Tortilla Mexican Grill plc, the UK’s most loved Mexican restaurant group, has announced a year of significant operational progress and strategic expansion, as it continues its mission to bring fresh, California-style Mexican food to more customers across the UK, Europe and the Middle East.
Over the course of last year, UK like-for-like sales recovered strongly, improving from 6% decline in March to 6% growth by December.
This performance reflects the success of a renewed operational strategy under new CEO Andy Naylor, who stepped into the role in April 2024 and quickly introduced a clear focus on driving UK sales, improving margins and preparing the business for international growth.
Group Revenue for the period rose by 3.5% to £68.0 million, supported by a combination of strong domestic performance, new store openings and a successful entry into France via an acquisition.
This move commences the strategic rollout of the brand in Europe and has already created a strong platform for future growthbeyond the UK. The acquisition in France brought 27 sites into the group including 13 company-owned restaurants located in key French cities such as Paris, Lyon and Lille, and 14 franchised sites across the country.
As part of the European rollout strategy in early 2025, the group launched a new Central Production Kitchen in Lille, with three times the capacity of the UK kitchen, therefore creating a springboard for growth.
Tortilla’s improved UK profitability also reflects efficiencies gained through investment in kitchen automation, enhanced buying power, and sustainability initiatives, including the installation of solar panels and in-store AI energy-saving systems.
Adjusted EBITDA in the UK increased from £4.6 million to £5.2 million, despite a challenging consumer environment. The wider group’s Adjusted EBITDA was slightly down year-on-year at £4.5 million due to the inclusion of £0.7 million of expected early-stage losses from the acquisition in France.
The group also made significant progress in enhancing its customer offer and digital infrastructure. A major refresh of Tortilla’s core menu has resulted in higher customer satisfaction and increased visit frequency, while a new loyalty app, launched in August 2024, has already attracted nearly 200,000 users.
The app features mobile ordering, referral rewards and personalised notifications, and quickly became the UK’s number one food and drink app during National Burrito Day in April 2025.
The rollout of self-service kiosks continued across the estate, with sites equipped with kiosks outperforming others by over 10 percentage points in like-for-like sales, thanks to improved speed, efficiency and higher average order values.
Franchise partnerships also played a key role in the group’s growth during the year. In the UK, travel hub operator SSP delivered like-for-like sales growth of 5% and opened three new Tortilla locations, while Compass Group continued to expand the brand’s presence on university campuses.
Internationally, franchise partner Eathos drove exceptional performance in the Middle East, with like-for-like sales up 23.5% and plans in place for further expansion in the region.
Looking ahead, the group remains focused on building momentum in the UK, where early 2025 trading has been encouraging. Like-for-like sales in the UK rose by 5.9% in the first quarter of the year, ahead of the broader restaurant market by eight percentage points.
Two new franchise sites have opened in high-footfall London locations – Liverpool Street and Victoria Station – while a third opened in Silicon Central Mall in the UAE. The first conversions of Fresh Burritos sites to the Tortilla brand are scheduled to begin in the second half of 2025, signalling the next phase of the group’s international rollout.
Chief executive officer Andy Naylor expressed confidence in the road ahead, he said: “I am pleased with the momentum the business is building and delighted to share the significant progress we collectively have made during the year. When I stepped into the CEO role in April 2024, my first priorities were the UK like-for-like sales (LFL) , which improved from a decline of 6% in March 2024 to growth of +6% by the end of 2024 and the UK profitability increased with from £4.6m in 2023 to £5.2m in 2024 (“Adjusted EBITDA”).
“The second mission was to commence our European growth plans and with the acquisition of sites in France last summer, we’ve made good progress on this task too. We’ve got a great base now from which we can continue to grow as the work is far from complete and we are still at the beginning of this exciting journey.
“I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished over the past year, from the progress made in the UK to the expansion through our franchise partners, and the strategic acquisition in France, which has provided us with an important springboard into mainland Europe. With our food offering now better than it has ever been, and exciting technology developments in progress, I am looking forward to what 2025 and beyond will bring.”
Tortilla’s Annual Report and Accounts for 2024, along with the Notice of Annual General Meeting, were published today (May 21) and made available on the company’s website. The AGM will take place on 19 June 2025 at the offices of Panmure Liberum in London.
