Boparan Restaurant Group is lining up nine new Slim Chickens sites in 2024, according to CEO Satnam Leihal.
While those sites will be company-owned, a further six franchise sites are also set to open this year under the fried chicken fast-casual brand.
The first of these will open in Portsmouth in January, with the remainder still in legals.
The group will also open a new Cinnamon Kitchen in Richmond in April, which will be the fifth under the collection.
Internationally, BRG has a build a pipeline of 17 forthcoming openings, with Carluccio’s and Giraffe opening in airports.
The group is also set to sign a new franchise agreement to expand Slim Chickens in Europe.
The update came after the Ranjit Boparan-backed restaurant group reported turnover of £144.5m for 2022 (2021: £110.3m).
The business reported improved trading conditions coming out of Covid-19, but said the consumer climate had been hindered by the current cost of living crisis.
Leihal told MCA more recent trading had been excellent.
“Q4 was very strong, we had double digit like-for-like growth – all volume driven, not price.
“As a business, we’re growing double digit vs last year, and we haven’t taken price.
“We’ve tried to drive sales, that’s what we’re focused on.”
