Franco Manca and The Real Greek owner blames home workers for fall into the red despite sales rising to £100m
The owner of the Franco Manca and The Real Greek restaurant chains slipped to a loss despite its revenue surging to almost £100m, it has been revealed.
The Fulham Shore has published its accounts for the year to March 26, 2023, six months after the deadline set by Companies House.
The newly-filed results show the group’s revenue increased from £82.7m to £99.8m in the 12 months but it went from making a pre-tax profit of £3.8m to a loss of £4.8m over the same period.
The Fulham Shore’s accounts for its most recent financial year are not due to be filed with Companies House until the end of 2024.
Increase in working from home hits The Fulham Shore
On its current trading and outlook, the group said: “The return to overseas tourists continues to benefit our West End of London sites.
“The disparity between suburban and regional towns and city centre locations has continued with a three or four day office working week being now the norm. This has affected our office locations commensurately.
“Franco Manca has continued to trade well but The Real Greek had a disappointing summer due to the prolonged low temperatures and heavy rainfall limiting the availability of our external terraces.”
Franco Manca and The Real Greek in the red
The results come after City A.M reported in April that sourdough pizza restaurants chain Franco Manca had slipped into the red despite its turnover rising after opening 13 new sites across the UK.
The London-headquartered brand made a pre-tax loss of £413,000 for the year to March 26, 2023, having posted a profit of £4.3m in the prior 12 months.
However, the results also showed that Franco Manca’s turnover increased over the same period from £53.3m to £64.5m.
During the year, Franco Manca opened 13 restaurants and closed two of its sites – taking the total number of locations it operates to 70.
As a result of its expansion, the average number of people Franco Manca employed during the year surged from 1,086 to 1,407.
Also published separately, accounts for The Real Greek showed the chain’s turnover increased from £29.4m to £35.9m in the year to March 26, 2023, while it went from making a pre-tax profit of £3.6m to a loss of £394,000.
In July 2023, The Fulham Shore was acquired by Japanese food conglomerate Toridoll for £93.4m.