carrying 
amount of an asset or its cash generating unit exceeds its 
recoverable amount. Impairment losses are recognised in 
the income statement and are not subsequently reversed.

(m) Share-based payment transactions
The share option programme allows Group employees to 
acquire shares of the Company and all options are equity-
settled. The fair value of options granted is recognised as an 
employee expense with a corresponding increase in equity. 
The fair value is measured at grant date and spread over the 
period during which the employees become unconditionally 
entitled to the options. The fair value of the options granted is 
measured using a Stochastic model, taking into account the 
terms and conditions upon which the options were granted. 
The amount recognised as an expense is adjusted to reflect 
the actual number of share options that vest except where 
forfeiture is only due to market based conditions not 
achieving the threshold for vesting.

(n) Provisions
A provision is recognised in the balance sheet when the 
Group has a present legal or constructive obligation as a 
result of a past event, and it is probable that an outflow of 
economic benefits will be required to settle the obligation. If 
the effect is material, provisions are determined by discounting 
the expected future cash flows at a pre-tax rate that reflects 
current market assessments of the time value of money and, 
where appropriate, the risks specific to the liability.

(o) Deferred and current tax
Corporation tax payable is provided on the taxable profit at 
the current rate. Deferred tax is recognised in respect of all 
temporary differences that have originated but not reversed at 
the balance sheet date, except to the extent that the deferred 
tax arises from the initial recognition of goodwill. Temporary 
differences are differences between the carrying amount of 
the Group’s assets and liabilities and their tax base.

Deferred tax is measured at the tax rates that are expected to 
apply in the periods in which the temporary differences are 
expected to reverse based on tax rates and laws that are 
enacted, or substantively enacted, by the balance sheet date. 
Deferred tax is measured on a non-discounted basis.

(p) Pensions
The Group makes contributions for selected employees into 
defined contribution pension plans and these contributions are 
charged to the income statement as they become payable. 
The Group does not operate any defined benefit plans.

The Restaurant Group plc Annual Report 2012 39

IntroductionBusiness reviewGovernanceFinancial statementsAccounting policies for  
the consolidated accounts
continued

(q) Onerous contracts
Provisions for onerous contracts are recognised when the 
expected benefits to be derived by the Group from a contract 
are lower than the unavoidable cost of meeting its obligations 
under the contract.

Critical accounting judgements and key sources  
of estimation and uncertainty
In the process of applying the Group’s accounting policies  
as described above, management has made a number of 
judgements and estimations of which the following are the 
most significant:

a) Impairment of carrying value of associate
The investment in Living Ventures Restaurants Group Limited 
and the loan note of £10.4m receivable from a subsidiary of 
that company were fully provided against in the years ended 
30 December 2007 and 31 December 2006. Following a 
review of the trading performance of the company, the 
Directors have concluded that this treatment is appropriate 
and no adjustment has been made in either the current or  
the previous year. Further details are provided in note 12.

b) Impairment of goodwill and property, plant  
and equipment
The Group formally determines whether property, plant and 
equipment and goodwill are impaired on a bi-annual basis. 
This requires the Group to determine the lowest level of 
assets which generate largely independent cash flows  
(cash generating units or “CGU”) and to estimate the value in 
use of these assets or CGUs; and compare these to their 
carrying value. Cash generating units are deemed to be 
individual units, a collection of units or a brand depending on 
the nature of the trading environment in which they operate. 
Calculating the value in use requires the Group to make an 
estimate of the future cash flows of each CGU and to choose 
a suitable discount rate in order to calculate the present  
value of those cash flows. The discount rate used in the  
year ended 30 December 2012 for all CGU was based  
on the Group’s weighted average cost of capital of 8.6%  
(year ended 1 January 2012: 8.4%) as the Directors believe 
there are broadly equal risks associated with each CGU. No 
impairment is required in the year ended 30 December 2012.

(r) Revenue
Revenue represents amounts received and receivable for 
services and goods provided (excluding value added tax  
and voluntary gratuities left by customers for the benefit of 
employees) and is recognised at the point of sale.

(s) Expenses
(i) Operating lease payments
Payments made under operating leases are recognised in  
the income statement on a straight-line basis over the term  
of the lease. Incentives to enter into an operating lease are 
also spread on a straight-line basis over the lease term as  
a reduction in rental expense.

(ii) Finance lease payments
Minimum lease payments are apportioned between the 
finance charge and the reduction of the outstanding liability. 
The finance charge is allocated to each period during the 
lease term so as to produce a constant periodic rate of 
interest on the remaining balance of the liability.

(iii) Pre-opening expenses
Property rentals and related costs incurred up to the  
date of opening of a new restaurant are written off to the 
income statement in the period in which they are incurred. 
Promotional and training costs are written off to the income 
statement in the period in which they are incurred.

(iv) Borrowing costs
Debt is stated net of borrowing costs which are spread  
over the term of the loan. All other borrowings costs are 
recognised in the income statement in the period in which 
they are incurred.

(t) Dividend policy
In accordance with IAS 10 “Events after the Balance Sheet 
Date”, dividends declared after the balance sheet date are  
not recognised as a liability at that balance sheet date, and 
are recognised in the financial statements when they have 
received approval by shareholders.

40 Annual Report 2012 The Restaurant Group plc 

Consolidated income statement

Revenue

Cost of sales:
Excluding pre-opening costs
Pre-opening costs

Gross profit / (loss)

Administration costs

Trading profit / (loss)

Loss on disposal of  
  fixed assets

Earnings before interest, 
  tax, depreciation and 
  amortisation

Depreciation

Operating profit / (loss)

Profit / (loss) on ordinary 
  activities before tax

Tax on profit / (loss) from 
  ordinary activities

Interest payable
Interest receivable

6
6

52 weeks ended 30 December 2012

Trading
business
£’000
532,541

Non-
trading
£’000
–

Note
2

Total
£’000
532,541

52 weeks ended 1 January 2012
Trading
business
£’000
487,114

Non-
trading
£’000
–

Total
£’000
487,114

3
3

(435,276)
(2,217)
(437,493)

95,048

(28,613)

66,435

4

–

95,540

(29,105)

66,435

(2,527)
653

64,561

7

(16,334)

–
–
–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–
–

–

–

–

(435,276)
(2,217)
(437,493)

(397,782)
(1,948)
(399,730)

(7,544)
–
(7,544)

(405,326)
(1,948)
(407,274)

95,048

87,384

(7,544)

79,840

(28,613)

(26,199)

(192)

(26,391)

66,435

61,185

(7,736)

53,449

–

–

(4,169)

(4,169)

95,540

89,741

(8,405)

81,336

(29,105)

(28,556)

(3,500)

(32,056)

66,435

61,185

(11,905)

49,280

(2,527)
653

(1,818)
916

230
–

(1,588)
916

64,561

60,283

(11,675)

48,608

(16,334)

(16,575)

2,344

(14,231)

48,227

43,708

(9,331)

34,377

Profit / (loss) for the year

48,227

Earnings per share (pence)
Basic
Diluted

8
8

24.08
24.05

24.08
24.05

21.86
21.84

17.19
17.18

The Restaurant Group plc Annual Report 2012 41

IntroductionBusiness reviewGovernanceFinancial statementsConsolidated statement  
of comprehensive income

Profit for the year
Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations

Total comprehensive income for the year

52 weeks
ended 
30 December
2012
£’000
48,227
–

52 weeks
ended 
1 January
2012
£’000
34,377
(488)

48,227

33,889

42 Annual Report 2012 The Restaurant Group plc 

Consolidated statement  
of changes in equity

Share
capital
£’000
56,319

Share
premium
£’000
23,982

Foreign
currency
translation
reserve
£’000
–

Balance at 2 January 2012

Profit for the year
Exchange differences on translation  
  of foreign operations
Total comprehensive income for the year

Issue of new shares
Dividends
Share-based payments – credit to equity
Employee benefit trust – purchase of shares
Current tax on share-based payments taken 
  directly to equity
Deferred tax on share-based payments taken 
  directly to equity

–

–
–

15
–
–
–

–

–

–

–
–

45
–
–
–

–

–

Balance at 30 December 2012

56,334

24,027

Other
reserves
£’000
(7,115)

Retained
earnings
£’000
84,096

Total
£’000
157,282

–

–
–

48,227

48,227

–
48,227

–
48,227

–
–
2,233
(2,855)

–
(21,682)
–
–

60
(21,682)
2,233
(2,855)

–

–

1,354

1,354

(771)

(771)

(7,737)

111,224

183,848

–

–
–

–
–
–
–

–

–

–

Balance at 3 January 2011

56,101

23,234

488

(6,302)

71,192

144,713

Profit for the year
Exchange differences on translation  
  of foreign operations
Total comprehensive income for the year

Issue of new shares
Dividends
Share-based payments – credit to equity
Employee benefit trust – purchase of shares
Current tax on share-based payments taken 
  directly to equity
Deferred tax on share-based payments taken 
  directly to equity

–

–
–

218
–
–
–

–

–

–

–
–

748
–
–
–

–

–

Balance at 1 January 2012

56,319

23,982

–

(488)
(488)

–

–
–

34,377

34,377

–
34,377

(488)
33,889

–
–
–
–

–

–

–

–
–
2,237
(3,050)

–
(22,337)
–
–

966
(22,337)
2,237
(3,050)

–

–

1,178

(314)

1,178

(314)

(7,115)

84,096

157,282

The Restaurant Group plc Annual Report 2012 43

IntroductionBusiness reviewGovernanceFinancial statementsConsolidated balance sheet

Non-current assets
Intangible assets
Property, plant and equipment

Current assets
Stock
Trade and other receivables
Prepayments
Cash and cash equivalents

Total assets

Current liabilities
Corporation tax liabilities
Trade and other payables
Other payables – finance lease obligations
Provisions

Net current liabilities

Non-current liabilities
Long-term borrowings
Other payables – finance lease obligations
Deferred tax liabilities
Provisions

Total liabilities

Net assets

Equity
Share capital
Share premium
Other reserves
Retained earnings
Total equity

At 
30 December
2012
£’000

Note

At 
1 January
2012
£’000

10
11

13
14

22

15
24
16

22
24
17
16

26,433
293,785
320,218

26,433
269,141
295,574

4,872
6,476
15,940
12,879
40,167

3,925
7,382
15,158
10,242
36,707

360,385

332,281

(9,173)
(93,845)
(328)
(2,089)
(105,435)

(8,542)
(87,198)
(326)
(3,282)
(99,348)

(65,268)

(62,641)

(48,853)
(2,844)
(15,712)
(3,693)
(71,102)

(51,835)
(2,806)
(16,733)
(4,277)
(75,651)

(176,537)

(174,999)

183,848

157,282

18

19, 20

56,334
24,027
(7,737)
111,224
183,848

56,319
23,982
(7,115)
84,096
157,282

The financial statements of The Restaurant Group plc (company registration number SC030343) on pages 37 to 62 were 
approved by the Board of Directors and authorised for issue on 27 February 2013 and were signed on its behalf by:

Alan Jackson
Stephen Critoph ACA 

44 Annual Report 2012 The Restaurant Group plc 

Consolidated cash flow statement

Operating activities
Cash generated from operations
Interest received
Interest paid
Tax paid
Net cash flows from operating activities

Investing activities
Purchase of property, plant and equipment
Disposal of fixed assets
Net cash flows used in investing activities

Financing activities
Net proceeds from issue of ordinary share capital
Employee benefit trust – purchase of shares
Net (repayments of) / proceeds from loan draw downs
Dividends paid to shareholders
Net cash flows used in financing activities

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year

52 weeks 
ended 
30 December 
2012
£’000

52 weeks 
ended 
1 January 
2012
£’000

102,000
653
(1,551)
(16,141)
84,961

91,745
916
(1,612)
(15,722)
75,327

(54,945)
98
(54,847)

(43,648)
(2,754)
(46,402)

60
(2,855)
(3,000)
(21,682)
(27,477)

2,637

10,242

966
(3,050)
3,000
(22,337)
(21,421)

7,504

2,738

12,879

10,242

Note

21

19

9

22

22

The Restaurant Group plc Annual Report 2012 45

IntroductionBusiness reviewGovernanceFinancial statements 
Notes to the accounts
for the year ended 30 December 2012

1 Segmental analysis
The Group trades in one business segment (that of operating restaurants) and one geographical segment (being the  
United Kingdom).

2 Revenue

Income for the year consists of the following:
Revenue from continuing operations

Other income not included within revenue in the income statement:
Rental income
Interest income
Total income for the year

3 Profit for the year

Cost of sales consists of the following:
Continuing business excluding pre-opening costs
Pre-opening costs
Non-trading charge
Total cost of sales for the year

Profit for the year has been arrived at after charging / (crediting):
  Depreciation and impairment
  Purchases
  Staff costs (see note 5)

  Minimum lease payments
  Contingent rents
Total operating lease rentals of land and buildings
Rental income
Net rental costs

Auditor’s remuneration:
  Fees payable to the Company’s auditor for the audit of the Company’s annual accounts
Fees payable to the Company’s auditor and their associates for other services to the 
Group
  The audit of the Company’s subsidiaries
Total audit fees
  Audit-related assurance services
  Tax services
  Corporate finance services
  Other services
Total non-audit fees
Total auditor’s remuneration

2012
£’000

2011
£’000

532,541

487,114

3,211
653
536,405

3,583
916
491,613

2012
£’000

2011
£’000

435,276
2,217
–
437,493

2012
£’000

29,105
121,898
168,240

54,207
7,590
61,797
(3,211)
58,586

2012
£’000

71

47
118
35
47
–
35
117
235

397,782
1,948
7,544
407,274

2011
£’000

32,056
111,015
153,048

51,012
7,034
58,046
(3,583)
54,463

2011
£’000

68

47
115
35
69
195
37
336
451

Audit fees included in the above total relating to the Company are borne by a subsidiary undertaking. All of the auditor’s 
remuneration in 2012 and 2011 was expensed as administration costs except the £0.2m relating to corporate finance services 
in 2011 which was incurred as part of the negotiation of the new debt facility and will be amortised over the life of the facility.

46 Annual Report 2012 The Restaurant Group plc 

 
 
 
 
4 Non-trading items

Items classified as non-trading within ordinary activities:
Provision for loss on disposal of fixed assets and onerous leases
Termination costs
  Net book value of disposed fixed assets included within non-trading
  Cash paid
  Creation of accrual for closure costs
  Transfer of accumulated foreign currency translation
Loss on disposal of fixed assets

Finance credit arising from termination / remeasurement of interest rate swaps
Loss on ordinary activities before tax
Tax credit on non-trading items
Total non-trading items after tax

Note

2012
£’000

i
ii
iii
iii
iii
iii

iv

v

–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–

2011
£’000

(7,544)
(192)
(1,614)
(2,754)
(313)
512
(4,169)

230
(11,675)
2,344
(9,331)

i)   During the 52 weeks ended 1 January 2012, the Group recorded a charge of £7.5m for the exit costs of a number of sites 
which did not generate adequate levels of return and for future rental obligations of previously assigned leases that have 
returned to the Group. The £7.5m includes £3.5m of fixed asset impairments, £0.1m cash paid for costs incurred and a 
further £3.9m provision for future lease and other costs.

ii)   In the 52 weeks ended 1 January 2012 the Group recognised a £0.2m non-trading charge for unamortised fees relating  

to its terminated bank facility. For more details, see note 23.

iii)   During the 52 weeks ended 1 January 2012, the Group disposed of various fixed assets including the three restaurants  
the Group operated in Spain. These closures resulted in a loss on disposal of fixed assets of £4.2m including £2.8m of 
cash paid in respect of reverse premiums, legal and other costs. 

iv)   In the 52 weeks ended 1 January 2012, the Group recognised a credit of £0.2m in respect of the termination and 

remeasurement of its interest rate swaps. The Group’s only remaining interest rate swap was terminated on payment  
of £0.4m on 9 February 2011. 

v)  In the 52 weeks ended 1 January 2012, the Group recognised a non-trading tax credit of £2.3m.

The Restaurant Group plc Annual Report 2012 47

IntroductionBusiness reviewGovernanceFinancial statementsNotes to the accounts
continued

5 Staff costs and numbers

a) Average staff numbers during the year (including executive Directors)
Restaurant staff
Administration staff

b) Staff costs (including Directors) comprise:
Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Share-based payments
Pension costs

c) Directors’ remuneration
Emoluments
Money purchase (and other) pension contributions

Charge in respect of share-based payments

2012

2011

11,416
248
11,664

2012
£’000

154,993
10,496
2,233
518
168,240

3,213
199
3,412
1,173
4,585

10,337
235
10,572

2011
£’000

140,475
9,847
2,237
489
153,048

2,769
186
2,955
1,223
4,178

Further details of the Directors’ emoluments and the executive pension schemes are given in the Directors’ remuneration 
report on pages 28 to 33, of which the information on pages 32 and 33 has been audited. 

2012
£’000
1,489
352
320
366
–
2,527

(8)
(3)
(642)
(653)

1,874

2011
£’000
1,084
375
–
359
(230)
1,588

(3)
(10)
(903)
(916)

672

6 Net finance charges

Bank interest payable
Other interest payable
Facility fees
Interest on obligations under finance leases
Change in fair value of interest rate swaps
Total borrowing costs

Bank interest receivable
Other interest receivable
Loan note interest receivable (see note 12)
Total interest receivable

Net finance charges

48 Annual Report 2012 The Restaurant Group plc 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
7 Tax

a) The tax charge comprises:
Current tax
  UK corporation tax at 24.5% (2011: 26.5%)
  Adjustments in respect of previous years

Deferred tax
  Origination and reversal of timing differences
  Adjustments in respect of previous years
  Credit in respect of rate change

Total tax charge for the year

2012
£’000

2011
£’000

18,046
80
18,126

(464)
118
(1,446)
(1,792)
16,334

17,221
(318)
16,903

(1,145)
(56)
(1,471)
(2,672)
14,231

b) Factors affecting the tax charge for the year
The tax charged for the year varies from the standard UK corporation tax rate of 24.5% (2011: 26.5%) due to the  
following factors:

Profit on ordinary activities before tax
Profit on ordinary activities before tax multiplied by the  
  standard UK corporation tax rate of 24.5% (2011: 26.5%)

Effects of:
  Depreciation on non-qualifying assets
  Expenses not deductible for tax purposes
  Loss on disposal of non-qualifying assets
  Credit in respect of rate change on deferred tax liability
  Adjustment in respect of previous years
Total tax charge for the year

2012
£’000
64,561

2011
£’000
48,608

15,817

12,881

1,658
107
–
(1,446)
198
16,334

1,616
113
1,466
(1,471)
(374)
14,231

The Budget 2012 introduced a reduction in the main rate of corporation tax from 1 April 2012 from 26% to 24% resulting in a 
blended rate of 24.5% being used to calculate the tax liability for the 52 weeks ended 30 December 2012.

The Finance Act 2012 introduced a reduction in the main rate of corporation tax from 24% to 23% effective from 1 April 2013 
and this rate is required to be used in calculating deferred tax provisions at the balance sheet date. This has resulted in a 
deferred tax credit in the income statement of £1.4m. 

The Government has also indicated that it intends to enact a further reduction in the main corporation tax rate of 1% reducing 
the main tax rate to 22% from April 2014. The future 1% main tax rate reduction is expected to have a proportionally similar 
impact on the underlying trading tax rate as the current year 2% reduction (from the previously announced rate of 25%), 
however the actual impact will be dependent on the Group’s deferred tax position at the time. 

The Restaurant Group plc Annual Report 2012 49

IntroductionBusiness reviewGovernanceFinancial statementsNotes to the accounts
continued

8 Earnings per share

a) Basic earnings per share:
Weighted average ordinary shares in issue during the year
Total profit for the year (£’000)
Basic earnings per share for the year (pence)

Total profit for the year (£’000)
Effect of non-trading items on earnings for the year (£’000)
Earnings excluding non-trading items (£’000)
Adjusted earnings per share (pence)

b) Diluted earnings per share:
Weighted average ordinary shares in issue during the year
Dilutive shares to be issued in respect of options granted under the share option schemes

Diluted earnings per share (pence)
Adjusted diluted earnings per share (pence)

2012

2011

200,261,245 199,956,884
34,377
17.19

48,227
24.08

48,227
–
48,227
24.08

34,377
9,331
43,708
21.86

235,567

200,261,245 199,956,884
189,903
200,496,812 200,146,787
17.18
21.84

24.05
24.05

The additional non-statutory earnings per share information for 2011 (where non-trading items, described in note 4, have  
been added back) has been provided as the Directors believe it provides a useful indication as to the underlying performance 
of the Group.

Diluted earnings per share information is based on adjusting the weighted average number of shares in issue in respect  
of notional share awards made to employees in respect of share option schemes. No adjustment is made to the reported 
earnings for 2012 or 2011.

9 Dividend

Amounts recognised as distributions to equity holders during the year:
Final dividend for the 52 weeks ended 1 January 2012 of 6.50p (2010: 7.46p) per share
Interim dividend for the 52 weeks ended 30 December 2012 of 4.50p (2011: 4.00p) per share
Total dividends paid in the year
Proposed final dividend for the 52 weeks ended 30 December 2012 of 7.30p  
  (2011 actual proposed and paid: 6.50p) per share

2012
£’000

12,812
8,870
21,682

2011
£’000

14,525
7,812
22,337

14,392

12,812

The proposed final dividend is subject to approval by shareholders at the Annual General Meeting to be held on 15 May 2013 
and is not recognised as a liability in these financial statements. The proposed final dividend payable reflects the number of 
shares in issue on 30 December 2012, adjusted for the 3.1m shares owned by the employee benefit trust for which dividends 
have been waived. Further details are provided in note 19.

50 Annual Report 2012 The Restaurant Group plc 

10 Intangible assets

Cost and carrying amount
At 3 January 2011, 1 and 2 January 2012 and 30 December 2012

£’000

26,433

Goodwill arising on business combinations is not amortised but is subject to a bi-annual impairment review, or more 
frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that it might be impaired. Therefore, goodwill arising on acquisition  
is monitored and an impairment test is carried out which compares the value in use of each cash generating unit (“CGU”)  
to the carrying value. The goodwill represents amounts arising on the acquisition of Blubeckers Limited and Brunning and 
Price Limited, which now trade as Pub restaurants. 

Value in use calculations are based on cash flow forecasts derived from the most recent financial budgets and three year 
business plans approved by the Board. Cash flows are then extrapolated in perpetuity with an annual growth rate of 2%. 
Perpetuity is believed to be reasonable due to the significant proportion of freeholds in the estate and the nature of the 
leasehold properties. The pre-tax discount rate applied to cash flow projections is 8.6% (2011: 8.4%) which is the rate 
believed by the Directors to reflect the risks associated with the CGU.

Since 1 January 1989 the cumulative amount of goodwill written off against realised reserves is £50.4m (2011: £50.4m). 
Records for periods prior to this date are not readily available.

11 Property, plant and equipment

Cost
At 3 January 2011
Exchange movement
Additions
Disposals
At 1 January 2012
Accumulated depreciation and impairment
At 3 January 2011
Exchange movement
Provided during the year
Impairment
Disposals
At 1 January 2012

Cost
At 2 January 2012
Exchange movement
Additions
Disposals
At 30 December 2012
Accumulated depreciation and impairment
At 2 January 2012
Exchange movement
Provided during the year
Impairment
Disposals
At 30 December 2012
Net book value as at 1 January 2012
Net book value as at 30 December 2012

Land and 
buildings
£’000

Fixtures,
equipment
and vehicles
£’000

306,750
34
28,771
(6,703)
328,852

97,092
31
14,446
2,929
(5,324)
109,174

328,852
–
36,282
(6,043)
359,091

109,174
–
15,565
–
(4,955)
119,784
219,678
239,307

117,079
14
14,877
(5,814)
126,156

67,154
12
14,110
571
(5,154)
76,693

126,156
–
18,663
(4,428)
140,391

76,693
–
13,540
–
(4,320)
85,913
49,463
54,478

Total
£’000

423,829
48
43,648
(12,517)
455,008

164,246
43
28,556
3,500
(10,478)
185,867

455,008
–
54,945
(10,471)
499,482

185,867
–
29,105
–
(9,275)
205,697
269,141
293,785

The Restaurant Group plc Annual Report 2012 51

IntroductionBusiness reviewGovernanceFinancial statementsNotes to the accounts
continued

11 Property, plant and equipment continued

Net book value of land and buildings:
Freehold
Long leasehold
Short leasehold

Assets held under finance leases:
Costs at the beginning and the end of the year
Depreciation
At the beginning of the year
Provided during the year
At the end of the year
Net book value at the end of the year

2012
£’000

2011
£’000

74,943
5,325
159,039
239,307

69,217
2,683
147,778
219,678

2012
£’000

1,961

1,149
25
1,174
787

2011
£’000

1,961

1,124
25
1,149
812

12 Investment in associate 
The Restaurant Group holds a 38% investment in Living Ventures Restaurants Group Limited and this investment is accounted 
for using the equity method. Living Ventures Restaurants Group Limited has an accounting year end date of 31 March and as 
there is no material benefit in making the accounting year end co-terminus with the Group, no change has been made.

As a result of a detailed review of the trading performance of Living Ventures Restaurants Group Limited, the investment has 
been recorded at £nil and a loan note  of £10.4m plus outstanding interest receivable due from LV Finance Limited, a subsidiary 
of Living Ventures Restaurants Group Limited, was fully provided against as at 30 December 2012 and 1 January 2012.

The Group’s share of the post-tax result of Living Ventures Restaurants Group Limited for the 52 weeks ended 30 December 
2012 was a profit of £0.005m (2011: profit of £0.12m). This profit has not been recognised in the income statement in 
accordance with IAS 28 “Associates and Joint Ventures” as the investment has a carrying value of £nil and the Group’s share 
of the cumulative earnings of Living Ventures Restaurants Group Limited remains negative.

Interest is receivable from LV Finance Limited on the loan note of £10.4m at a rate of LIBOR. In the 52 weeks ended 
30 December 2012 £0.2m of interest accrued of which the Group recognised £0.2m (2011: £0.2m of which the Group 
recognised £0.1m). In the 52 weeks ended 30 December 2012 a further £0.4m of interest was received as part payment  
of the accrued interest, all of which was recognised in the income statement (2011: £0.8m was received, all of which was 
recognised in the income statement). Consequently in addition to the loan note of £10.4m outstanding at that date, £0.1m 
(2011: £0.5m) of interest receivable was still outstanding, of which, under the terms of the agreement, all was overdue.

Summarised financial information on Living Ventures Restaurants Group Limited is as follows:

Non-current assets
Current assets
Non-current liabilities
Current liabilities
Equity
Revenue
Net profit

2012
£’000
8,906
2,914
(15,178)
(6,346)
(9,704)
26,475
13

2011
£’000
9,725
3,863
(17,310)
(5,995)
(9,717)
25,546
327

At 30 December 2012 Living Ventures Restaurants Group Limited was contractually committed to £0.02m capital expenditure 
(1 January 2012: £0.01m).

52 Annual Report 2012 The Restaurant Group plc 

13 Stock
Stock comprises raw materials and consumables and has been valued at the lower of cost and estimated net realisable value. 
The replacement cost at 30 December 2012 is not considered by the Directors to be materially different from the balance 
sheet value. The Group recognised £121.9m of purchases as an expense in 2012 (2011: £111.0m).

14 Trade and other receivables

Amounts falling due within one year:
Trade debtors
Other debtors

15 Trade and other payables

Amounts falling due within one year:
Trade creditors
Other tax and social security
Other creditors
Accruals

16 Provisions

Provision for onerous lease contracts and property exit costs:
Balance at the beginning of the year
Additional provisions made
Amounts utilised
Provisions released
Adjustment for change in discount rate
Unwinding of discount
Balance at the end of the year
Analysed as:
Amount due for settlement within one year
Amount due for settlement after one year

2012
£’000

2,123
4,353
6,476

2012
£’000

39,996
17,256
6,042
30,551
93,845

2012
£’000

7,559
383
(2,219)
(293)
(46)
398
5,782

2,089
3,693
5,782

2011
£’000

2,110
5,272
7,382

2011
£’000

40,488
14,839
5,497
26,374
87,198

2011
£’000

3,862
4,107
(887)
(83)
195
365
7,559

3,282
4,277
7,559

The provision for onerous contracts is in respect of lease agreements and covers the element of expenditure over the life of 
those contracts which are considered onerous, expiring in 1 to 107 years. The provision for property exit costs is anticipated 
to be short-term and settled within one year.

The Restaurant Group plc Annual Report 2012 53

IntroductionBusiness reviewGovernanceFinancial statementsNotes to the accounts
continued

17 Deferred taxation

Balance at the beginning of the year
Depreciation in advance of capital allowances credited to the income statement
Other timing differences
Credit in respect of rate change
Deferred tax taken directly to the income statement (see note 7)
Tax on share-based payments
Credit in respect of rate change
Deferred tax taken through equity
Balance at the end of the year

Deferred tax consists of:
Capital allowances in advance of depreciation
Capital gains rolled over
Other timing differences

18 Share capital

Issued, called up and fully paid:
At 3 January 2011
Exercise of share options
At 1 and 2 January 2012
Exercise of share options
At 30 December 2012

2012
£’000
16,733
(416)
70
(1,446)
(1,792)
691
80
771
15,712

2012
£’000

17,561
446
(2,295)
15,712

2011
£’000
19,091
(1,537)
336
(1,471)
(2,672)
179
135
314
16,733

2011
£’000

19,502
485
(3,254)
16,733

Number

£’000

199,470,892
774,196
200,245,088
53,044
200,298,132

56,101
218
56,319
15
56,334

19 Employee benefit trust
An employee benefit trust (“EBT”) was established in 2007 in order to satisfy the exercise or vesting of existing and future 
share awards under the Long-Term Incentive Plan. The EBT purchases shares in the market, using funds provided by the 
Company, based on expectations of future requirements. Dividends are waived by the EBT. At 30 December 2012, the 
Trustees, Appleby Trust (Jersey) Limited, held 3.1m shares in the Company (1 January 2012: 4.9m shares).

Net cash outflow in the 52 weeks ended 30 December 2012 was £2.9m, inclusive of costs (52 weeks ended 1 January 2012: 
£3.1m, inclusive of costs).

At 3 January 2011
Purchase of shares on 28 March 2011 at an average price of £3.029 per share

1,000,000

Transfer of shares to satisfy the exercise of share awards
At 1 and 2 January 2012

Purchase of shares on 29 May 2012 at an average price of £2.835 per share

1,000,000

Transfer of shares to satisfy the exercise of share awards
At 30 December 2012

Details of options granted under the Group’s share schemes are given in note 20.

Number
5,908,874

1,000,000
(1,968,806)
4,940,068

1,000,000
(2,792,115)
3,147,953

£’000

3,050
3,050

2,855
2,855

54 Annual Report 2012 The Restaurant Group plc 

20 Share-based payment schemes
The Group operates a number of share-based payment schemes, details of which are provided in the Directors’ remuneration 
report on pages 28 to 33. The Group has taken advantage of the exemption under IFRS 2 “Share-based payments” not to 
account for share options granted before 7 November 2002.

The charge recorded in the financial statements of the Group in respect of share-based payments is £2.2m (2011: £2.2m).  

The other reserves account in the balance sheet reflects the credit to equity made in respect of the charge for share-based 
payments made through the income statement and the purchase of shares in the market in order to satisfy the vesting of 
existing and future share awards under the Long-Term Incentive Plan (see note 19).

Long-Term Incentive Plan
The Group operates the 2005 Long-Term Incentive Plan (“LTIP”), details of which are provided in the Directors’ remuneration 
report on pages 28 to 33. Awards under the LTIP are granted to executive Directors and senior management.

Conditional Award share options and Matching Award share options are granted to Directors and selected employees.  
In respect of the Matching Award share options, the respective Director or employee is required to acquire a number of  
shares by a specified date, known as “deposited shares”, and retain these shares until the Matching Award share options 
vest, for these Matching Award share options to be valid. The table below summarises the dates of awards under the LTIP 
and the dates by which Directors and employees were required to acquire their deposited shares.

Date of Award
4 March 2010
16 March 2011
1 March 2012

Date by which Deposited Shares must be acquired
30 June 2010
30 June 2011
30 June 2012

Vesting of share options under the LTIP is dependent on continuing employment or in accordance with “good leaver” 
properties as set out in the scheme rules. In exceptional circumstances, employees may be permitted to exercise options 
before the normal period in which they are exercisable. 

The Conditional and Matching Awards granted on 5 March 2009 became exercisable on the publication of the 2011 results. 
The performance criteria was based on TSR and The Restaurant Group plc was the highest ranked company for TSR in its 
comparator sector and consequently the award vested in full.

For those awards granted on 4 March 2010 that vest in 2013, the performance criteria were based on TSR and EPS. For the 
TSR element of the award, The Restaurant Group plc was the highest ranked company against its comparator group (for the 
second year running) and consequently the TSR element of the award will vest in full. In respect of the EPS element of the 
award the growth in EPS was between RPI +4% and RPI +10% and 71.9% of this part of the award will vest.

The options from the LTIP scheme will be satisfied through share purchases via a trust. Further details are provided in note 19.

The Restaurant Group plc Annual Report 2012 55

IntroductionBusiness reviewGovernanceFinancial statementsNotes to the accounts
continued

20 Share-based payment schemes continued

Year ended 30 December 2012
Period 
during which 
options are 
exercisable
2012
2012
2013
2013
2013
2014
2014
2014
2015
2015
2015
2015
Total number

Fair 
value
Type of award
89.9p
Conditional
Matching
89.9p
Conditional – TSR element 144.0p
Conditional – EPS element 208.9p
Matching
208.9p
Conditional – TSR element 209.8p
Conditional – EPS element 295.5p
Matching
295.5p
Conditional – TSR element 124.5p
Conditional – EPS element 283.5p
124.5p
Matching – TSR element
283.5p
Matching – EPS element

Outstanding
at the 
beginning 
of the year
2,310,641 
482,759 
523,411 
523,412 
376,546 
478,146 
478,146 
355,822 
–
–
–
–

Granted Exercised
– (2,310,641)
(481,474)
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
537,642 
–
537,642 
–
212,794 
–
212,794 
5,528,883  1,500,872  (2,792,115)

Outstanding
at the end 
of the year
–
–
497,774 
497,775 
365,954 
446,764 
446,765 
354,087 
502,963 
502,962 
180,719 
180,719 
(261,158) 3,976,482 

Lapsed
–
(1,285)
(25,637)
(25,637)
(10,592)
(31,382)
(31,381)
(1,735)
(34,679)
(34,680)
(32,075)
(32,075)

Exercisable
at the end 
of the year
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

Fair 
value
83.1p

Year ended 1 January 2012
Period 
during which 
options are 
exercisable
2011
2011
2011
2012
2012
2013
2013
2013
2014
2014
2014
Total number

Outstanding
at the 
beginning 
of the year
Type of award
Conditional – TSR element
626,290 
Conditional – EPS element 146.0p 1,275,822 
146.0p
346,418 
Matching
2,327,600 
89.9p
Conditional
482,759 
Matching
89.9p
531,904 
Conditional – TSR element 144.0p
531,905 
Conditional – EPS element 208.9p
376,546 
Matching
208.9p
–
Conditional – TSR element 209.8p
–
Conditional – EPS element 295.5p
–
295.5p
Matching

Outstanding
at the end 
of the year
–
–
–
2,310,641 
482,759 
523,411 
523,412 
376,546 
478,146 
478,146 
355,822 
6,499,244  1,403,101  (1,968,806) (404,656) 5,528,883 

Granted Exercised
–
(626,290)
– (1,039,845)
(302,671)
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
483,165 
–
483,165 
–
436,771 

Lapsed
–
(235,977)
(43,747)
(16,959)
–
(8,493)
(8,493)
–
(5,019)
(5,019)
(80,949)

Exercisable
at the end 
of the year
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

Save As You Earn Scheme
Under the Save As You Earn (“SAYE”) scheme, the Board may grant options over shares in The Restaurant Group plc to 
UK-based employees of the Group. Options are granted with a fixed exercise price equal to 80% of the average market  
price of the shares for the five days prior to invitation. Employees pay a fixed amount from their salary into a savings account 
each month for the three-year savings period. At the end of the savings period, employees have six months in which to 
exercise their options using the funds saved. If employees decide not to exercise their options, they may withdraw their funds 
saved and the options expire. Exercise of options is subject to continued employment within the Group. In exceptional 
circumstances, employees may be permitted to exercise these options before the end of the three-year savings period. 
Options were valued using the Stochastic share pricing model.

56 Annual Report 2012 The Restaurant Group plc 

20 Share-based payment schemes continued

Year ended 30 December 2012

Period during which  
options are exercisable
2011
2013
2015
Total number

Year ended 1 January 2012

Period during which  
options are exercisable
2011
2013
Total number

Exercise 
price
125.0p
184.0p
283.0p

Exercise 
price
125.0p
184.0p

Outstanding
at the 
beginning 
of the year
9,216 
257,572 
–
266,788 

Outstanding
at the 
beginning 
of the year
548,237 
319,111 
867,348 

Granted Exercised
(6,144)
(545)
–
(6,689)

–
–
583,647 
583,647 

Lapsed
(3,072)
(40,978)
(8,584)
(52,634)

Outstanding
at the end 
of the year
–
216,049 
575,063 
791,112 

Exercisable
at the end 
of the year
–
–
–
–

Granted Exercised
(518,380)
(816)
(519,196)

–
–
–

Lapsed
(20,641)
(60,723)
(81,364)

Outstanding
at the end 
of the year
9,216 
257,572 
266,788 

Exercisable
at the end 
of the year
9,216 
–
9,216 

During 2012, the weighted average market price at date of exercise was 292.0p per share (2011: 294.2p).

Executive Share Option Plans (“ESOPs”)
Under the 2003 ESOP scheme, the Remuneration Committee may grant options over shares in The Restaurant Group plc to 
employees of the Group. The contractual life of an option is ten years. Options granted under ESOPs become exercisable on 
the third anniversary of the date of grant, subject to growth in earnings per share exceeding RPI growth by more than 2.5%. 
Exercise of options is subject to continued employment within the Group. Options were valued using a Stochastic option 
pricing model. No performance conditions were included in the fair value calculations.

Year ended 30 December 2012

Period during which  
options are exercisable
2006 – 2013
2007 – 2014
2008 – 2015
Total number
Weighted average exercise price

Exercise 
price
67.4p
97.7p
134.4p

Year ended 1 January 2012

Period during which  
options are exercisable
2006 – 2013
2007 – 2014
2008 – 2015
Total number
Weighted average exercise price

Exercise 
price
67.4p
97.7p
134.4p

Outstanding
at the 
beginning 
of the year Granted Exercised
–
(29,355)
(17,000)
(46,355)
111.2p

7,034 
65,355 
176,000 
248,389 
122.8p

–
–
–
–
–

Outstanding
at the 
beginning 
of the year Granted Exercised
–
(70,000)
(185,000)
(255,000)
124.3p

7,034 
135,355 
361,000 
503,389 
123.6p

–
–
–
–
–

Outstanding
at the end 
of the year
7,034 
36,000 
159,000 
202,034 
125.5p

Exercisable
at the end 
of the year
7,034 
36,000 
159,000 
202,034 
125.5p

Lapsed
–
–
–
–
–

Outstanding
at the end 
of the year
7,034 
65,355 
176,000 
248,389 
122.8p

Exercisable
at the end 
of the year
7,034 
65,355 
176,000 
248,389 
122.8p

Lapsed
–
–
–
–
–

During 2012, the weighted average market price at date of exercise was 367.3p per share (2011: 297.3p).

The Restaurant Group plc Annual Report 2012 57

IntroductionBusiness reviewGovernanceFinancial statements 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Notes to the accounts
continued

20 Share-based payment schemes continued

Assumptions used in valuation of share-based payments granted in the year ended 30 December 2012

Scheme

Grant date
Share price at grant date
Exercise price
No. of options originally granted
Minimum vesting period
Expected volatility1
Contractual life
Risk free rate
Expected dividend yield
Expected forfeitures
Fair value per option

2012 LTIP Conditional Award
EPS element 
01/03/2012
283.5p
n/a
537,642 
3 years
0.0%
3.5 years
0.00%
0.00%
15%
283.5p

TSR element 
01/03/2012
283.5p
n/a
537,642 
3 years
25.6%
3.5 years
0.58%
0.00%
15%
124.5p

2012 LTIP Matching Award
EPS element 
01/03/2012
283.5p
n/a
212,794 
3 years
0.0%
3.5 years
0.00%
0.00%
30%
283.5p

TSR element 
01/03/2012
283.5p
n/a
212,794 
3 years
25.6%
3.5 years
0.58%
0.00%
30%
124.5p

2012 SAYE

10/10/2012
362.2
283.0p
583,647 
3 years
24.2%
3.5 years
0.39%
3.04%
15%
80.4p

1  Expected volatility is the measure of the amount by which the share price is expected to fluctuate during a period. In order to calculate volatility, the movement 

in the return index (share price plus dividends re-invested) over a period prior to the grant date equal in length to the remaining period over which the 
performance condition applies has been calculated. For the discount for the TSR performance condition for the relevant Conditional and Matching Awards, 
the calculated volatility based on the movement in the return index over a period of 3 years prior to the grant has been used. For the discount for the SAYE 
scheme, the calculated volatility based on the movement in the return index over a period of 3.25 years prior to the grant has been used.

21 Reconciliation of profit before tax to cash generated from operations

Profit before tax
Net finance charges
Loss on disposal of fixed assets
Share-based payments
Depreciation and impairment
Increase in stocks
Decrease / (increase) in debtors
Increase in creditors
Cash generated from operations

2012
£’000
64,561
1,874
–
2,233
29,105
(947)
124
5,050
102,000

2011
£’000
48,608
672
4,169
2,237
32,056
(295)
(3,426)
7,724
91,745

Major non-cash transactions
There were no major non-cash transactions in the 52 weeks ended 30 December 2012.

In the 52 weeks ended 1 January 2012, the Group recorded a non-trading charge of £7.5m for the exit costs of a number of 
sites and onerous leases. This included £3.5m fixed asset impairment and £3.9m provision for future lease and other costs.  
In addition the Group disposed of fixed assets with a net book value of £2.0m in 2011. Further details are provided in note 4.

22 Reconciliation of changes in cash to the movement in net debt

Net debt:
At the beginning of the year
Movements in the year:
Repayments of / (proceeds from) loan draw downs
Non-cash movements in the year
Cash inflow
At the end of the year

58 Annual Report 2012 The Restaurant Group plc 

2012
£’000

2011
£’000

(41,593)

(46,924)

3,000
(18)
2,637
(35,974)

(3,000)
827
7,504
(41,593)

22 Reconciliation of changes in cash to the movement in net debt continued

Represented by:
Cash and cash 
  equivalents
Bank loans falling  
  due after one year

At 3 
January
2011
£’000

Cash flow 
movements
in the year
£’000

Non-cash
movements
in the year
£’000

At 1 and 2
January
2012
£’000

Cash flow 
movements
in the year
£’000

Non-cash
movements
in the year
£’000

At 30
December
2012
£’000

2,738

7,504

–

10,242

(49,662)
(46,924)

(3,000)
4,504

827
827

(51,835)
(41,593)

2,637

3,000
5,637

–

12,879

(18)
(18)

(48,853)
(35,974)

23 Financial instruments and derivatives
The Group finances its operations through equity and borrowings, with the borrowing interest subject to floating rates.  
In February 2011, the Directors took advantage of the benign and stable interest rate environment and the Group’s falling  
level of debt, and terminated the Group’s remaining interest rate swap for a payment of £0.4m. This resulted in a £0.2m 
non-trading credit in the 52 weeks ended 1 January 2012.

Management pay rigorous attention to treasury management requirements and continue to:
>> ensure sufficient committed loan facilities are in place to support anticipated business requirements; 
>> ensure the Group’s debt service will be supported by anticipated cash flows and that covenants will be complied with; and 
>> manage interest rate exposure with a combination of floating rate debt and interest rate swaps when deemed appropriate.

The Board closely monitors the Group’s treasury strategy and the management of treasury risk.

Further details on the business risk factors that are considered to affect the Group and more specific financial risk 
management (including sensitivity to increases in interest rates) are included in the report of the Directors on pages 16 to 23. 
Further details on market and economic risk are included in the Chief Executive Officer’s review of operations on pages 6 to 
11. Further detail on headroom against covenants is included in the Group Finance Director’s report on pages 12 and 13.

(a) Financial assets and liabilities
Financial assets
The financial assets of the Group comprise:

Cash and cash equivalents – Sterling
Cash and cash equivalents – Euro

Trade and other receivables
Total financial assets

2012
£’000
12,784
95
12,879
6,476
19,355

2011
£’000
10,153
89
10,242
7,382
17,624

Cash and cash equivalents include balances held on account in respect of deposits paid by tenants under the terms of their 
rental agreement.

Financial liabilities
The financial liabilities of the Group comprise:

Trade and other payables excluding tax
Finance lease debt
Short-term financial liabilities
Long-term borrowings – at floating interest rates *
Finance lease debt
Long-term financial liabilities
Total financial liabilities

2012
£’000
76,589
328
76,917
48,853
2,844
51,697
128,614

2011
£’000
72,359
326
72,685
51,835
2,806
54,641
127,326

*  Total financial liabilities attracting interest were £50.0m (2011: £53.0m). Interest is payable at floating interest rates which fluctuate and are dependent on 

LIBOR and base rate. The average weighted year end interest rate for these borrowings was 1.75% (2011: 2.02%).

The Restaurant Group plc Annual Report 2012 59

IntroductionBusiness reviewGovernanceFinancial statementsNotes to the accounts
continued

23 Financial instruments and derivatives continued

In October 2011, the Group agreed a new five year £140m loan facility which replaced the previous £120m facility. This facility 
provides the Group with medium-term security of funding, additional capacity to take advantage of business opportunities as 
they become available and the flexibility to optimise the Group’s funding structure. The covenants and obligations of the new 
facility remain the same as the previous agreement and interest remains payable on the amount drawn down at LIBOR plus 
mandatory cost and the bank’s margin, which is dependent on the debt to EBITDA ratio. As a result of termination of the old 
loan facility arrangement, the Group recorded a non-trading charge of £0.2m for the 52 weeks ended 1 January 2012.

The Group has a £10m overdraft facility, which is repayable on demand, on which interest is payable at the bank’s  
overdraft rate. 

At 30 December 2012 the Group has £90.0m of committed borrowing facilities in excess of gross borrowings (1 January 
2012: £87.0m) and £10.0m of undrawn overdraft (1 January 2012: £10.0m of undrawn overdraft).

The maturity profile of anticipated gross future cash flows, including interest, relating to the Group’s non-derivative financial 
liabilities, on an undiscounted basis,are set out below;

At 30 December 2012

Within one year
Within two to five years
After five years

Less: Future interest payments

At 1 January 2012

Within one year
Within two to five years
After five years

Less: Future interest payments

Trade and 
other payables
excluding tax
£’000
76,589
–
–
76,589
–
76,589

Trade and 
other payables
excluding tax
£’000
72,359
–
–
72,359
–
72,359

Floating 
rate loan
£’000
19,796
34,653
–
54,449
(5,596)
48,853

Floating 
rate loan
£’000
18,292
40,340
–
58,632
(6,797)
51,835

Finance 
lease debt
£’000
328
1,310
11,651
13,289
(10,117)
3,172

Finance 
lease debt
£’000
326
1,303
11,593
13,222
(10,090)
3,132

Total
£’000
96,713
35,963
11,651
144,327
(15,713)
128,614

Total
£’000
90,977
41,643
11,593
144,213
(16,887)
127,326

Effective from 16 January 2009 the Group entered into an interest rate swap for a notional amount of £20m for two years.  
The fixed rate for the duration of the two years was 2.70%. On 17 January 2011 the interest rate swap expired.

Effective from 16 January 2009 the Group entered into an interest rate swap for a notional amount of £20m for three years. 
The fixed rate for the duration of the three years was 2.975%. On 9 February 2011 the interest rate swap was terminated on 
payment of £0.4m.

Fair value of financial assets and liabilities
At 30 December 2012 and 1 January 2012, the Group had no derivative financial instruments relating to interest rate swaps. 

All financial assets and liabilities are accounted for at cost and the Directors consider the carrying value to approximate their 
fair value.

(b) Credit risk
Credit risk refers to the risk that a counterparty will default on its contractual obligations resulting in financial losses to the 
Group. Counterparties for cash and derivative balances are with large established financial institutions. The Group is exposed 
to credit related losses in the event of non-performance by the financial institutions but does not expect them to fail to meet 
their obligations.

60 Annual Report 2012 The Restaurant Group plc 

 
 
 
 
 
 
23 Financial instruments and derivatives continued

As a retail business with trading receipts settled either by cash or credit and debit cards, there is very limited exposure from 
customer transactions. The Group is exposed to credit risk in respect of retrospective discounts receivable from suppliers but 
the Directors believe adequate provision has been made in respect of doubtful debts and there are no material amounts past 
due that have not been provided against.

The Group has an outstanding long-term receivable of £10.4m plus interest due from LV Finance Limited, a subsidiary of the 
Group’s associate company Living Ventures Restaurants Group Limited. This debt is secured on the assets of Living Ventures 
Restaurants Group Limited, but is subject to a prior ranking behind LV Finance Limited’s bank. In 2007, following a detailed 
review of the carrying value of the business including the loan note receivable, the Board made full provision against the loan 
note due (further details are provided in note 12). 

The carrying amount of financial assets recorded in the financial statements, net of any allowances for losses, represent the 
Group’s maximum exposure to credit risk.

(c) Liquidity risk
The Group has built an appropriate mechanism to manage liquidity risk of the short, medium and long-term funding and 
liquidity management requirements. Liquidity risk is managed through the maintenance of adequate cash reserves and  
bank facility by monitoring forecast and actual cash flows and matching the maturity profiles of financial assets and liabilities. 
The Group’s loan facility, which matures in October 2016 (as set out in note (a) above) ensures continuity of funding, provided 
the Group continues to meet its covenant requirements (as detailed in the report of the Directors on pages 16 to 23).

(d) Foreign currency risk
The Group is not materially exposed to changes in foreign currency rates and does not use foreign exchange forward contracts.

Following the closure of the Group’s three restaurants in Spain in 2011, any transactional or translational exposure to  
changes in foreign exchange rate is marginal and relates to the outstanding transactions in relation to the termination of  
the Spanish business.

(e) Interest rate risk
Exposure to interest rate movements has been controlled historically through the use of floating rate debt and interest rate 
swaps to achieve a balanced interest rate profile. The Group does not currently have any interest rate swaps in place following 
the early repayment of the swap scheduled to terminate in 2012, as the reduction in the level of debt combined with current 
market conditions results in a low level of exposure. The Group’s exposure will continue to be monitored and the use of 
interest rate swaps may be considered in the future.

24 Lease commitments
Future lease payments in respect of finance leases are due as follows:

Within one year
Within two to five years
After five years

Less: Future interest payments
Present value of lease obligations
Analysed as:
Amount due for settlement within one year
Amount due for settlement after one year
Present value of lease obligations

Minimum lease payments

Present value of  
minimum lease payments

2012
£’000
328
1,310
11,651
13,289
(10,117)
3,172

2011
£’000
326
1,303
11,593
13,222
(10,090)
3,132

2012
£’000
328
1,004
1,840

2011
£’000
326
998
1,808

3,172

3,132

328
2,844
3,172

326
2,806
3,132

Lease commitments are in respect of property leases where the initial term of the lease is in excess of 25 years and the 
conditions of the lease are in keeping with a finance lease. There are no finance leases where the Group itself is the lessor. 
The interest rate applied in calculating the present value of the payments is the incremental borrowing cost of the Group in 
relation to each lease. The fair value of the lease payments is estimated as £3.2m (2011: £3.1m).

The Restaurant Group plc Annual Report 2012 61

IntroductionBusiness reviewGovernanceFinancial statementsNotes to the accounts
continued

24 Lease commitments continued

The total future minimum rentals payable and receivable under operating leases over the remaining lives of the leases are:   

Payments due:
Within one year
Within two to five years
After five years

Payable
2012
£’000
53,695
183,809
398,112
635,616

Receivable
2012
£’000
3,101
9,974
25,511
38,586

Payable
2011
£’000
51,558
179,517
384,059
615,134

Receivable
2011
£’000
3,401
10,248
26,673
40,322

The Group has entered into a number of property leases on standard commercial terms, both as lessee and lessor. There are 
no restrictions imposed by the Group’s operating lease arrangements, either in the current or prior year.

Included within the minimum rentals are amounts payable on properties where the rental payment is based on turnover. For 
these properties, primarily in the Group’s Concession business, the amount included above is the minimum guaranteed rent 
as detailed in the concession agreement. Where there is no minimum guaranteed rent, the amount included is based on the 
estimated amount payable.

25 Capital commitments

Authorised and contracted for:

2012
£’000
27,015

2011
£’000
13,975

26 Contingent liabilities
The Group has assigned a number of leases to third parties that were originally completed prior to 1 January 1996 and are 
therefore unaffected by the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995 and also a number of leases completed after this date 
that were the subject of an Authorised Guarantee Agreement. Consequently, should the current tenant default, the landlord 
has a right of recourse to The Restaurant Group plc, or its subsidiaries, for future rental payments. As and when any liability 
arises, the Group will take whatever steps necessary to mitigate the costs.

27 Related party transactions
Living Ventures Restaurants Group Limited is a related party to The Restaurant Group plc through the Group’s 38% holding. 
A loan note of £10.4m is due from LV Finance, a subsidiary of Living Ventures Restaurants Group Limited, which attracts 
interest at the rate of LIBOR. During the year ended 30 December 2012, £0.2m of interest accrued of which the Group 
recognised £0.2m (2011: £0.2m of which the Group recognised £0.1m). In the 52 weeks ended 30 December 2012 a further 
£0.4m of interest was received as part payment of the accrued interest, all of which was recognised in the income statement 
(2011: £0.8m was received, all of which was recognised in the income statement). Consequently, in addition to the loan note 
of £10.4m at that date, £0.1m (2011: £0.5m) of interest receivable was still outstanding, of which, under the terms of the 
agreement, all was overdue.

Alan Jackson was a non-executive director of Charles Wells Limited, an independent brewing, pub and distribution company, 
until January 2012 when he retired from the board. During 2005, The Restaurant Group plc entered into a lease for a site 
owned by Charles Wells Limited and subsequently this site was converted into a Frankie & Benny’s restaurant. No premium 
was paid by the Group to Charles Wells Limited. The Group has entered into the lease with Charles Wells Limited, on an arm’s 
length basis, with an annual rent of £73,850 per annum. In addition, the Group purchased products with a value totalling 
£0.01m (2011: £0.03m) from Charles Wells Limited during the year, on an arm’s length basis. No balance was directly 
outstanding at the year end. Alan Jackson received no remuneration or compensation in respect of these transactions.

Remuneration in respect of key management personnel, defined as the Directors for this purpose, is disclosed in note 5. 
Further information concerning the Directors’ remuneration is provided in the Directors’ remuneration report on pages  
28 to 33, of which pages 32 and 33 are audited.

62 Annual Report 2012 The Restaurant Group plc 

Independent auditor’s report
to the members of The Restaurant Group plc

We have audited the parent company financial statements  
of The Restaurant Group plc for the 52 week period ended 
30 December 2012 which comprise the Company balance 
sheet and the related notes (i) to (v). The financial reporting 
framework that has been applied in their preparation is 
applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards 
(United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

This report is made solely to the Company’s members,  
as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the 
Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken 
so that we might state to the Company’s members those 
matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report 
and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by 
law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone 
other than the Company and the Company’s members as  
a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions 
we have formed.

Respective responsibilities of Directors and auditor
As explained more fully in the Directors’ responsibilities 
statement, the Directors are responsible for the preparation  
of the parent company financial statements and for being 
satisfied that they give a true and fair view. Our responsibility 
is to audit and express an opinion on the parent company 
financial statements in accordance with applicable law and 
International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland). Those 
standards require us to comply with the Auditing Practices 
Board’s Ethical Standards for Auditors.

Scope of the audit of the financial statements
An audit involves obtaining evidence about the amounts  
and disclosures in the financial statements sufficient to  
give reasonable assurance that the financial statements are 
free from material misstatement, whether caused by fraud  
or error. This includes an assessment of: whether the 
accounting policies are appropriate to the parent company’s 
circumstances and have been consistently applied and 
adequately disclosed; the reasonableness of significant 
accounting estimates made by the Directors; and the overall 
presentation of the financial statements. In addition, we read 
all the financial and non-financial information in the Annual 
Report to identify material inconsistencies with the audited 
financial statements. If we become aware of any apparent 
material misstatements or inconsistencies we consider the 
implications for our report.

Opinion on financial statements
In our opinion the parent company financial statements:
>> give a true and fair view of the state of the Company’s 

affairs as at 30 December 2012;

>> have been properly prepared in accordance with United 
Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
>> have been prepared in accordance with the requirements 

of the Companies Act 2006.

Opinion on other matters prescribed by the 
Companies Act 2006
In our opinion:
>> the part of the Directors’ remuneration report to be  
audited has been properly prepared in accordance  
with the Companies Act 2006; and

>> the information given in the report of the Directors  

for the financial year for which the financial statements  
are prepared is consistent with the parent company 
financial statements.

Matters on which we are required to report  
by exception
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters 
where the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you 
if, in our opinion:
>> adequate accounting records have not been kept by the 
parent company, or returns adequate for our audit have 
not been received from branches not visited by us; or
>> the parent company financial statements and the part of 

the Directors’ remuneration report to be audited are not in 
agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
>> certain disclosures of Directors’ remuneration specified  

by law are not made; or

>> we have not received all the information and explanations 

we require for our audit.

Other matter
We have reported separately on the Group financial 
statements of The Restaurant Group plc for the 52 week 
period ended 30 December 2012.

Mark Lee-Amies, FCA (Senior statutory auditor)
for and on behalf of Deloitte LLP
Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditor
London, United Kingdom
27 February 2013

The Restaurant Group plc Annual Report 2012 63

IntroductionBusiness reviewGovernanceFinancial statementsCompany financial statements – under UK GAAP

Fixed assets
Investments in subsidiary undertakings

Current assets
Debtors
Amounts falling due within one year from Group undertakings

Creditors
Amounts falling due within one year to Group undertakings
Net current liabilities
Total assets less current liabilities
Net assets

Capital and reserves
Called up share capital
Share premium account
Other reserves
Profit and loss account
Shareholders’ funds

At 
30 December 
2012
£’000

At 
1 January 
2012
£’000

Note

i

ii

v
v
v
v

134,829
134,829

131,354
131,354

212,070
212,070

181,353
181,353

(185,690)
26,380
161,209
161,209

(161,213)
20,140
151,494
151,494

56,334
24,027
(6,495)
87,343
161,209

56,319
23,982
(7,115)
78,308
151,494

The financial statements of The Restaurant Group plc (company registration number SC030343) on pages 64 to 66 were 
approved by the Board of Directors and authorised for issue on 27 February 2013 and were signed on its behalf by:

Alan Jackson
Stephen Critoph ACA 

64 Annual Report 2012 The Restaurant Group plc 

Accounting policies and basis of preparation

Basis of accounting
The accounts for the Company have been prepared under UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice, whilst the Group 
accounts have been prepared under International Financial Reporting Standards. The Company accounts have been 
prepared under the historical cost convention in accordance with applicable UK accounting standards and on a going 
concern basis.

Investments
Investments are valued at cost less any provision for impairment.

Dividends
In accordance with FRS 21 “Events after the Balance Sheet Date”, dividends declared after the balance sheet date are not 
recognised as a liability at that balance sheet date, and are recognised in the financial statements when they have received 
approval by shareholders.

Share-based payment transactions
The share options have been accounted for as an expense in the company in which the employees are employed, using a 
valuation based on the Stochastic simulation model.

In accordance with an available election in FRS 20 “Share-based payments”, awards granted before 7 November 2002 have 
not been subject to a charge. An increase in the investment held by the Company in the subsidiary in which the employees 
are employed, with a corresponding increase in equity, is recognised in the accounts of the Company. Information in respect 
of the Company’s share-based payment schemes is provided in note 20 to the consolidated financial statements.

The value is accounted for as a capital contribution in relevant Group subsidiaries that employ the staff members to whom 
awards of share options have been made.

i) Investment in subsidiary undertakings

Cost
At 2 January 2012
Additions – share-based payment schemes
At 30 December 2012
Amounts written off
At 2 January 2012 and 30 December 2012
Net book value at 2 January 2012
Net book value at 30 December 2012

Shares
£’000

90,587
1,242
91,829

888
89,699
90,941

Loans 
and other
£’000

42,189
2,233
44,422

534
41,655
43,888

Total
£’000

132,776
3,475
136,251

1,422
131,354
134,829

The Restaurant Group plc Annual Report 2012 65

IntroductionBusiness reviewGovernanceFinancial statements 
Company financial statements – under UK GAAP
continued

The Company’s operating subsidiaries, listed below, are held by an intermediate holding company (TRG (Holdings) Limited):

The Restaurant Group (UK) Limited
Chiquito Limited
Blubeckers Limited
Brunning and Price Limited 
Frankie & Benny’s S.L.
DPP Restaurants Limited 

Proportion of 
voting rights and
shares held at 
30 December 
2012
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%

Holding
Ordinary shares
Ordinary shares
Ordinary shares
Ordinary shares
Ordinary shares
Ordinary shares

Other than Frankie & Benny’s S.L., the Company’s principal operating subsidiaries are registered in England and Wales, and 
operate restaurants in the United Kingdom. Frankie and Benny’s S.L. is registered in Spain and until June 2011, operated 
three restaurants in that country. For more information, see note 4 of the consolidated accounts.

All other subsidiary undertakings are wholly owned by the Company or one of its subsidiaries and are dormant.

ii) Creditors – amounts falling due within one year
In accordance with FRS 21, the proposed final dividend in respect of 2012 is not recorded as a liability in these financial 
statements as it was declared after the balance sheet date and is subject to approval by shareholders.

iii) Profit attributable to members of the holding Company
As permitted by section 408 of the Companies Act 2006, a separate profit and loss account has not been presented for the 
holding Company. During the year the Company recorded a profit of £30.7m, representing paid and accrued internal 
preference dividend income (2011: £30.7m representing paid and accrued internal preference dividend income). 
Remuneration of the auditors is borne by a subsidiary undertaking (refer to note 3 in the consolidated accounts).

iv) Employee costs and numbers
All costs of employees and Directors are borne by a subsidiary undertaking. At 30 December 2012 the Company employed 
three persons (1 January 2012: three persons).

v) Share capital and reserves

As at 2 January 2012
Issue of shares
Employee share-based payment schemes
Employee benefit trust – purchase of shares
Profit for the year
Dividends 
As at 30 December 2012

Share 
capital
£’000
56,319
15
–
–
–
–
56,334

Share 
premium
£’000
23,982
45
–
–
–
–
24,027

Other 
reserves
£’000
(7,115)
–
3,475
(2,855)
–
–
(6,495)

Profit and 
loss account
£’000
78,308
–
–
–
30,717
(21,682)
87,343

Total
151,494
60
3,475
(2,855)
30,717
(21,682)
161,209

Details of share issues during the year are given in note 20 of the consolidated accounts and details of the dividends paid 
and proposed during the year are given in note 9 of the consolidated accounts.

66 Annual Report 2012 The Restaurant Group plc 

Group financial record

Revenue
Adjusted operating profit
Underlying interest
Adjusted profit before tax
Non-trading (charges) / credits
Profit on ordinary activities before tax
Tax
Profit for the year

Basic earnings per share
Adjusted earnings per share
Proposed total dividend per share for the year
Dividend cover (excluding non-trading items)

Employment of finance
Property, plant and equipment
Other non-current assets
Net current liabilities
Long-term liabilities

Financed by:
Equity shareholders’ funds

Net debt 
Gearing

2012 
£’000
532,541
66,435
(1,874)
64,561
–
64,561
(16,334)
48,227

24.08p
24.08p
11.80p
2.04

293,785
26,433
(65,268)
(71,102)

2011 
£’000
487,114
61,185
(902)
60,283
(11,675)
48,608
(14,231)
34,377

17.19p
21.86p
10.50p
2.08

269,141
26,433
(62,641)
(75,651)

2010 
£’000
465,704
58,556
(2,674)
55,882
596
56,478
(16,353)
40,125

20.16p
19.95p
9.00p
2.22

259,583
26,433
(66,518)
(74,785)

2009 
£’000
435,743
53,360
(3,331)
50,029
(1,695)
48,334
(11,062)
37,272

18.90p
17.48p
8.00p
2.19

254,841
26,241
(68,124)
(97,026)

2008 
£’000
416,530
54,231
(5,306)
48,925
(1,794)
47,131
(14,914)
32,217

16.38p
16.67p
7.70p
2.16

250,722
26,241
(66,092)
(117,265)

183,848

157,282

144,713

115,932

93,606

183,848

157,282

144,713

115,932

93,606

(35,974)
19.6%

(41,593)
26.4%

(46,924)
32.4%

(66,684)
57.5%

(78,884)
84.3%

The Restaurant Group plc Annual Report 2012 67

IntroductionBusiness reviewGovernanceFinancial statementsShareholder information

Directors
Alan Jackson
Non-executive Chairman

Andrew Page
Chief Executive Officer

Stephen Critoph
Group Finance Director

Trish Corzine
Executive Director, Concessions

Tony Hughes
Non-executive

Simon Cloke
Non-executive

Company Secretary
Until 5 April 2013: Robert Morgan
From 5 April 2013: Stephen Critoph

Head office 
(and address for all correspondence)
5-7 Marshalsea Road
London SE1 1EP

Telephone number
020 3117 5001

Company number
SC030343

Registered office
1 George Square
Glasgow G2 1AL 

Registrar
Equiniti Limited
Aspect House
Spencer Road
Lancing 
West Sussex BN99 6DA

Auditor
Deloitte LLP
2 New Street Square
London EC4A 3BZ

Solicitors
Slaughter and May
One Bunhill Row
London EC1Y 8YY

Brokers
JPMorgan Cazenove
25 Bank Street
London E14 5JP

Panmure Gordon & Co
One New Change
London EC4M 9AF

Financial calendar
Annual General Meeting
15 May 2013

Proposed final dividend – 2012
Announcement – 27 February 2013
Ex-dividend – 19 June 2013
Record date – 21 June 2013
Payment date – 10 July 2013

68 Annual Report 2012 The Restaurant Group plc 

The paper used in this report is source from well-managed forests and is  
FSC accredited.

Printed in the UK using vegetable based inks which have lower VOC emissions  
(Volatile Organic Compounds), are derived from renewable sources and less 
hazardous than oil-based inks. 

The printer is ISO 14001 accredited and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) chain  
of custody certified. Under the framework of ISO 14001 a structured approach is 
taken by the company to measure, improve and audit their environmental status  
on an ongoing basis. FSC ensures there is an audited chain of custody from the tree 
in the well-managed forest through to the finished document in the printing factory.

If you have finished reading this report and no longer wish to retain it please pass it 
to interested readers, return it to The Restaurant Group plc or dispose of it in your 
recycled paper waste. Thank you. 

Designed and produced by The College www.the-college.com

 
 
 
The Restaurant Group plc (“TRG” or “the Group”) 
operates 422 restaurants and pub restaurants.  
Its principal trading brands are Frankie & Benny’s, 
Chiquito and Garfunkel’s and it also operates a 
Pub restaurant business as well as a Concessions 
business which trades on over 60 sites, principally 
at UK airports.

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Introduction 
Financial highlights 
At a glance 

Business review 
Chairman’s statement  
Chief Executive Officer’s review of operations  
Group Finance Director’s report  

Governance 
Board of Directors  
Report of the Directors 
Corporate responsibility report 
Directors’ remuneration report 
Audit Committee report 

Financial statements 
Independent auditor’s report 
Accounting policies for the consolidated accounts 
Consolidated income statement 
Consolidated statement of comprehensive income 
Consolidated statement of changes in equity 
Consolidated balance sheet 
Consolidated cash flow statement 
Notes to the accounts 
Independent auditor’s report – company accounts 
Company financial statements – under UK GAAP 
Group financial record 
Shareholder information 

36 
37 
41 
42 
43 
44 
45 
46
63 
64 
67
68

01 
02

04 
06 
12

14 
16
24 
28 
34

The paper used in this report is source from well-managed forests and is  
FSC accredited.

Printed in the UK using vegetable based inks which have lower VOC emissions  
(Volatile Organic Compounds), are derived from renewable sources and less 
hazardous than oil-based inks. 

The printer is ISO 14001 accredited and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) chain  
of custody certified. Under the framework of ISO 14001 a structured approach is 
taken by the company to measure, improve and audit their environmental status  
on an ongoing basis. FSC ensures there is an audited chain of custody from the tree 
in the well-managed forest through to the finished document in the printing factory.

If you have finished reading this report and no longer wish to retain it please pass it 
to interested readers, return it to The Restaurant Group plc or dispose of it in your 
recycled paper waste. Thank you. 

Designed and produced by The College www.the-college.com

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Restaurant Group plc
5-7 Marshalsea Road
London SE1 1EP
Tel: 020 3117 5001
www.trgplc.com

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Another year of growth
Annual Report 2012