Cake Box reports sales surge as it plans further store openings

Cream cake retailer Cake Box has reported a surge in sales after pandemic restrictions eased, as it also confirmed plans for a raft of further shop openings.

Shares in the company rose on Monday after it hailed a “strong performance” over the past six months.

It told investors that revenue jumped by 91.8% to £16.47 million for the half-year to September 30, compared with the same period last year.

Meanwhile, pre-tax profits leapt by 122.2% to £3.7 million for the period.

The group said it would hit its trading targets for the current year, with bosses saying that the company had mitigated the impact of supply chain disruption in the food industry.

Sukh Chamdal, chief executive officer, told the PA news agency that the cake firm had built up “many months of ingredients” to ensure that peak periods such as Christmas would not be disrupted.

The chief also said the business had seen “a lot of strong property opportunities” across UK high streets as it continued to grow its portfolio.

“Landlords have been really receptive to us – they have been very keen for strong businesses like ourselves and that has put us in a good negotiating position,” he said.

“We are also typically on second streets off main high streets and are away from areas like central London so are not paying huge rents.”

The group said it planned to open 32 new franchise stores this year, and continues to grow its kiosk business.

Cake Box hailed “strong progress” in its business running kiosks in seven Asda supermarkets, with plans for more of these sites later in the year.

Mr Chamdal added: “I’m delighted to report another strong performance over the last six months, demonstrating the continued appeal of Cake Box’s unique offering.

“Our fantastic franchisees, supported by their dedicated team members, have helped us deliver record first-half store openings, revenues, profits and dividends, while making further significant strategic progress that gives us momentum into the second half.”