Wagamama saw like-for-like sales rise 10% in the 52 weeks to 26 April and promised more openings in “key locations” and a programme of customer innovation for the coming year.
The company grew turnover by 17.9% to £193.3m (FY 2014: £164m) and improved underlying EBITDA by 19.8%, resulting in an adjusted EBITDA of £30.3m.
It said the strong results came amidst “an extensive UK-wide expansion and refresh plan”, which will see circa 45 new restaurants and 50 refurbishments take place across the UK in the next 3 years. Currently the group operates 150 sites in 15 countries worldwide. Alongside UK plans, international franchise openings are being rolled out across Europe and the Middle East.
Chief executive David Campbell said: “I’m delighted to report these strong results. The whole team has been working tirelessly to ensure our brand and UK-wide expansion plan is a great success, with a flagship restaurant on Great Marlborough Street in London opened already this financial year.
“Exciting things have been happening for wagamama; such as welcoming Allan Leighton to the company as chairman, opening the doors to a stunning new Gatwick restaurant, launching an industry leading payment app in the form or qkr! by masterpass and being first to market with Apple pay. The next financial year will see us introducing wagamama to a series of new, key locations and an exciting programme of customer innovations.”
