REG - Tortilla Mexcn.Grill - Trading Statement

Tortilla Mexican GrillAnnouncement

06/08/2025 08:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
https://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20250806:nRSF1979Ua&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 1979U  Tortilla Mexican Grill PLC  06 August 2025

 

Tortilla Mexican Grill plc

("Tortilla", the "Group" or the "Company")
H1 2025 Trading Update

UK & UAE trading in line with expectations; France conversion project
underway

6 August 2025

Tortilla Mexican Grill PLC ("Tortilla" or the "Group"), the largest and most
successful fast-casual Mexican restaurant group in Europe, provides a Trading
Update for the half year ended 29 June 2025 ("H1 2025", or "the Period").

 

Highlights

 ·         Revenue for H1 2025 was £35.4m, up £3.9m on H1 2024, with UK like-for-like
           ("LFL") growth of +5.0%.
 ·         UK LFL revenue growth was +5.9% for Q1 and +4.2% for Q2.  The industry
           benchmark, CGA Coffer, reported LFL revenue declines of (2.5%) and (3.4%)
           respectively.
 ·         The franchise network is performing strongly:

           ·    H1 LFL revenue growth was +12.8% for the UK and +16.8% for the UAE.

           ·    Weekly sales records were achieved in 13 locations across these
           markets.
 ·         Self-ordering kiosks continue to be rolled out at pace with 32 locations now
           live as part of the Group's ongoing strategic commitment to investing in
           technology.
 ·         In France, contractors are now on site in the planned refurbishment locations
           and we expect the majority of sites to have been transformed to Tortilla by
           the end of year.
 ·         Adjusted EBITDA (pre-IFRS) 1  (#_ftn1) was £1.2m. The UK business generated a
           gain of £2.4m, 33% higher than last year (H1 2024: £1.8m) whilst the French
           business contributed a loss of (£1.2m) in the period, as we continue to
           invest for long-term growth and brand building across the continent.
 ·         Group net debt (pre-IFRS 16) of £9.8m at Period end, with year-end Group net
           debt expected to be in-line with market expectations. Debt facilities were
           successfully refinanced with Santander, to support the Group with the next
           phase of growth.

Outlook

The Group has delivered a robust trading performance through the first half of
the year, with strong momentum continuing into H2. Recent trading has
reflected a positive customer response to our summer menu initiatives and
select promotion activity, which is pleasing against what continues to be a
challenging wider market back-drop. The Board expects the Group's FY 2025
results to be in line with market expectations.

Andy Naylor, CEO at Tortilla commented:

"I'm pleased to report that Tortilla has delivered a strong first half,
continuing the positive momentum across the business. Our UK operations are
outperforming the wider sector and our LFL sales remained resilient through
the spring and early summer, despite the impact of unusually hot weather.

 

Our strategic initiatives to enhance the food offer and sharpen brand identity
are clearly resonating with customers. The recent launch of our summer menu,
featuring salads and protein pots, has been particularly well received and
have supported UK LFL growth of around 10% in July.

 

Our franchise estate is also trading well, and we continue to expand our
footprint with new openings across the UK. We're especially excited to open
our first site in Abu Dhabi in early August.

 

The conversion project in France is now underway, marking the first step in
our pan-European growth strategy. We're excited to introduce the Tortilla
brand to this new market as we expand our presence across the continent."

 

ENQUIRIES:

 

 Tortilla Mexican Grill PLC                                    Via Eggmedia
 Andy Naylor, Chief Executive Officer
 Josie Whelan, Interim Chief Financial Officer

 Panmure Liberum Limited (Nominated Adviser, Sole Broker)      Tel: 020 3100 2222
 Andrew Godber
 Edward Thomas
 Nikhil Varghese

 Eggmedia Ltd (Public Relations)                               Tel: 07710 571452
 Ian Edmondson                                                   egg@eggmediapr.com
 Ross Gow                                                        ian@eggmediapr.com

 

About Tortilla Mexican Grill plc

 

Founded in 2007 by a San Francisco duo, Tortilla is Europe's largest
fast-casual Mexican restaurant brand. With 81 UK locations (of which 14 are
franchise stores), 24 in France (of which 11 are franchise stores) and 12
franchise stores in the Middle East, Tortilla serves 7 million+ meals
annually, offering authentic California-style burritos, tacos and salads.

 

Through the acquisition of Chilango in the UK in 2022 and Fresh Burritos in
France in 2024, as well as franchise partnerships with SSP Group plc, Compass
UK & Ireland and Eathos, the brand continues to expand globally.

Tortilla breaks the mold of typical takeaways, combining quick service with
quality ingredients to serve affordable, made-to-order meals in under 90
seconds, in cosy environments fitting for lunch or dinner and a beer with
friends. The menu is fully customisable - there are thousands of flavour
combinations to try - with produce that's fresh, never frozen, 70% plant-based
and vegan-friendly, higher welfare meats and free from artificial flavours or
preservatives.

Emphasising sustainability, Tortilla only uses recycled and recyclable
packaging, 100% renewable electricity and sends zero waste to landfill.

Headquartered in London and listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: MEX),
Tortilla employs over 1,200 people.

More details at tortillagroup.co.uk

 1  (#_ftnref1) Adjusted EBITDA defined as statutory operating profit before
interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (before application of IFRS 16
and excluding exceptional costs) and reflects the underlying trade of the
Group.

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  TSTDZGGRVVVGKZG