Wagamama serves up 12% sales growth
The noodle chain, which was bought by The Restaurant Group (TRG) at the end of last year, has reported a like-for-like sales growth of 12% in its second quarter - the 12 weeks to 11 November.
Sales rose 15.4% compared with the same period the previous year to £80.7m, with adjusted EBITDA growing 18.7% to £13.2m.
The group outperformed the UK market by 11.3% in the second quarter, making it a total of 239 weeks of trading ahead of the competition.
“We want Wagamama to be special, both the bowl and the soul, and so have continued to invest in our amazing teams, our vegan food and our customer service this quarter,” says Emma Woods, who took over as chief executive following the TRG deal. “As a result, we have sustained our outperformance of the UK market.”
“The business is well prepared for, and excited about the next stage of its development, with The Restaurant Group (TRG) as our new owners.
Wagamama opened one new UK restaurant, in Gloucester Quays,in the period, with one new franchised restaurant opened in Spain and two in UAE.
Following the completion of the deal to TRG, Wagamama's 4,000 staff shared a £4m pot as part of a payout ordered by outgoing Wagamama chief executive Jane Holbrook and Wagamama’s former private equity owner Duke Street.