Tragus Group, owner of casual dining restaurants Café Rouge and Bella Italia chains, has reported a strong year of growth for the 12 months to May 2008 with a 56 per cent increase in pre-tax earnings.

The group, owned by US private equity firm Blackstone, saw its EBITDA increase to £44m from £28.2m in 2007.

Graham Turner, Tragus chief executive officer, said: "This has been a year of ongoing growth for our group, despite a more difficult economic backdrop and pressure on input costs."

The group attributes it success partly to managing the pressures of inflationary costs by re-tendering contracts and modifying its menus.

Total turnover during the period grew by 66.7 per cent to £247.8m, which the company attributes to the acquisition of Strada and Belgo restaurant groups for £140m at the end of May 2007, as well as the growth of its other brand's portfolios.

Since the acquisition, it has increased the number of Strada restaurants from 55 to 70. In total, the group opened 36 new restaurants in the 12 months to 25 May 2008, which included 13 Café Rouge and six Bella Italia restaurants in the UK. These included eight restaurants in Center Parc across four of their UK sites on a concession basis.

Turner added: "We are pleased to be working with both (airport operator) BAA and Center Parcs to enhance our portfolio and are looking forward to further growth through all three key brands, while focusing on growing Strada and Café Rouge in the UK. "

The group has a 20-strong pipeline of restaurants for 2009/2010 openings including a Café Rouge in Gatwick Airport and Liverpool and a Strada in Manchester, Leeds and Stratford.