Eat 17 has paused the hunt for franchise partners.
The Spar retailer told The Grocer the Covid pandemic had made it difficult to drive the business venture forward.
“It was something we wanted to look to do initially but the timing wasn’t right,” explained Eat 17 director James Brundle.
It announced the franchise arm pre-Covid and published a prospectus for potential partners in 2021.
The document provided the prospective earnings for franchisees over their first three years. It estimated profits for year one of £198,728, rising to £272,702 in the second year and hitting £343,555 at the end of year three.
It also added that retailers could expect margins of 35% to 38%, as well as up to a 5% rebate on fresh lines. Another key selling point was access to 400 exclusive Eat 17-produced lines. These included a 100-strong range of sandwiches, salads and wraps, made daily in its production kitchen.
Brundle explained, however, the business was now putting a bigger focus on its four-store estate, which he told The Grocer earlier this year it was also looking to expand.
“We are changing all the time,” he added.
Its current sites are in Hackney, Walthamstow and Hammersmith, which a have a retail, own-label offer, as well as Bishop’s Stortford, which has a more premium foodservice proposition.
In April, Eat 17 said it had dropped Bishop’s Stortford’s retail element by 25% to make room for its growing street food market offer.
When the store opened in 2017 it had three food to go concessions. It now features six vendors, comprising Petrucci’s Pizza, The Chicken Hatch, Stortford Bakes, Carne Street Food, The Yeerologist, and Potterstreet Fishmongers. There is also a barber and tattooist on site.
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