Zander heralds Bank group's latest move on London scene

BGR, the parent company of London's Bank restaurant, has signed a deal to open another operation in the St James Court hotel.

Zander, which will offer mainly fish dishes, is to open in late spring next year at the Westminster-based hotel, which has capacity for 180 seats plus an 80-seat private dining room.

Chief executive and chairman Tony Allan (pictured right at Billingsgate market) said that there would be another Bank-style restaurant in Manchester while Edinburgh and Birmingham were also being considered.

The group's first brasserie-style restaurant, Fish, is to open in November in London's Borough Market and sites within the M25 have been found to open six more over the next 18 months.

Reporting its first interim results since its flotation on the Alternative Investment Market in March, pre-tax profits from Bank rose by 27% to £602,000 on a turnover of £2.9m for the six months ended 30 April.