Sales growth back on menu for Restaurant Group after hard time

Garfunkels and Frankie & Benny's owner The Restaurant Group yesterday said it had halted a slide in sales after a hit from the volcanic ash crisis and slower trade during the World Cup.

The firm – which owns more than 40 restaurants in airports – was impacted by the air travel woes in the first six months of its year, while the World Cup added to pressure on the rest of its estate.

Interim like-for-like sales fell 0.5 per cent, but it said it had seen more resilient recent trading since then, with like-for-like sales flat in the 35 weeks of the year so far.

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Cost cutting helped the group deliver a 13 per cent hike in underlying pre-tax profits to 24.6m in the 27 weeks to July 4, or up 10 per cent on a 26-week comparable basis.

This came despite the troubles at its airport eateries, where sales plummeted by around 90 per cent over the week-long ash cloud crisis, knocking more than 500,000 off earnings. Its Frankie & Benny's and Chiquito businesses were then impacted by weaker trade during the World Cup.

This left interim earnings below a year earlier at Chiquito, although Frankie & Benny's grew sales and earnings in a "creditable" performance.

The Restaurant Group, which also owns the Brunning & Price pub restaurant chain, said it had maintained its programme of restaurant openings, with eight new outlets launched in the half-year and a further four since then.

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It also aims to open another 20 to 25 by the end of its financial year.

The group is already eyeing a handful of new sites next year for the Garfunkel's business, which performed "superbly" in the half-year thanks to significant growth in revenues and profits.

The Restaurant Group's shares closed up 15.8p at 258.8p, a rise of 6.5 per cent.