Cake Box has said it is eyeing the opening of 52 new shops as it expects to deliver a jump in sales for the past year despite the pandemic.
The cream cake retailer said it is set to post revenue growth of about 16% for the year to the end of March after it was buoyed by new stores.
It told shareholders on Monday morning that it also saw like-for-like sales grow by 14.7% over the 40 weeks from June to March after sites reopened following the first lockdown.
Total stores were strengthened by the opening of 24 franchise stores during the year, taking its estate to 157 across the UK at the end of last month.
This included 17 openings in the past six months as it accelerated its opening programme following the onset of the pandemic.
Cake Box said it has also taken deposits for 52 potential new stores and is also trialling five kiosks at a national supermarket chain with “very encouraging” initial results.
Sukh Chamdal, co-founder and chief executive officer, said: “I am very pleased with the strong trading momentum in the second half, continuing the recovery we saw as our shops began to reopen from May last year.
“Customer appetite for our products has continued to grow, with good traction across our expanded online and delivery services.
“Despite continued uncertainty in the operating environment, our unique proposition for customers and new and existing franchisees remains highly attractive and we are confident of making continued progress in the years ahead.”
Shares in the company were up 6.3% at 270p in early trading on Monday.
