Barracuda figures looking good

January 31, 2007: Turnover at the Barracuda pub group rose 19% to £127.1 million in the year to September 30, 2006.

Ebtida (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, or, as Wikipedia would have it, "earnings before all the bad stuff") rose 16% to £33.1 million.

Barracuda Group Limited was formed in July 2000 by a management team led by Mark McQuater to target niche segments of the pub and bar market.

It operates four clearly defined niche brands — Smith and Jones, Varsity, Barracuda Bar and Juniper Inns.

The company is now backed by the private equity firm Charterhouse Capital Partners and was the subject of a £262 million secondary management buyout in June 2005.

Mr McQuater said: "The business continues to drive forward as customers appreciate the distinctive and quality brands we have developed. We believe this is one of the strongest set of managed pub brands in the UK."