Turnover returned to pre-pandemic levels at Franchise Brands by the end of the first quarter of 2021, with the AIM-listed company's EBITDA surging to record heights.
The Macclesfield-headquartered business added that it "performed strongly" in the three months to the end of March and it achieved an adjusted EBITDA of £2m, a rise of 24%.
The company currently has a combined network of over 425 franchisees across Metro Rod, Metro Plumb, Willow Pumps, ChipsAway, Ovenclean and Barking Mad.
The combined trading history of all the group's brands is over 135 years.
Franchise Brands employs 265 people across three principal locations in Macclesfield, Kidderminster and Aylesford.
In a statement issued to the London Stock Exchange, executive chairman Stephen Hemsley said: "We are delighted to announce that in the first quarter of 2021 the group performed strongly, with Q1 adjusted EBITDA growing 24% to a record of £2m (Q1 2020: £1.6m).
"This performance underlines the strength of our business model and is a testament to the hard work of all our people throughout the challenges of the winter lockdown.
"Turnover returned to pre-Covid-19 levels by the end of Q1, despite the hospitality sector having not yet reopened.
Most Read
"We also benefited from efficiency savings due to new ways of working that were established during the pandemic, which have been facilitated by the ongoing digital transformation of our business.
Don't miss a thing - sign up for your free North West newsletter - and follow us on LinkedIn
Email newsletters
BusinessLive is your home for business news from around the North West- and you can stay in touch with all the latest news from Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, Cheshire, Lancashire and Cumbria through our email alerts.
You can sign up to receive daily morning news bulletins from every region we cover and to weekly email bulletins covering key economic sectors from manufacturing to technology and enterprise. And we'll send out breaking news alerts for any stories we think you can't miss.
Visit our email preference centre to sign up to all the latest news from BusinessLive.
For all the latest stories, views, polls and more - and the news as it breaks - .
"Our ability to achieve 24% growth in EBITDA underpins the organic growth element of our strategic financial targets of £100m in run-rate revenues and adjusted EBITDA of £15m by the end of 2023.
"We continue to seek opportunities to deploy our considerable balance sheet strength to complement our organic growth through earnings enhancing acquisitions.
"At 31 March 2021, the Group had cash of £12.9m and undrawn bank facilities of £7.0m, giving the group approximately £20m of cash and available facilities.
"Overall, the group is trading strongly, and the board looks forward to the rest of the year with considerable confidence."