Around $200 million will be used to turbocharge Guzman y Gomez’s store footprint in Australia,which is currently at 185.The burrito chain hopes to have more than 1000 restaurants in its network over the next 20 years,and is planning 30 new Australian restaurants for the 2025 financial year.
The company also has 16 stores in Singapore,five in Japan and four in the US,where the Mexican fast food market is far fiercer. Three of Guzman y Gomez’ four American stores are currently unprofitable. Only the Naperville,Chicago store is profitable,with two others close to breaking even.
Guzman y Gomez last month raised $135 million in a financing round that added Cooper Investors,Hyperion Asset Management,Firetrail Investments and QVG Capital to its list of shareholders. Co-chief executive Hilton Brett said these investors had expressed their preference that the burrito chain be listed rather than unlisted.
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“When they invested,there was demand from them in excess of what we were able to supply in terms of the amount of money we raised at the pre-IPO around,” he told this masthead.
“We made the decision that on the back of the demand and the strong support that we received from them in the pre-IPO round,that we would bring the IPO forward. So these investors have cornerstoned this deal.”
Guzman y Gomez expects its earnings to grow from $29.3 million in the 2023 financial year to nearly $60 million in the 2025 financial year. The companysold $759 million worthofburritos,tacos,bowls and more in the 2023 financial year,a 32 per cent rise from the year before.