Christmas parties help Tiger Tiger to boom

Christmas revellers and office partiers helped the owner of the Tiger Tiger bar chain to a boom in sales.

Novus Leisure, the privately owned bar and restaurant operator - it also has Babble, Jewel and the Zoo Bar in Leicester Square - enjoyed a near 8% surge in revenues in December and late November.

Chief executive Steve Richards says this is a clear sign that the London economy is on the up. City boys splashed out in anticipation of bonuses and advertising agencies in the West End did the same. "The key driver for the London market is corporate parties and events where there was a huge surge in bookings," says Richards. "The London economy is strong - there's lots of evidence."

Novus has been around for 10 years and has 38 venues.

It wants to expand to 100, at which point a sale or a float is likely. At the moment Barclays Ventures and Royal Bank of Scotland are the backers and management own 22.5% of the equity.

Novus is focused on the mid-twenties to mid-thirties white-collar drinker. "London is our heartland. It's a compelling market if you know what you are doing," says Richards.