Japanese-owned Seagrass posts profit turnaround as cost relief offsets revenue dip
Steakhouse group Seagrass Boutique Hospitality has returned to stronger profitability over the nine months to March 31, as a debt-relief deal struck with new Japanese owner Colowide flowed through to the bottom line despite soft consumer spending across the sector.
Financial accounts lodged with the corporate regulator show the operator of Meat & Wine Co posted a net profit of $16.4 million for the period, a substantial improvement on the $2.9 million recorded across the full 2024–25 financial year to June 29.
The result marks the first reporting period since Colowide, a major Japanese food services operator, completed its acquisition of Seagrass in May last year. As part of that transaction, Colowide agreed to eliminate Seagrass' net debt through a capital injection — a move that has materially reduced the group's finance costs and underpinned the improved profit outcome, even as cost of sales rose on a pro rata basis against the prior year.
Seagrass has also realigned its financial year to end on March 31, bringing its reporting calendar into step with its new parent company.
Revenue for the nine-month period came in at just under $181 million, trailing the $211 million reported for the full prior financial year. There is still one further quarter of trading to be added before a like-for-like comparison can be made.
The update comes against a backdrop of sustained cost-of-living pressure across Australian hospitality, with conditions tightening further this year on the back of fuel price spikes tied to conflict in the Middle East. The premium dining segment has not been immune: Sydney fine-diner Quay shut its doors earlier this year after more than 20 years of trade, one of several high-profile closures in the top end of the market.
Seagrass was founded in 2011 by South African steak restaurateur Bradley Michael and currently operates 22 restaurants. Its flagship Meat & Wine Co banner accounts for 14 of those venues and roughly 60 per cent of group revenue.
The portfolio also includes six Hunter & Barrel restaurants across Australia and the UAE, plus two 6Head locations in Sydney and Perth.
Private equity company Crescent Capital, which held a 10 per cent stake in Seagrass along with the bulk of its debt in what was its first major restaurant investment, had explored a sale of the business in early 2025 ahead of the Colowide deal.
Seagrass has steadily narrowed its footprint to focus on premium dining, exiting the UK market in 2023 and divesting non-core assets including the ANZ franchise rights to Five Guys and the Italian Street Kitchen business.
Colowide, headquartered in Yokohama, runs a global restaurant network of around 400 venues across North America and Asia, with brands in its stable including Wolfgang Puck steakhouses and yakiniku chain Gyu-Kaku.
Jonathan Jackon, 22nd June 2026
