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Last checked at 
20 Apr 2021 07:00
20 April 2021
FRANCHISE BRANDS PLC
("Franchise Brands", the "Group" or the "Company")
AGM statement and Q1 Trading Update
24% growth in adjusted EBITDA to a record quarter of £2m
Franchise Brands plc (AIM: FRAN), a multi-brand franchise business, will hold its Annual General Meeting today at 11.00am, at which Stephen Hemsley, Executive Chairman, will provide the following update:
"We are delighted to announce that in the first quarter of 2021 the Group performed strongly, with Q1 adjusted EBITDA growing 24% to a record of £2m (Q1 2020: £1.6m). This performance underlines the strength of our business model and is a testament to the hard work of all our people throughout the challenges of the winter lockdown. Turnover returned to pre-COVID 19 levels by the end of Q1, despite the hospitality sector having not yet reopened. We also benefited from efficiency savings due to new ways of working that were established during the pandemic, which have been facilitated by the ongoing digital transformation of our business.
Our ability to achieve 24% growth in EBITDA underpins the organic growth element of our strategic financial targets of £100m in run-rate revenues and adjusted EBITDA of £15m by the end of 2023. We continue to seek opportunities to deploy our considerable balance sheet strength to complement our organic growth through earnings enhancing acquisitions. At 31 March 2021, the Group had cash of £12.9m and undrawn bank facilities of £7.0m, giving the Group approximately £20m of cash and available facilities.
Overall, the Group is trading strongly, and the Board looks forward to the rest of the year with considerable confidence."
Enquiries:
Franchise Brands plc | + 44 (0) 1625 813231 |
Stephen Hemsley, Executive Chairman |
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Chris Dent, Chief Financial Officer |
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Julia Choudhury, Corporate Development Director |
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Allenby Capital Limited (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker) | +44 (0) 20 3328 5656 |
Jeremy Porter / Liz Kirchner (Corporate Finance) Amrit Nahal (Sales and Corporate Broking) |
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Dowgate Capital Limited (Joint Broker) | +44 (0) 20 3903 7715 |
James Serjeant / Colin Climie / Nicholas Chambers |
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MHP Communications (Financial PR) | +44 (0) 20 3128 8100 |
Katie Hunt | +44 (0) 7884 494112 |
| franchisebrands@mhpc.com |
About Franchise Brands plc
Franchise Brands is focused on building market-leading businesses in selected customer segments, primarily via a franchise model. The Group currently has a combined network of over 425 franchisees across five principal franchise brands. Our focus is on established brands which can benefit from our shared support services, specialist sector expertise, management experience and group resources.
The Group is organised into a B2B division comprised of Metro Rod, Metro Plumb and Willow Pumps, and a B2C division that incorporates ChipsAway, Ovenclean and Barking Mad. This divisional organisation is designed to provide a greater focus and structure to support the strategic development of our B2B and B2C brands. Each of our brands are leaders in their respective markets and each brand has a long trading history. The combined trading history of all the Group's brands is over 135 years.
Franchise Brands plc employs 265 people across three principal locations in Macclesfield, Kidderminster and Aylesford.
For further information, visit www.franchisebrands.co.uk.
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