NoHo Partners’ growth in Norway accelerates – 5 new restaurants acquired

NoHo Partners Plc
Media release 16 December 2019

Restaurant company NoHo Partners is strengthening its position on the Norwegian restaurant market. The business of the company, which expanded its restaurant operations to Norway last spring, and its profitability in the country have exceeded all expectations. The company has now acquired five more restaurants. With a total of 20 restaurants, NoHo Partners is one of the major restaurant operators in Norway.

Last April, NoHo Partners expanded its operations to Norway’s high-purchase-power restaurant market by acquiring 15 restaurants. The company has now strengthened its foothold on the Oslo market area and Tromsø by buying five popular restaurants. In the future, NoHo Partners will own Cafe Christiania in Oslo, the Z Nightclub nightclub and the Brask og Bramm  restaurant in Drammen, as well as the iconic Emmas restaurant in Tromsø. In October, the company acquired the classic Oslo pub Eilefs Landhandler, established in 1989.

“Our international growth is progressing well. The Norwegian market has proven that our real export, our operating model, can also bring a competitive edge outside Finland and that it is quickly scalable. The prospects of growth on the Norwegian market are also interesting from the viewpoint of the effectiveness of capital. In Norway, there are several highly profitable classic restaurants with a healthy cash flow. They do not require major investment. The EV/EBITDA coefficients are also very tempting, and the prospects of growth next year look very promising,” says Aku Vikström, CEO, NoHo Partners.

“We are currently an important and very interesting operator on Norway’s fragmented, roughly 9-billion-euro restaurant market. There are barely any other operators of this scale on the market. Our clear advantage is our wide selection of restaurants as well as a wide range of different restaurant concepts from pubs to entertainment venues and from restaurants to nightclubs,” explains Juha Helminen, Director of International Operations, NoHo Partners.

Restaurant culture in Norway is different from Finland

According to Helminen, a big difference between the Norwegians and Finns is that the Norwegians spend much more money on restaurant services and visit restaurants more frequently on weekdays. The restaurant business has healthy profits margins, and Sundays are also profitable because in Norway, the staff are not paid double wages on Sundays.

“The size of the Norwegian restaurant market is 1.8 times bigger than in Finland, even though the populations are roughly the same. The Norwegians are very faithful to their favorite restaurants, which explains the success and longevity of the classic restaurants. On the Norwegian restaurant market, demand is very steady throughout the year, which speaks of an established culture of eating out,” says Helminen.

“Thanks to our skill set combined with our local partners, we are able to improve the turnover and result of Norwegian restaurants. Our professional control model pertaining to operational planning, the renegotiations of supplier contracts, and efficient hour-planning are good examples of ways to improve profitability,” adds Helminen.

NoHo Partners’ restaurants in Norway include the traditional Irish pub The Dubliner, the entertainment venue concept Camping operating in four localities, Kulturhuset and Youngs, which are popular among young people, the Grisen and Colonel Mustard restaurants, as well as the nightclub/cafe Skatten.

Additional information:
Aku Vikström, CEO, NoHo Partners Plc, tel +358 44 011 1989
Juha Helminen, Director of International Operations, NoHo Partners Plc, tel +358 40 535 5560

Photo: Cafe Christiania in Oslo

Distribution:
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www.noho.fi

NoHo Partners Plc is a Finnish group established in 1996, specialising in restaurant services. The company, which was listed on NASDAQ Helsinki in 2013 and became the first Finnish listed restaurant company, has continued to grow strongly throughout its history. The Group companies include some 250 restaurants in Finland, Denmark and Norway. Well-known restaurant concepts of the company include Elite, Savoy, Teatteri, Yes Yes Yes, Stefan’s Steakhouse, Palace, Löyly, Hanko Sushi and Cock’s & Cows. In 2018, NoHo Partners Plc’s turnover was MEUR 323.2 and EBIT MEUR 7.2. Depending on the season, the Group employs approximately 2,100 people converted into full-time workers.

NoHo Partners corporate website: www.noho.fi
NoHo Partners consumer websites: www.ravintola.fi ja www.royalravintolat.fi