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Vagabond thanks fondue for festive sales boost

After a challenging start to 2024, wine bar chain Vagabond has revealed that it capped the year off strongly, selling more than 1,000 fondues each week in December alone.

Having appointed an administrator in March 2024, citing “legacy Covid debts”, “the loss of the company’s highly successful Heathrow venue due to the reconfiguration of airport security” and other headwinds, Vagabond’s nine remaining bars were snapped up by specialist wine retailer Majestic in April.

It would seem that Majestic’s investment is paying off.

In the six weeks to 23 December, like-for-like sales were up by 16.3%, with all locations in London and Birmingham reporting sales growth.

Food sales also boomed, increasing by 26.2% during this period year-on-year. In particular, the popularity of Vagabond’s fondue has been singled out, with the company claiming that more than 1,000 were sold across the nine bars each week in December.

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Costing £20 a head in London and £18 in Birmingham, the molten pot of Swiss cheese came with options extras such as pigs in blankets (£8) and roasted mushrooms (£5), as well as a glass of Prosecco (£7 in London, £6.50 in Birmingham) or English sparkling wine (£12 in London, £10 in Birmingham).

Battersea bar plans

The company seeks to capitalise on this momentum with a refurbishment of its Battersea Power Station bar, due to reopen at the end of the February.

Part of the plan is to move the bar’s ‘Urban Winery’ to a new location in London, freeing up space in the Battersea bar to increase the number of covers from 112 to 156.

“This is a significant investment in one of our most popular bars, underlining the confidence that we and our owners Majestic have in the future of experiential hospitality venues,” commented Vagabond managing director Christobell Giles, who was promoted from the role of operations director in November.

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