Restaurant group Various Eateries has said it is considering merger and acquisition deals to help drive further growth after revealing stronger profits.

Shares in the group, which runs 20 venues across the Coppa Club and Noci brands, moved higher on Monday morning.

Boss Mark Loughborough said the group is looking to continue its recent “real momentum” as it reported strong Christmas trading.

The company said this could include snapping up other hospitality businesses to drive growth.

Mr Loughborough said: “Our goal is to build a bigger, better hospitality group by scaling our brands with discipline, investing selectively in the estate and, alongside organic growth, actively assessing high-quality, complementary M&A opportunities where the strategic fit is clear and the quality and returns stack up.”

Various Eateries reported that trading in recent months has been “encouraging” despite a “challenging” wider hospitality market.

It was boosted by “particularly strong” sales over the five-week festive period to January 4, which saw group like-for-like sales rise by 9% on the back of growth at Coppa Club.

The business is “progressing” with a pipeline of potential new sites, with plans to focus its expansion plans on the Coppa Club brand.

It came as the group reported that revenues jumped by 6% to £52.4 million in the year to September 2025, with 2% like-for-like group supported by openings.

Mr Loughborough, chief executive of the group, said: “Full-year 2025 was a clear step forward for Various Eateries, where we turned intent into delivery.

“We tightened execution across the estate, strengthened the team and embedded a more disciplined, consistent way of operating, giving us a stronger platform to build from.

“The return to like-for-like growth and record adjusted EBITDA is the result, and a huge credit to our teams given the challenging consumer backdrop and ongoing cost pressures across the sector.”

Shares lifted by 11.4% on Monday morning.