Restaurant operator, Fulham Shore has reported that its recent sales performance is very encouraging despite the restaurants having restricted capacity due to social distancing.
Seventy-one out of the group's 73 restaurants - 53 of 54 Franco Manca and 18 of 19 The Real Greek - are now open across the UK for dining indoors, in compliance with government guidelines for group sizes and social distancing, as well as continuing to offer takeaway/click & collect and delivery services.
Since the start of the current financial year beginning 29 March 2021, it has opened a Franco Manca on High Holborn in London (18 May, pictured) and soft launched Franco Manca on Mitchell Street in Glasgow on Saturday (full launch next week).
Group revenues in the first full week since reopening for indoor dining, being 17 to 23 May 2021 inclusive, were circa 103% of the Group revenues recorded in the similar week in calendar year 2019 (the company had 61 restaurants open at that time) and 92% on a like-for-like basis for the same time frame.
Franco Manca's loyalty scheme user numbers have doubled since the beginning of the first lockdown, in March 2020, to over 220,000 today.
The company stated, 'As a result of this trading performance, the Group continues to plan the opening pipeline for the next three years. Our property team is travelling around the UK looking for new properties and we have a number of sites that are currently in legal negotiations.
'We look forward to fully opening our remaining two restaurants (in the Covent Garden area of London) at the beginning of June and welcoming enthusiastic customers on their return, both to our existing locations and the restaurants we will open in the future.'