Motorway service station operator Roadchef has returned to the black after its revenue surged during its latest financial year, it has been revealed.
The Staffordshire-headquartered company has reported a pre-tax profit of £13.4m for 2023, according to newly-filed documents with Companies House.
That figure comes after Roadchef posted a pre-tax loss of £6.6m in the prior year.
Roadchef, which operates a 30-stong network of motorway service stations, also saw its revenue increase from £219m to £256m in the 12 months.
A statement statement signed off by the board said: “The directors are satisfied with [the] result for the year, which incorporated significantly higher utility costs in the year as a result of increases in wholesale energy prices.”
Roadchef creates jobs as sales rise
Roadchef’s revenue from the sale of goods increased from £178m to £204.1m in the year and from the provision of services grew from £31.3m to £39.5m.
Rental income also rose from £9.7m to £12.4m over the same period.
The average number of people employed by Roadchef in the year increased from 3,523 to 3,936.
Since 2022, Roadchef has been owned by a fund managed by Macquarie Asset Management.
Macquarie has operated in the UK since 1989 and is headquartered in Australia.
The results come after rival Moto upped its prices to help battle the rise in costs during its latest financial year as its owners weigh up putting the company up for sale for £2bn.
The Bedfordshire-headquartered business, which operates 69 sites at 52 locations across the country, has reported a turnover of £1.067bn for the year to December 27, 2023, up from £1.058bn.
According to recently-filed accounts with Companies House, Moto’s pre-tax profit dipped from £38.1m to £36.5m over the same period.
CVC Capital Partners and the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), which have jointly owned Moto since 2015, received interim dividends of £24.8m and £34.8m in May and December 2023 after £46m was paid in 2022.