The QSR Mexican restaurant’s UK business delivered revenue for the first half of FY25 of £36m, up from £31.5m in H1 2024 with adjusted EBITDA (pre-IFRS 16) of £2.4m – up from £1.8m and marking a 33% year-on-year increase.
However, Tortilla reported a loss before tax of £2.3m, compared with £0.2m in the comparable period last year. The UK delivered a small loss before tax of £0.3m, which the business said reflected ‘resilient trading performance and disciplined cost control’.
The French operations reported a loss before tax of £2m, ‘reflecting the early stage of investment in the region, including site conversions to the Group’s core brand and associated overhead costs’, according to Tortilla.
Tortilla says it has continued to invest in food quality, menu innovation and brand marketing and that its The Burrito Society loyalty app has grown to more than 200,000 members. It also says it will ‘double down’ on franchise having opened two new UK travel hub sites in partnership with SSP Group during the first half of the year and that it had signed heads of terms with Growth Kitchen to pilot delivery-led kitchens in major metropolitan areas.
Its franchise estate is now 37 sites globally, comprising 14 UK sites, 12 in the Middle East, and 11 in France.
“In the UK, FY25 is forecast to be our most profitable year ever which is an achievement the team should be proud of considering the wider challenges reported by the sector,” says Tortilla CEO Andy Naylor.
“In France, despite the short-term challenge with the timing of store conversions, we remain confident of the longer-term prospects for our brand in this market following our strategic acquisition last year.”