Spur Corporation to open 42 new restaurants in South Africa and 14 internationally

Restaurant franchise group Spur Corporation is accelerating its store expansion program with the planned opening of 42 new restaurants in South Africa and 14 internationally in the year ahead.

“Our brands have not yet reached saturation in South Africa or beyond. We will continue expanding our presence on the African continent and are optimistic about the growth potential as casual dining continues to gain appeal,” said Group CEO Val Nichas on Thursday.

Speaking at the release of the group financial results, she said they had already in the year to June 25 expanded their local and international restaurant presence to 724 outlets in 14 countries. The group’s share price surged over 6% to R35.20 on the JSE on Thursday morning, indicating positive investor sentiment to the release of the results.

In South Africa, 31 restaurants were opened in the past year, which included four Doppio Zero, one Piza é Vino and one Modern Tailors restaurant. Fifteen restaurants were closed.

Fiftee restaurants were opened in the rest of Africa to bring the international store network to 105.

“We are leveraging value from the Doppio Zero brand, which is also expanding into the rest of Africa with a restaurant opening planned in Zimbabwe later this year,” said Nichas.

She said they were positive on the outlook for the sector and about the group’s longer-term prospects.

"Our portfolio of 10 well-established, distinctive restaurant brands, together with our virtual kitchen brands, position us to grow market share across categories, regions and countries,” she said.

Nichas said lower inflation and interest rates were offering some relief to debt-burdened consumers while the stable electricity supply was supporting consumer and business confidence. South Africa’s economic growth was also forecast to accelerate in the year ahead. The group would continue to drive market share gains in the tough consumer environment, she said.

Speaking about the past year, she said that in an environment of constrained consumer spending, their sales were supported through value-added campaigns, brand loyalty programs, menu innovation and offering customer experiences that differentiate.

“Consumers crave value, care and memorable experiences that foster social connections,” she said.

She said the response from franchisees and customers to refreshed brand identities and restaurant designs was “overwhelmingly positive”.

To date, 51 Spur restaurants had been upgraded to the new brand identity and store concept, while 55% of Panarottis outlets now featured the new store design. A refreshed format had also been introduced for John Dory’s and enhanced designs were being implemented for The Hussar Grill and Doppio Zero.

The new Spur branding was incorporated into the newly-built Spur restaurants in Botswana and Zimbabwe, and a restaurant in Namibia was revamped with the updated brand identity.

Eight restaurants outside South Africa were closed, mainly as a result of the group exiting Saudi Arabia and India, due to the underperformance in these countries.

The six virtual kitchen (VK) brands were now available from 402 restaurants and had consistently maintained their share of the online ordering channel. Pizza Pug, Ribshack RocoFellas and Just Wingz were the leading performers. Spice Sisters, a new VK brand offering a curry menu range, was set to launch later this month.

Spur Group increased headline earnings 16.5% to R275 million for the year to June 2025, and the full year dividend was increased by 40.4% to 299 cents a share, off the back of confidence in the group’s cash generating ability and a commitment to return surplus cash to shareholders.

Total franchise restaurant sales grew by 8.3% to R11.5 billion. Group revenue increased by 11.2% to R3.9bn, driven by a significant increase in sales in the retail company stores, which grew by 46.3%, following the addition of 11 company-owned restaurants from the Doppio Collection acquisition in the prior year.

Doppio Collection has been successfully integrated into the group’s operations and accounts for 42 of the 80 speciality restaurants.

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