A splash of colour and an injection of fun might be just the solution to escape the current grim times and a growing number of people are finding this antidote in a visit to Latin American restaurant concept Las Iguanas.

The South American cuisine – that includes fajitas and Brazilian lime chicken – combined with Cachaça cocktails, Latin rhythms and the rich colour palette used to decorate the restaurants have made Las Iguanas attractive to diners and landlords alike.

From the first high street branch in Bristol in 1991, the company has slowly added units to take its portfolio to 21 sites, which in recent years has included a growing number of shopping centre outlets.

Ajith Jaya-Wickrema, co-founder of Las Iguanas, says: “Traditionally we were on the high street but three years ago we decided to expand into regional shopping centres that attract good footfalls. Because we are biased towards evening business [which accounts for 78 per cent of revenues] the late-opening Trafford Centre was chosen as our first centre.”

He says the ideal centres for the brand are those that are nightlife destinations and have other eating-out tenants alongside cinemas and nightclubs. What helps this is the location of the centre: “It has to interact with the city and not be a separate entity. Customers need to have access to it at all hours. If the centre is out-of-town with no heart or connectivity then it would not make much sense to us. That’s our thinking.”

This mentality led to the company selecting Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth Harbour as the location for its second shopping centre restaurant at 18 months ago. This was then followed by Lakeside a year ago and more recently Liverpool One.

The restaurants at each of these locations have around 130 covers and include a bar area, which proves attractive to people looking for an after-work drink, and open kitchens that add a little theatre.

As for further outlets, Jaya-Wickrema says well-trading locations such as the Oracle in Reading may well be on the shopping list. If so, then it would play its part in helping the company achieve its objective of doubling in size.

Although he says “in the current climate we’ll expand slowly” Jaya-Wickrema believes the concept has the strength and differentiation to trade through the current tough period. Proof of this is its December sales figures that were three per cent up on last year.

“We’re an interesting brand for the recession. If you cut back on spending and you have to eat out less then where do you spend your money? We’ve Latin music, interesting food and then there’s the atmosphere, so people will think they get a bit more of the ‘value experience’ with us,” he suggests.

The atmosphere is crucial to the experience at Las Iguanas and the music plays a big role in this, according to Jaya-Wickrema, who suggests that while it might not be that important at lunchtime, for the evening diners it is very much more part of the total package.

He states that the company would not open in a centre where it was not possible to play music at an “audible” volume. At the Trafford Centre where the restaurant is open-format and located in the development’s Great Hall, the Las Iguanas management had to have discussions with the landlords about the music policy.

Agreements have clearly been reached with the centres where the company now has restaurants, but Jaya-Wickrema still believes that shopping centres have drifted into adding leisure elements to their developments without fully understanding the world of hospitality. This is despite the fact that as much as 20 per cent of rental incomes at many centres are now derived from catering businesses.

“They understand opening at 9am and closing at 8pm and receiving stock deliveries once a day but they don’t understand it if you add piazzas and alcohol into the mix. They’ve been run by people who are not from hospitality,” he argues.

Jaya-Wickrema believes this misunderstanding manifests itself in the creation of environments that are far too “clinical” because increasing dwell time is seen as simply a driver of too much “hanging around” rather than shopping and spending. In his view, the appointment of catering liaison officers at many centres would probably help the situation.

Despite these reservations he remains positive about the part shopping centres will play in the future of Las Iguanas and suggests that each new restaurant will be opened on the basis of “the right deal at the right venue” – and if its Latin beats can be played at sufficient volume.