Thu 7th Dec 2017 - Abokado reports profit and Ebitda boost as new sites deliver more than 40% ROI Abokado reports profit and Ebitda boost as new sites deliver more than 40% ROI: Healthy eating chain Abokado, which is backed by Kings Park Capital, has reported an Ebitda and profit boost with its four latest sites delivering on average a return on capital of more than 40%. The company saw an increase in pre-exceptional Ebitda for the year ending 31 March 2017, driven by a 10% increase in sales and a 7% rise in gross profit. The company stated: “These results have been achieved despite weakness in the trading environment and significant cost pressures. Sales growth was driven by the addition of four new stores, all of which were in central London. These new openings took our total estate to 29. The directors are delighted with the performance of these Abokados, which are on average delivering a return on capital of more than 40%. Trading since the year end has strengthened further with sales, gross profit and Ebitda all increasing, driven by an improved performance across our core estate and the maturing of new stores. It’s our intention to continue to invest in new stores that deliver a high return but we have not signed any new leases since the year end. The directors are taking a cautious approach in the anticipation that there will be improved opportunities over the coming months due to growing weakness in the property sector. This should translate to both improved availability and more favourable commercial terms, which we hope to exploit through 2018 and beyond. The directors routinely review the Abokado estate to assess whether there are sites that no longer fit the long-term strategy for the business. This exercise resulted in the prudent impairment of several sites in the year ended 31 March 2017. The board decided to dispose of five such sites that were identified as being non-core and we are pleased to announce that since the year end all five leases have been successfully assigned, achieving total premium proceeds of £260,000 and releasing valuable assets for use in future store openings. We continue to invest in our wonderful, hard-working teams, who are key to delighting our customers and helping to deliver our vision. This investment has included enhanced pay scales, benefits and conditions and has led to much-improved staff retention in recent months. Our relationships with suppliers have also strengthened over the past year. Our work with local charities continues to remain an important part of our commitment to doing business in a socially responsible manner and being a valuable member of the community. As ever we would like to thank our customers, suppliers and most importantly our hard-working and passionate managers and team members for their continued support. Our vision remains to help people live happier and healthier lives by making our ‘feel-great’ menu as accessible as possible.”