Fulham Shore trades 'well' during April and May

8th Jun 2022 09:25

(Sharecast News) - Franco Manca parent company Fulham Shore said on Wednesday that it has continued to trade "well" and in line with management expectations during both April and May.

Fulham Shore stated that tourists seem to have returned to London's West End and much of the rest of the UK but noted that a "small number" of Franco Manca and Real Greek restaurants located in areas with a high proportion of offices still had "a way to go" before returning to pre-pandemic levels.

The AIM-listed group added that industry-wide cost pressures had been mitigated by some menu inflation, successful negotiations on rent reviews, and strong trading across the group's restaurants in suburban areas and shopping centres.

Fulham Shore also noted that its net cash position before lease liabilities recognised under IFRS 16 was £3.6m as of 6 June and said it had undrawn bank facilities of £15.9m, providing it with "substantial financial headroom" of over £19.0mm.

"Trading has rebounded positively from the various Covid-19 interruptions and new openings in both of the businesses are performing strongly," said the group.

"Our customer numbers continue to grow and we have an expansion programme targeting prime new locations benefitting from historically low rental levels, the likes of which have not been seen for many years."

As of 0925 BST, Fulham Shore shares were up 5.26% at 15.0p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com