Franco Manca to open two more London sites

The two-storey 80-cover Covent Garden restaurant - at Maiden Lane - will open its doors in July while the 64-cover two-storey restaurant on Earl's Court Road will open in October. 

Both new openings will take the number of London restaurants the company operates to 15 and will follow the opening of its latest site at Belsize Park. 

Currently just London based, Franco Manca, which started life at a small site in Brixton Market in 2008, is planning to expand further within the capital and outside. 

David Sykes, operations manager at Franco Manca, said: “This is a very exciting time for us and Shelley Sandzer are now actively assisting us in a search for more sites both inside and outside of London.” 

Kit Alexander of property agent Shelley Sandzer which helped to secure deals on both sites, added: "We are very happy to have delivered for the brand directly as well as a landlord.  Franco Manca is trading extremely well across the capital and we will be working closely with them on further sites as they continue to grow.”

Franco Manca is owned by Fulham Shore which has former PizzaExpress chief executive David Page as its chairman. Founder Giuseppe Mascoli still has a 5 per cent stake in its ownership.