Fulham Shore says sales are on the rise as it considers expansion

Fulham Shore said on Thursday that it has seen "encouraging" revenue increases at both Franco Manca and The Real Greek in the first 21 weeks of the year, and that it is considering expanding further as more properties come on to the market amid struggles at some of its competitors in the dining sector.

The group attributed the rise in revenue mostly to higher transactions in both of its businesses, which it said was driven by menu innovation and the quality of the food.

In the financial year to date, Fulham Shore has opened two new Franco Manca pizzerias in Bath and Cambridge and closed one in Brighton Marina, taking its portfolio of UK restaurants to 58, 16 of which are The Real Greek. It also has one Franco Manca franchise in Italy.

"We are in the final stages of negotiations for a number of locations for the current and coming financial year. As previously announced, we will continue to fund new restaurant openings largely through internally generated cash flow.

"We are seeing more properties coming to the market as a result of the current conditions in the wider retail and dining out sectors. We will continue to assess these opportunities and respond accordingly."

At 1000 BST, the shares were up 5.7% to 12p.