Shares in Fulham Shore (FUL:AIM) firmed 2.5% to 16.4p early on after the Franco Manca-to-The Real Greek restaurant owner said current year trading is tracking ahead of management expectations. Strong performances were seen across its suburban restaurant estate.

Encouragingly, all of The Fulham Shore’s 74 restaurants are now ‘fully open and trading’, supported by extra safety precautions and training for staff across both its restaurant brands.

The Fulham Shore reported a widening of pre-tax losses from £800,000 to £7.5 million for the year to March 2021, which left the shares trading 1.6% lower at 15.75p by mid-morning.

Yet this was actually a creditable result considering the impact of pandemic-driven periods of enforced restaurant closures, which sent sales slumping 41.3% to £40.3 million during the most testing year for the industry in living memory.

BIGGER SLICE OF THE MARKET

From the start of the new financial year on 29 March 2021, The Fulham Shore has continued to trade profitably, with all 74 restaurants opened by 7 June.

Since restrictions were partially lifted to allow limited outdoor dining on 12 April, the company’s customer numbers have been increasing in line with the successful roll-out of vaccines.

Total group sales for the eight weeks from 21 June 2021 to 15 August 2021 averaged over £1.5 million per week. This performance represented an increase of over 8% in revenues compared to the equivalent period in pre-pandemic 2019.

‘When our restaurants reopened more fully for dine in customers, our delivery and takeaway sales continued to exceed 2019 levels showing, we believe, that we have gained permanent new customers through both these important channels,’ said the company.

TASTY MOMENTUM

‘During an unprecedented year, we are pleased to have navigated through the very challenging trading conditions to deliver this good performance,’ commented executive chairman David Page.

‘This is testament to the popularity and relevance of our Franco Manca and The Real Greek brands, the adaptability of our propositions, and the agility of our teams’, he added.

‘From July 2021 all restaurants have been open and operating without restrictions, welcoming increasing numbers of customers as the UK's vaccination programme progresses. Momentum has also been maintained across our take away and delivery channels, which continue to outperform 2019 levels.’

READ MORE ON THE FULHAM SHORE HERE

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Issue Date: 17 Aug 2021