Tortilla Mexican Grill plc, the UK and Europe’s largest fast-casual Mexican restaurant group, has announced record UK profitability and strong sales growth for the first half of 2025, as it continues to expand across Europe and the Middle East.
Tortilla’s unaudited interim results for the 26 weeks ended 29 June 2025 (“H1 FY25”), reveal record results achieved through disciplined strategic investment and continued progress on its European expansion.
In the UK, Adjusted EBITDA (pre-IFRS 16) rose an incredible 33% year-on-year to £2.4 million (H1 FY24: £1.8 million), reflecting a combination of improved gross margin, effective cost control, and robust consumer demand.
The Board now expects FY25 to be the most profitable year in the UK in the company’s history, despite ongoing challenges reported across the wider restaurant sector.
Group revenue for the period grew 14% to £36.0 million (H1 FY24: £31.5 million), supported by continued investment in food innovation, operational technology, and customer experience. While Group Adjusted EBITDA of £1.2 million was impacted by early-stage investment losses in France, the UK’s record performance more than underlined the resilience of the brand’s core operations.
The Group’s international growth strategy advanced meaningfully, with the conversion of acquired business Fresh Burritos sites in France beginning to take shape. Four locations are now trading under the Tortilla brand, with a further two scheduled to open by early October and more to follow in FY26.
A dedicated French leadership team, headed by Managing Director Gilles Boehringer, formerly of KFC France, is now in place. Operations are fully supported by a state-of-the-art 1,400 sqm Central Production Kitchen in Lille, providing the infrastructure for scalable growth across France and into neighbouring European markets.
Tortilla continued to enhance its offer through food quality, menu innovation and digital engagement. Seasonal products such as protein pots and summer salads delivered strong incremental sales, while the Burrito Society loyalty app has surpassed 200,000 members, deepening customer loyalty and frequency.
Technology investment remained a key focus, with 25 additional self-order kiosks rolled out during the half, bringing the total to 34 sites. These locations continue to outperform others, delivering higher average transaction values and strong returns on investment.
Team engagement and retention also improved significantly, with manager retention rising by seven percentage points year-on-year to 58%, supported by enhanced training and development initiatives as well as further innovation including robotics scheduled for FY26.
The Group’s capital-light franchise model delivered further progress during the half. In the UK, SSP opened two new travel hub sites and Compass Group maintained steady performance across university campuses. Internationally, franchise partner Eathos continued to expand Tortilla’s presence in the Middle East, with a flagship Dubai Mall location set to open in Q4.
The franchise estate now totals 37 sites globally, including 14 in the UK, 12 in the Middle East and 11 in France. Heads of Terms have also been signed with Growth Kitchen to pilot delivery-only kitchens in metropolitan areas, further broadening the Group’s footprint.
Andy Naylor, Chief Executive Officer of Tortilla, said: “We are pleased with the strong progress made in the UK during the first half, where LFL sales grew by 5.0%, materially outperforming the CGA Coffer benchmark which reported LFL revenue declines of (2.5%) and (3.4%) in Q1 and Q2 respectively. Encouragingly this has continued into Q3 with total LFL sales growth of 7.0% to date.
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“Our ongoing investment in food quality and innovation as well as brand marketing continues to resonate with customers. New launches such as protein pots and seasonal salads have been well received, supported by the growth of our Burrito Society loyalty app, which has now surpassed 200,000 members.
“In France, the conversion project is underway with four sites now trading under the Tortilla brand, with a further two due to open by early October. Whilst it’s too early to comment on current post-conversion trading, we look forward to providing an update later in the year. The sites are fully supported by our operational Central Production Kitchen in Lille, which provides the infrastructure for significant scale across France and neighbouring markets.
“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. 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.”
