Carluccio's aims for 100 sites amid strong turnover and profit growth
Italian restaurant group Carluccio's has unveiled double-digit growth in both turnover and profit in the past year, as the firm announced plans to reach 100 sites by the end of 2014.
The company, run by group chief executive Simon Kossoff and backed by Dubai-based investment group Landmark, saw turnover increase 22.5% from £96.3m to £118m, while pre-tax profit was up 19.1% to £8.1m in the 53 weeks to 29 September 2013.
A total of 10 UK stores opened over that period, and the company said it was planning seven additional overseas restaurants and between eight and 10 sites for the UK over the next 12 months.
Carluccio's has secured its first store in America, located in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, which is expected to open before Christmas 2014. The US property pipeline is being further developed and it has also purchased and refurbished its previously franchised store in Dublin, Ireland.
Since year-end, five further sites have opened in Portsmouth, Harrogate, Nottingham, Heathrow Terminal 4 and York, taking the total number of company-owned stores to 83.
Another store has opened in Abu Dhabi and two further stores have been opened by its partners in Turkey. This brings the total number of Carluccio's worldwide to 94.
Commenting on the results, Kossoff said: "Carluccio's has continued to perform strongly with significant growth in turnover and EBITDA. We have opened 11 stores worldwide during the year and we expect to hit the 100-store milestone by the end of 2014. We are also pleased to be opening the first Carluccio's in America later in the year."
