LONDON, November 19 /PRNewswire/ -- toptable, Europe's No 1 online dining
community and online restaurant reservation service, reported a 187% increase
in pre-tax profit, demonstrating its value to both restaurants and diners
even in the face of the recessionary environment facing the leisure sector.
For the year to June 2009, the company (including its toptable.com and
city-eating.com brands) generated record earnings before tax, of GBP1,268k,
up from GBP442k in 2008, on total sales up 20% year on year and seated diners
generating an estimated GBP120M of Total Transaction Value to the restaurant
industry.
toptable CEO Karen Hanton attributes the company's extremely strong
results to its unique value proposition, increased brand recognition and
customer loyalty, strong growth in its user base, enhanced on-site content
and user experience, and the introduction of a new technology platform which
is enabling further scalability both domestically and internationally.
"In light of incredibly tough market conditions, we are delighted to have
been able to continue with our ambitious expansion plans delivering
profitable growth," said CEO Karen Hanton.
The company's reported profit is net of a significant investment in its
international expansion. A French language version of toptable was launched
in September 2009 and will be followed shortly by German, Spanish and Italian
sites to complement the English language site. The company's 'core'
profitability - driven by its UK market presence - exceeded its reported
results by the amount invested in the international build-out.
The financial results, audited by KPMG, show that the group continues to
deliver robust top line growth and solid profits despite challenging market
conditions.
The group's performance has been rewarded with much public recognition.
Most recently, toptable was named in the prestigious Sunday Times Microsoft
Tech Track 100, the National Business Awards and, for the fifth consecutive
year, the Media Momentum Awards, recognising the fastest-growing technology
companies in the UK. Karen Hanton was also recognised in the Telegraph's 50
most influential Britons in technology published in September 2009.
Notes to Editors:
The toptable group which incorporates city-eating, a network of 61 global
food websites, features 20,000 restaurants in 14 countries and receives 3
million monthly visitors (Omniture). Shareholders include legendary football
manager Sir Alex Ferguson and celebrity chef Gary Rhodes.
http://www.toptable.com
For further information on the Sunday Times Microsoft Tech Track 100
league table: <http://www.fasttrack.co.uk/fasttrack2002/press/Tech09-Nat.pdf>
SOURCE toptable
