A 22-month read-out of the Acton operation, with monthly, quarterly and yearly granularity, plus the scaling question fully modelled.
The Acton Editions kitchen is our pilot for the Deliveroo Editions model. The question on the table: does the unit economics work, and if so, do we open more?
Each year tells a different story. Read them together and the pattern is clear.
The Acton Editions kitchen opened mid-2024 trading through two operating companies — Artisan Street Food Kitchens Acton Limited (ASFL) carrying the Patri family of brands, and Rice Bowl Company Acton Limited (RBC) carrying Rice Bowl, Ruby Murray, Samosawalla. Both billed Deliveroo weekly, simultaneously. By Q4 2025 ASFL had wound down; RBC has been the primary entity ever since.
Three things are immediately obvious from the monthly trend. One: turnover was meaningfully higher in 2024–2025 than in 2026, peaking in the summer of 2024. Two: profitability is not just a function of revenue — the months in 2025 with the highest gross sales also produced the deepest losses, because labour costs were running at 26-33% of Estimated Gross. Three: the late-2025 restructure brought labour back to 19-25%, and 2026 YTD is profitable on a much smaller revenue base.
The unit economics changed twice — once when labour spiked, once when it was cut back.
| Year | Period | Est Gross | TOV | Food | Food % | Salary | Salary % | VAT 12.5% | Op P/L | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 6 mo / 26 wks | £219,003 | £175,203 | £35,041 | 16.0% | £39,000 | 17.8% | £11,204 | £4,387 | 2.0% |
| 2025 | 12 mo / 52 wks | £384,494 | £307,595 | £61,519 | 16.0% | £102,727 | 26.7% | £19,912 | (£24,860) | -6.5% |
| 2026 | 4 mo / 18 wks | £86,631 | £69,305 | £13,861 | 16.0% | £17,262 | 19.9% | £4,811 | £2,555 | 2.9% |
Eight quarters of operating data. The profitable quarters cluster at the start and end. The middle was the labour cost mistake.
| Quarter | Weeks | Est Gross | Food | Food % | Salary | Salary % | VAT | Op P/L | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q3 2024 | 13 | £113,231 | £18,117 | 16.0% | £19,500 | 17.2% | £5,991 | £4,319 | 3.8% |
| Q4 2024 | 13 | £105,772 | £16,923 | 16.0% | £19,500 | 18.4% | £5,213 | £69 | 0.1% |
| Q1 2025 | 13 | £90,504 | £14,481 | 16.0% | £26,282 | 29.0% | £4,412 | (£9,880) | -10.9% |
| Q2 2025 | 13 | £101,538 | £16,246 | 16.0% | £26,000 | 25.6% | £5,292 | (£5,204) | -5.1% |
| Q3 2025 | 13 | £102,318 | £16,371 | 16.0% | £26,363 | 25.8% | £5,147 | (£6,705) | -6.6% |
| Q4 2025 | 13 | £90,133 | £14,421 | 16.0% | £24,082 | 26.7% | £5,062 | (£3,071) | -3.4% |
| Q1 2026 | 13 | £66,134 | £10,581 | 16.0% | £13,400 | 20.3% | £3,946 | £3,640 | 5.5% |
| Q2 2026 | 5 | £20,497 | £3,280 | 16.0% | £3,862 | 18.8% | £865 | (£1,085) | -5.3% |
Based on 2026 YTD post-restructure run-rate, annualised. The cleanest view of the unit.
The takeaway: on every £100 of sticker price, the customer pays £80 after marketer discount, Deliveroo keeps roughly £36 of that £80, and we receive about £44 to the bank. From that £44, food eats £16, labour eats £18, VAT eats £5 — leaving about £4-5 of operating profit per £100. It's a thin-margin business by design, but at the right labour cost, it works.
Eight scenarios, modelled. The honest answer depends on two variables: the Deliveroo rent negotiation, and our ability to hold the labour discipline.
| # Kitchens | Rent Waived | Revenue Growth | Annual Revenue / Kitchen | Annual P/L / Kitchen | Total Revenue | Total Annual P/L | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | — | Flat | £250,267 | £7,381 | £250,267 | £7,381 | 2.9% |
| 1 | ✓ Yes | Flat | £250,267 | £29,437 | £250,267 | £29,437 | 11.8% |
| 5 | — | Flat | £250,267 | £7,381 | £1,251,334 | £36,903 | 2.9% |
| 5 | ✓ Yes | Flat | £250,267 | £29,437 | £1,251,334 | £147,183 | 11.8% |
| 5 | ✓ Yes | +20% | £300,320 | £30,913 | £1,501,601 | £154,564 | 10.3% |
| 10 | — | Flat | £250,267 | £7,381 | £2,502,669 | £73,807 | 2.9% |
| 10 | ✓ Yes | Flat | £250,267 | £29,437 | £2,502,669 | £294,367 | 11.8% |
| 10 | ✓ Yes | +20% | £300,320 | £30,913 | £3,003,202 | £309,128 | 10.3% |
Same site, same demographic, same Editions platform — Dishoom does 8× our current weekly volume — but only 4× our previous peak. The gap is closer than it looks.
The gap to Dishoom isn't a marketing problem. It's a structural one: focused brand, iconic SKUs, premium pricing, clean bundle ladder. Dishoom runs ONE brand with 4 hero items driving 50% of revenue and bundles anchored at three clean price points (£24.95 / £45 / £85). We run 8 brands with hundreds of items and 7 overlapping bundle prices.
Closing even half this gap on one new kitchen would change the entire portfolio economics. The case for opening more kitchens lives or dies on the willingness to consolidate behind Patri Artisan as the lead brand and treat new kitchens as Patri-only launches, not eight-brand rollouts.
Stage 1 — Now to Q3 2026 (Stabilise): Hold the 2026 cost stack discipline. Keep labour at 20-23% of Est Gross. Maintain 4-5% post-VAT margin. Use the 2026 YTD profitable trajectory as proof in the Deliveroo negotiation.
Stage 2 — Q3-Q4 2026 (Negotiate): Take the Deliveroo Account Manager through Reports 1 & 2 in the master workbook. Ask for: 12-month licence fee waiver, commission reduction from 28.8% to 20%, £5k ad credit, £7 OFF £7+ always-on inclusion. Commitment in return: 15% YoY GMV growth, AOV £35+, Plus member share 55%+, 2-brand focus.
Stage 3 — 2027 (Test Scale): If Deliveroo concedes on rent, open Kitchen #2 in a comparable demographic (suggest Camden or Hammersmith). Launch with 2 brands only (Patri Artisan + Rice Bowl). Hold cost discipline from day one. Review at month 9 — go or no-go on Kitchens 3-5.
The trigger to NOT scale: If Deliveroo refuses any rent concession AND we cannot show 4 consecutive quarters of positive operating margin, exit the model. Don't multiply a loss-making structure.
The theoretical model (Food 25% / Staff 30% of Gross) implied this operation was structurally broken — a £59k loss across 22 months. The actuals tell us the operation lost £18k post-VAT, driven mostly by a single bad year. The unit isn't broken. It needs labour discipline and a Deliveroo rent concession, both of which are within reach.
For a multi-site decision, this matters enormously. Scaling a broken unit destroys capital. Scaling a thin-margin-but-working unit, with one well-defined unlock (the rent waiver), is a calculated bet. The recommendation reflects that distinction.