Sales beat expectations at Franco Manca owner after virus curbs ease
Shares in The Fulham Shore, which also owns the Real Greek restaurant brand, increased on Monday.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The owner of pizza chain Franco Manca has said strong customer numbers since the easing of pandemic restrictions have helped drive it to better-than-expected sales and earnings.
Shares in The Fulham Shore, which also owns the Real Greek restaurant brand, increased on Monday.
The company said positive momentum and new openings mean revenues jumped back to around pre-pandemic levels.
Bosses therefore expect that revenues and earnings before tax “will be ahead of last year’s figures and comfortably ahead of market expectations” for the year to March 27.
The group also made excellent progress against its UK expansion plans by opening 10 new restaurants
Fulham Shore said it expects revenues of about £73.4 million for the year, and earnings of £16.5 million.
The group added that it witnessed cost increases throughout the year across transport and raw materials due to the impact of pandemic disruption.
It said it has therefore made “small price increases” to help offset this inflationary pressure.
Fulham Shore said the opening of a raft of new restaurants, taking it to 82 sites across both brands, has helped drive growth.
“The group also made excellent progress against its UK expansion plans by opening 10 new restaurants, including Franco Manca pizzeria in Blackheath and Baker Street in London, and sites in Bishop’s Stortford and Cheltenham,” it said.
“The Real Greek opened three new restaurants in Bluewater, Kent, Corn Exchange, Manchester and The Trafford Centre, Manchester, all of which opened in the second half, were received very well by customers and have enjoyed strong trading momentum since opening.”
The company also said it plans to open 18 more restaurants across Franco Manca and The Real Greek by the end of the current financial year.