Franco Manca owner says restaurants in office locations struggling to return to pre-Covid trade
The owner of pizza chain Franco Manca has said its restaurants situated nearby office hubs “still have a way to go” with returning to pre-pandemic levels.
However, Fulham Shore said that its small number of restaurants situated in worker hotspots were “showing continued improvement” as demand recovers after Covid lockdowns.
Footfall was down 15 per cent on 2019 levels around six months ago and now stands at around minus two per cent, the operator’s chairman David Page told CityA.M.
The hospitality operator, which also owns The Real Greek brand, said it had seen diners flock back to the West End, as well as many other cities across the country.
Like many of its high street rivals, the operator said it had sought to mitigate headwinds by “some” hiking of menu prices for consumers.
Fulham Shore said it had also achieved “successful negotiations on rent reviews” and was mitigating cost pressures through “strong trading” across restaurants “located in suburban areas and shopping centres.”
The group expanded its portfolio by 10 new sites in the year ended 27 March 2022, it said in a trading update on Wednesday, including a Franco Manca in Kingston upon Thames.
Some 11 new restaurants are set to open in the first half of the financial year to March 2023, with two additional venues already contracted.
It comes as the group hopes to hit a target of 18 sites this year, with Fulham Shore “targeting prime new locations benefitting from historically low rental levels, the likes of which have not been seen for many years.”
While the chain had been largely unaffected by inflated food costs, its Greek restaurant brand had been forced to drop lamb chops from its menu after farmers were having difficulty with higher transportation costs, Page told CityA.M.
Although the company had seen utility costs double in some cases, price increases of up to six per cent over the past two years had protected the firm from headwinds, Page added.
Fulham Shore ‘s share price was up 3.7 per cent on Wednesday afternoon.