Half-year Financial Report

29 September 2026

Tortilla Mexican Grill plc

("Tortilla", the "Group" or the "Company")

Unaudited Interim Results for the 26 weeks ended 28 June 2026

Tortilla Mexican Grill plc, the largest fast-casual Mexican restaurant business in the UK and Europe, today announces its unaudited interim results for the 26 weeks ended 28 June 2026 ("H1 FY26", "the Period"). All numbers are shown on an IFRS basis unless otherwise stated.

Strong H1 FY26 sales growth across both in-store and delivery, with UK LFL sales materially outperforming the restaurant sector

·    Total Group system sales[1] reached £100.9m on a twelve-month trailing basis, an all-time high.

·    Group revenue in H1 was £38.5m, an increase of £2.1m or +5.9% vs H1 FY25[2].

·    Total UK LFL sales grew +13.9% in H1 FY26 with in-store sales +6.5% and delivery sales +32.7%.

·    UK LFL momentum strengthened in the Period, helped by the re-introduction of a multi-aggregator delivery model in week 13:

o  In the 12 weeks to 22 March[3], LFL sales were +6.7%, with in-store +6.0% and delivery +8.2%.

o  In the 14 weeks to 28 June, LFL sales were +19.7%, with in-store +6.9% and delivery +54.1%.

Progress in France and positive indicators from converted stores

·    Seven former Fresh Burritos sites now trading under the Tortilla brand, with three Fresh Burritos stores closed during H1, and a further two since the Period end, significantly reducing losses in the division and leaving one unconverted Fresh Burritos store.

·    LFL sales in the converted Tortilla stores were +18.2% in H1 FY26, with Q1 +14.0% and Q2 +22.1%.

·    Store level gross margin in the converted Tortilla stores reached 70% at the end of H1.

·    Head office restructured to reduce people costs by half on an annualised basis.

·    While considerable work is still to be done to align the France division's profitability with that of the UK, management is confident that a renewed 'One Tortilla' approach to France coupled with a comprehensive 'levelling-up' programme will drive further sales and margin improvements.

Food and menu innovation

·    Launched our year-round innovation strategy of four seasonal and limited-time-offer menus a year. The successful Summer Edit Menu, led by the Cali Caesar Wrap, tested wraps as a new category alongside Hibiscus Lemonade, the first of a new house drinks range.

·    Launched a limited-edition collaboration with independent hot sauce brand Thiccc Sauce for autumn, introducing our Ghost Chilli Chicken. Winter Menu to include Quesabirria, three Horchatas and the national rollout of churros, further building out our drinks and dessert categories.

·    Continued investment in the core menu, with improvements to key proteins, salsas and other toppings, with trials underway for the launch of a preservative-free tortilla wrap.

Embracing technology

·    Commenced migration to Oracle's market-leading EPOS platform in UK and France which is due to complete in Q4 and which provides a solid foundation for further enhancements to the Company's tech stack.

·    Overhauled digital kiosk ordering systems which will result in simplified and more personalised kiosk and delivery customer journeys.

·    All suitable stores now have self-ordering kiosks.

·    Deployment of a fourth menu screen is complete across all French stores, improving product display and providing step-by-step ordering guidance; now being scoped for UK rollout.

·    Additional technology initiatives include a comprehensive integration of data feeds into the Company's data warehouse, agentic-AI reporting to streamline financial operations, harmonisation of the French division's Sage accounting platform with that of the UK, deployment of an upgraded facilities management platform, and the development of an enhanced delivery reporting platform.

Financial position

·    Group adjusted EBITDA (pre‑IFRS 16)[4] for H1 FY26 was £0.5m (H1 FY25: loss £0.4m).

·    The UK business generated £2.6m adjusted EBITDA, an increase of £0.2m over the prior half year (H1 FY25: £2.4m), reflecting strong sales growth, offset by investment in the business and £0.5m of employment cost headwinds. Improvements to profit conversion remain a key focus for H2 FY26 and beyond.

·    Group adjusted net debt[5] was £12.4m at Period end (H1 FY25: £9.9m).

Current trading and outlook

·     Trading in the UK since the Period end continues to be strong with LFL sales of +19.4% for the 13 weeks to 27 September, with in-store +9.1% and delivery +45.2%.

·     In France, sales growth at our seven converted Tortilla stores has accelerated, with LFLs of +24.4% for the 13 weeks to 27 September, including in-store +19.5% and delivery +88.4%.

·     Total Group system sales reached £102.9m on a twelve-month trailing basis at August 2026.

Brandon Stephens, Founder and Group CEO of Tortilla, commented:

"I am thrilled that the Group achieved a significant milestone of trailing twelve-month system sales surpassing £100m in June 2026. This was supported by strong progress made in the UK during the first half, where LFL sales grew by 13.9%, materially outperforming the CGA NIQ RSM Hospitality Business Tracker benchmark which reported that sector LFLs grew only 1.0%. Encouragingly this momentum has continued into Q3 with UK LFL sales growth of 19.4% for the 13 weeks to 27 September, fuelled by in-store LFL growth of 9.1% and delivery LFL growth of 45.2%. This momentum, together with a focus on driving Average Unit Volume[6] ("AUV") across the portfolio, will start to lead to improved profit conversion in the future.

Our ongoing investment in food quality, technology and brand marketing continues to resonate with customers. The Summer Edit Menu introduced our latest products, a Cali Caesar Wrap and Cali Caesar Salad, inspired by the classic Caesar - originally developed in Tijuana, Mexico but given a Tortilla twist - and a new range of summer drinks. Both have been well received, supported by the growth of our Burrito Society loyalty app, which now has over 385,000 members.

In France, the transformation has moved at pace with seven restaurants now trading under the Tortilla brand, following decisive action to close five loss-making Fresh Burritos stores. LFL sales in the converted Tortilla stores were up 18.2% in H1 FY26. This momentum has carried on into Q3 with LFL sales up 24.4% in the 13 weeks to 27 September.

We are making solid progress on each of the Ten Key Objectives outlined in the 2025 Annual Report & Accounts, with long-term food and technology roadmaps in place, further brand enhancements and improvements to customer journeys across all channels, additional interest from franchisees following a renewed outreach programme, estate rationalisation where required, improved unit economics in both the UK and France, a reset of our governance and financial forecasting principles, and the development of a comprehensive Value Creation Plan. We have strong momentum."

ENQUIRIES:

About Tortilla Mexican Grill plc

Founded in 2007, Tortilla is Europe's largest fast-casual Mexican restaurant brand. Through the acquisition of Chilango in the UK in 2022 and Fresh Burritos in France in 2024, as well as franchise partnerships with SSP Group plc and Compass Group UK & Ireland Limited in the UK, and Eathos in the Middle East, the brand continues to expand globally.

Tortilla breaks the mould of typical takeaways, combining quick-service with quality ingredients to serve affordable, made-to-order meals in under 90 seconds, in cosy environments catering for lunch or dinner, and for beers with friends. The menu is fully customisable, with thousands of flavour combinations to try, and features only higher welfare meats. Toppings are prepared using fresh ingredients that are free from artificial flavours and preservatives, with 70% of the toppings plant-based and vegan-friendly. Emphasising sustainability, Tortilla only uses recycled and recyclable packaging, 100% renewable electricity and sends zero waste to landfill. Headquartered in London and listed on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM: MEX), Tortilla employs over 1,200 people.

As at 28 June 2026, the Group operated 64 corporate restaurants and 14 franchised restaurants in the UK, 10 corporate restaurants and seven franchised restaurants in France, and 12 franchised restaurants in the UAE, giving a total estate of 107 sites.

Business review

TORTILLA'S TEN KEY OBJECTIVES - PROGRESS IN H1 FY26

Six months into our reset strategy, we are encouraged by the progress made across the estate. System sales passed £100m on a trailing twelve-month basis for the first time in H1 FY26, and the Board is pleased with the momentum building behind our Ten Key Objectives.

1. Reach best-in-class parity on product
Menu innovation continued at pace through H1. Fuel Bowls launched in March, and our Summer Edit Menu range: the Cali Caesar Wrap and Salad, Hibiscus Lemonade, and a canned Mirror Margarita - our first alcohol-adjacent drink available on delivery - launched in June to strong trading, with delivery taking a materially higher share of sales than previous launches. A churros trial is substantially complete and on track for wider rollout, alongside a new preservative-free, frozen-supply-chain tortilla wrap and new salsa recipes currently in development. Refinement of recipes for various toppings has been ongoing and has contributed to strong in-store LFLs. Additional quarterly limited time offers (LTOs) are in development, with our latest Ghost Chilli burrito campaign having just launched.

2. Build emotional connection with our customers
National Burrito Day delivered a step-change in brand reach early in the Period, adding over 40,000 new Burrito Society members and taking the app to the number one position in the UK Apple App Store's Food & Drink category. Burrito Society membership has grown to over 385,000 by June, with revenue from members up roughly 50% in the Period. The Board approved a three-year loyalty growth strategy during H1 FY26, and further brand-building initiatives are planned for H2 to build on this momentum.

3. Embrace technology and AI
Under the leadership of the Founder and the Technology Director, we deployed Anthropic's Claude across our support office early in the Period, integrated with our core business systems, and have developed an initial suite of AI-driven tools - including automated reporting and competitor-pricing insight - with support from two AI-focused interns. We signed contractual terms for a Group-wide Oracle EPOS and kiosk platform upgrade during the Period, with a successful trial completed and estate-wide deployment underway. We successfully completed a full disaster-recovery test of our core infrastructure, are integrating multiple data feeds into our data warehouse for more insightful and actionable reporting, are in the process of harmonising our Sage accounting platforms across the UK and France, and are in the planning phase of a camera deployment programme to measure footfall, improve customer throughput, optimise labour costs, and counter erroneous missing orders claims from our delivery channel.

4. Grow UK and Ireland franchise partnerships
We held constructive discussions with several prospective UK franchise partners during the Period, including established multi-site operators, and shared indicative unit-economics models to support their evaluation. Compass Group will be opening a new franchise site at Addenbrooke's Hospital in the coming weeks, and we look forward to updating shareholders on further franchise progress as agreements are concluded.

5. Complete the brand conversion in France
The estate in France now includes seven stores trading as Tortilla with a single Fresh Burritos site remaining following the closure of five unconverted Fresh Burritos stores. This has significantly reduced losses in the French division while clustering much of the estate in Paris for operational viability.

6. Prove a compelling unit economic model for Western European franchising
LFL sales in our converted French stores grew 18.2% in H1 FY26, accelerating to 24.4% since the Period end. With gross margins in the France estate moving from 57.8% in H1 FY25 to 65.5% across H1 FY26 and reaching 70% by the end of H1 FY26, the converted French sites are increasingly demonstrating that the Tortilla model can work well once fully embedded. While the cost base remains above UK levels, a comprehensive action plan is underway to bring this further in line and to prove a franchisable four-wall economic model - a key priority as we look toward wider European franchise opportunities.

7. Address the short tail of underperforming UK sites
Following the closure of three sites in FY25, a further two UK equity sites closed in H1 FY26 as part of our ongoing estate rationalisation. Encouragingly, due to product quality improvements and improved local marketing efforts, previously loss-making stores launched in secondary and tertiary locations during 2022 and 2023 are now showing robust growth, effectively reducing the number of sites on the 'watch list', with comprehensive turnaround plans in place for the reduced number of sites that continue to fall short of our target returns.

8. Modernise the UK estate with "Tortilla 2.0"
We opened a new site in Leeds during the Period showcasing our refreshed branding and store design, including a dedicated production line for digital orders, effectively doubling order-throughput in that store. In parallel, we are in the process of finalising a comprehensive brand standards manual and associated cost modelling across three store formats, giving us a clear blueprint for upgrading and refreshing our estate as capital allocation allows.

9. Build a three-year Value Creation Plan
A comprehensive, bottom-up review across every functional department during Q1 identified a substantial pipeline of growth and efficiency initiatives. These have been categorised, prioritised and sequenced, with the personnel resources required to deliver them mapped over the coming years. Management is now finalising the cost plan and quantified upside, with clear financial milestones attached to each workstream. Board approval is expected in early Q4.

10. Set realistic targets - and hit them
Tortilla's Board has agreed a governance approach on disciplined budgeting, proper capital allocation, and targets that are deliverable.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Revenue

In H1 FY26, revenue increased by 5.9% to £38.5m (H1 FY25: £36.3m). Growth was driven by the following factors:

·    Total UK revenue was £35.4m (H1 FY25: £33.0m), with LFL sales up by 13.9% fuelled by delivery LFL of 32.7% which accelerated after the return to a multi-aggregator model;

·      France revenue was £3.1m (H1 FY25: £3.3m), with LFL sales from the Tortilla converted stores up 18.2% vs the prior Period; and

·      Franchise income, included in total Group and UK revenue, was £0.7m, £0.2m lower than the previous Period due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Gross profit margin

Gross profit margin was 74.7% in H1 FY26 (H1 FY25: 75.2%). The reported reduction principally reflects the reclassification of £0.3m of discounts into cost of sales, which were included in administrative expenses in H1 FY25 (£0.2m). On a comparable basis, gross margin was in line with the prior Period. In the UK, food inflation, particularly in produce and meat, reduced margin by around 0.6 percentage points, partly offset by improved drinks purchasing and central production unit efficiencies. Lower franchise royalty income, as a result of the conflict in the Middle East, reduced group margin by around 0.2 percentage points. These headwinds were offset by a significant improvement in France, where gross margin increased from 57.8% to 65.5% as the converted Tortilla stores became established.

Administrative expenses

Administrative expenses of £28.9m in H1 FY26 (H1 FY25: £30.2m) declined £1.3m year on year and from 83.2% of sales to 75.2% of sales, driven by lower depreciation and amortisation charges following FY25's impairment and the actions taken to reduce costs in France.

Administrative expenses incorporate several items that are excluded from Adjusted EBITDA. These include: exceptional costs totalling £1.1m comprising store closure costs of £0.6m, restructuring costs of £0.4m, legal and professional fees of £0.1m; and pre-opening costs of £0.1m. Administrative costs after adjusting for these items were £27.7m (H1 FY25: £29.7m) a reduction of £2.0m.

In the UK, administrative expenses were broadly flat at £25.0m (H1 FY25: £24.9m). Delivery-driven costs, principally aggregator commissions, promotions and packaging, increased by £0.9m in line with delivery sales growth, while above inflationary increases in employer's National Insurance and the National Living Wage added £0.5m of labour costs. These increases were offset by £1.1m lower depreciation and a £0.5m gain on the write back of lease liabilities on disposal, cost savings from the store closures and a lower share-based payments charge. Additionally, discounts totalling £0.3m (H1 FY25: £0.2m) have been included in cost of sales for H1 FY26; these were included in administrative expense in H1 FY25. Excluding depreciation, disposals, exceptional items and share-based payments, UK administrative costs grew more slowly than revenue.

In France, administrative expenses reduced from £5.3m to £3.9m as the actions to reset the business started to yield cost benefits during the Period. The business benefitted from lower depreciation on right-of-use assets and tangible fixed assets of £0.5m, a £0.4m gain on disposal of fixed assets and lease exits and £0.5m from the reset of the French business including head office costs, and restaurant costs and legal and professional fees. There is further opportunity to bring store administrative expenses closer to the benchmark metrics of the UK business.

Adjusted EBITDA (pre-IFRS 16)

Adjusted EBITDA (pre-IFRS 16) is the key performance metric that the Group utilises to assess the underlying trading performance. A reconciliation of this measure compared to loss from operations is as follows:

Group adjusted EBITDA (pre-IFRS 16) was £0.5m in H1 FY26 (H1 FY25: loss £0.4m).

The UK business generated £2.6m adjusted EBITDA, an increase of £0.2m over the prior Period (H1 FY25: £2.4m), reflecting the benefits of strong sales momentum tempered by investment in the business and employment cost headwinds. Focus remains on driving efficiencies and maximising EBITDA flow through from the strong sales growth via initiatives to drive AUV across the portfolio.

The French business contributed an adjusted EBITDA loss of £2.1m in the Period (H1 FY25: loss £2.8m). Transformation has moved at pace with five out of the six non-converted stores now closed, stemming losses and seven restaurants now trading under the Tortilla brand, positioning the business for long-term growth.

Finance expense

Finance expense of £1.4m (H1 FY25: £1.2m) is comprised of £0.9m of interest charged in relation to lease liabilities (a consequence of the accounting treatment of leases under IFRS 16) and £0.5m of interest on the Group's debt facility.

Cash flow and net debt

Net cash generated from operations increased by 80% to £3.6m (H1 FY25: £2.0m). This was driven by a significant improvement in underlying trading with the loss for the Period narrowing by £2.2m to £1.6m (H1 FY25: £3.8m) and a £0.6m working capital inflow (H1 FY25: £0.6m outflow). The Period also includes a non-cash gain of £0.9m on the exit of leases and write back of lease liabilities, arising from the store closures in France and the UK, which has been deducted in arriving at operating cash flow.

The Group invested £1.2m in tangible fixed assets (H1 FY25: £2.0m) to support the growth of the business. This included two new site openings (our "Tortilla 2.0" restaurant in Leeds and a compact site in Wembley BoxPark), as well as the roll-out of self-ordering kiosks. With the restructuring of the French estate now largely complete, capital is being deployed in a disciplined way into the formats, technology and locations that deliver the strongest returns.

Net cash used in financing activities was £4.5m (H1 FY25: £2.9m). Lease payments were broadly unchanged at £3.7m (H1 FY25: £3.7m), while interest paid increased to £0.5m (H1 FY25: £0.3m), reflecting higher average borrowings. 

Overall net cash and cash equivalents decreased by £2.1m in the Period (H1 FY25: £3.1m).

As at 28 June 2026, the Group had adjusted net debt of £12.4m (H1 FY25: £9.9m), drawn against total available facilities of £14.4m.

Dividend

The Board is not recommending an interim dividend for H1 FY26. The Group's capital remains focused on the funding of the strategic agenda including product and ambience, customer, wider European growth, optimising and modernising the UK estate and strengthening the balance sheet. The Group's dividend policy will be kept under review as the Group's underlying profitability and cash generation develops over time.