Groupe Chez Gérard, which also owns the successful Livebait chain, has announced plans to double in size this year with 20 new openings. Last year, the group launched its first sites outside London with both brands enjoying successful openings in Manchester that exceeded company forecasts. On the back of a 17.2 per cent rise in turnover to £19m for the half year to 24 December 2000, the group is stepping up roll out with scheduled openings including Oxford, Cambridge, Leeds, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Bath and Nottingham by Christmas. Chief executive, David Williams, says the Livebait and Chez Gérard brands are well-placed for roll out: Our team has demonstrated its ability to rapidly open an increasing number of new restaurants and to operate these successfully. With our premium brands we are well placed to capitalise on the many opportunities within the fastest growing segment of the UK restaurants market. Pre-tax profits rose 3.9 per cent to £2.1m and like-for-like sales across the two main brands rose 2.5 per cent. Like-for-like sales for Groupe Chez Gérard's unbranded London sites such as Bertorelli's, Scott's and Soho Soho, fell almost 2 per cent. Williams said the company was in a strong position to ride out the current foot and mouth crisis, with a substantial-enough beef supply to provide steaks for another two months.