Franco Manca owner sees shares slump after warning on tough market conditions

Shares slump for the pizza chain owner after it admits to a testing time ahead

The owner of Franco Manca says high costs are putting pressure on the company (Franco Manca)

Shares in the owner of popular pizza chain Franco Manca slumped by more than a fifth on Wednesday morning after the company said that it was battling challenging market conditions.

Fulham Shore saw its shares fall around 22 per cent after warning that trading had slowed in recent months and that the rest of the year would be testing. They ended the day down around 16 per cent.

“Despite hitting our group targets for the first quarter of this financial year, during the holiday season in July and August the group has seen a slowdown in trade, primarily from our restaurants in London suburbs,” the company said in a statement. “We believe this is a sector-wide trading pattern and not unique to our brands.”

Fulham Shore has expanded at a ferocious pace in recent months.

So far in the 2018 financial year, which started in April, the company has opened seven Franco Manca restaurants in the UK, one franchise in Italy and three The Real Greek restaurants.

The whole group now has a portfolio of 56 sites, of which 40 are Franco Manca restaurants.

It said on Wednesday that it is in the process of building two more of the popular pizza outlets – in London and Bristol – and still anticipates opening 15 new restaurants in the current financial year, in line with previous expectations.

But higher costs are exerting some pressure on performance and the company said that, as a result of this, top-line earnings for the full financial year would likely be “less than current market expectations”.