Newly filed accounts for Chickenland Ireland Ltd "" the Irish franchisee for the international brand - show that pre-tax profits more than trebled to €3.8m in the 12 months to the end of February. Revenues for the year jumped by 27% to €21m.
In the accounts, the directors of the Irish arm of the business said they are looking for potential sites to open more Nando's restaurants in the Republic.
Chickenland Ireland has opened 11 Nando's outlets in Ireland in the past eight years and will continue to look for more sites."To drive profitability and market share, the company will continue to focus on existing locations and develop opportunities for like-for-like growth," they said.
The company also said in its accounts that it employs "�mystery shoppers"� to keep staff on their toes.
Numbers employed by the firm last year increased from 283 to 357 with staff costs increasing from €5.2m to €6.9m.The accounts also note that a royalty payment of €825,101 was made to a related company in relation to a 5% charge on net turnover for the use of Nando's brand.As of the end of December last, the firm had accumulated profits of €7.5m. The firm's cash totalled €6.4m.The profits last year take account of non-cash depreciation costs of €735,447, while the firm's rents payable under operating leases increased to €1.57m.