the times | Tuesday April 5 2022 2GM 43Business
Fulham Shore, the owner of the restau-
rant chains Franco Manca and The Re-
al Greek, has told shareholders that it
expects full-year results to be ahead of
market expectations.
Shares in the restaurant group rose
by 1p, or 6.45 per cent, to close at 16½p
on the back of the update.
Updating shareholders ahead of
posting its full-year results for the 12
months to the end of March, the
company said that it expected its
earnings to be “comfortably ahead” of
expectations.
David Page, 69, the executive chair-
man of Fulham Shore, said that while
the company was prepared should it
suffer damage from the cost-of-living
crisis hitting its customers, it did not
expect there to be a major impact on
its sales.
“We haven’t seen any fall-off [in
sales] yet but we are prepared,” he said.
“[But] we’ve always said that peopleFulham Shore has positive
outlook despite pressures
trade down and go to lower-priced
restaurants in times of hardship.”
The company said that it had mitigat-
ed rises in the price of raw materials and
transport costs through small increases
in prices.
Its net cash position had vastly im-
proved from 2021 and was £4 million on
March 25 this year, compared with a
net debt of £3.6 million the year before.
UK and international expansion
continued with the opening of ten new
Franco Manca restaurants in the UK
and two in Athens. Nineteen further
Franco Manca restaurants are expect-
ed to open this year.
In 2021 Fulham Shore made a pre-tax
loss of £7.52 million, down from a loss of
£0.8 million in 2020.
The current market expectations,
according to the board, are revenue of
£73.4 million and earnings before inter-
est, taxes, depreciation and amortisa-
tion of £16.5 million this year.
The company will announce its full-
year results at the end of July.Poppy Koronkaas bidders circle
formal process. A source said Sycamore
was a “serious” bidder.
Ted Baker said that its advisers at
Evercore and Blackdown Partners
“intend to conduct a targeted process,
focused on those parties who under-
stand and value the full potential of this
unique brand”. Only bidders that pro-
ceed to a second phase of the process
and agree to signing a non-disclosure
agreement will be given non-public
commercial information about the
company’s finances for due diligence.
Despite speculation three years ago
that Ray Kelvin, the brand’s founder,
could tie up with a private equity firm to
buy back the business after its crash in
value following his exit, it is not known
whether Sycamore or the rival interest
includes any involvement from Kelvin.
While Kelvin stepped back from thecompany in 2019, in the wake of a
“forced hugging” scandal, he reached
an agreement with Ted Baker and since
September 2020 has had a representa-
tive on the board, Colin La Fontaine
Jackson, a solicitor at Clifford Chance.
Ted Baker, founded by Kelvin in 1988
with a shop in Glasgow, has 550 shops
and concessions. Its valuation has
fallen 90 per cent since his exit, profit
warnings and an accounting error.
Rachel Osborne, the chief executive
since March 2020, has been attempting
to turn around the brand by focusing on
full-price sales and cutting costs.
The company reasserted that its
recent sales had grown by 35 per cent
compared with the previous year, while
it had a “strong balance sheet, with a net
cash position and ample liquidity head-
room to continue to grow”.Stock markets across the world
remain volatile following
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Oiland gas prices have been
unpredictable, while British
companies are scrambling tocope with the effects of soaring
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TED BAKER
Ted Baker
received two
offers from the
private equity
firm Sycamore
Partners and
others followed