Nando’s to expand as Irish sales rise

CHICKEN restaurant chain Nando’s is looking to expand further in Ireland following further sales growth here last year.

New accounts show that pre-tax profits at the firm behind the Irish arm of Nando’s declined by €1m to €2.8m in the 12 months to the end of February.

The accounts filed by Nando’s Chickenland Ireland Ltd show that the firm recorded the decline in profits in spite of revenues increasing by 6.6pc, from €21.9m to €22.6m.

In their directors’ report, the directors said they are looking for potential sites to open more restaurants in the Republic.

They said the firm has opened 12 restaurants in the past nine years and will continue to look for more sites to open at a similar rate.

The directors stated: “To drive profitability and market share, the company will continue to focus on existing locations and develop opportunities for like-for-like growth.”

In the report, the bosses of the chicken firm also admitted that they use “mystery shoppers” to keep their staff on their toes here.

In their 2016 accounts, just filed with the Companies Office, the directors added that these mystery shoppers “ensure a high quality product as part of regular operational audits at restaurant level”.

Regarding these visits, the directors said that the “average result for the past period has been very satisfactory, a performance we always aim to improve”.

Numbers employed by the firm last year increased from

357 to 406.

Staff costs increased from

€6.9m to €7.6m.