Spur Steak Ranches facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Spur Corporation

Trade name	Spur Corporation
Type	Public (JSE: SUR) Franchise
Industry	Restaurants
Genre	Casual dining
Founded	1967; 57 years ago (1967), South Africa
Founder	Allen Ambor
Headquarters	Century City, Cape Town, South Africa
Number of locations	513 (South Africa) 62 (international)
Key people	Allen Ambor (Executive Chairman) Val Nichas (CEO) Kevin Robertson (CFO)
Products	North American cuisine
Revenue	R667.19 Million (FY 2018)
Operating income	R200 Million (FY 2018)
Net income	R195.57 Million (FY 2018)
Subsidiaries	Panarottis John Dory's Captain DoRegos The Hussar Grill RocoMamas Nikos Casa Bella

Spur Corporation (doing business as Spur Steak Ranches) (JSE: SUR) is a steakhouse franchise restaurant chain originating from South Africa with a focus on family dining. The head office of Spur Corporation is situated in Century City, Cape Town. Although the founding and flagship brand is the Spur steakhouse restaurants, the company owns a number of other, predominantly South African, restaurant brands. Spur Steak Ranches is a themed South African family favourite and is fondly known as "the official restaurant of the South African family"; as such, most Spur restaurants include a children's play area.

History and growth

Spur brands

John Dory's Fish & Grill in Century City shopping mall, Cape Town, South Africa.

Panarotti’s Pizza Pasta in Century City shopping mall, Cape Town, South Africa.

In 1967 founder and executive chairman, Allen Ambor, opened the Golden Spur on Dean Street in Newlands, Cape Town in South Africa. Ambor started the first restaurant with R2,000 of his own money, R4,000 from his father and an additional R5,000 from a partner who was eventually bought out; amounting to a total starting capital of R11,000. The restaurant was opened on the 24 October 1967. The original restaurant moved to a new location at the corner of Dean and Main Road in the 2000s and closed in 2020.

A second Spur, the Seven Spur, was opened in Sea Point, Cape Town soon after the 1967 opening. After the success of the second Spur Ambor decided on a franchise model to facilitate the spread of the restaurants across the country.

The Spur Group consists of Spur International, Spur Steak Ranches, Panarottis Pizza Pasta, John Dory’s Fish Grill Sushi, Captain Dorego's, The Hussar Grill, RocoMamas, Spur Grill & Go, Nikos Coalgrill Greek and Casa Bella. It currently has 569 outlets worldwide, with restaurants in various parts of Africa, Mauritius, the Middle East and Australasia. In March 2018, Spur Corporation sold Captain Dorego's.

Operations

Spur Steak Ranches is a subsidiary of Spur Corporation, one of the largest restaurant companies in South Africa.

It has its headquarters in Century City, Cape Town, with regional offices in Johannesburg and Durban as well as an international office in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, supporting the company’s international operations.

Spur Steak Ranches’ contribution to Spur Corporation’s restaurant turnover is 61%.

Restaurants are owned by franchisees or directly by the company. As of 31 December 2018, Spur Steak Ranches had 323 stores located in 15 countries. The total restaurants in South Africa is 284 with 39 in other countries.

Africa and Mauritius

• Botswana
• Eswatini
• Ethiopia
• Kenya
• Lesotho
• Malawi
• Namibia
• Nigeria
• South Africa
• Tanzania
• Uganda
• Zambia
• Mauritius

Australasia

• Australia
• New Zealand

In 2020, the chain was forced to temporarily close all of restaurants amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Products

Spur Steak Ranches’ core product offering consists of steaks, ribs and burgers. In addition to these, the brand also sells chicken, schnitzels, seafood, wraps, sandwiches, salads, desserts, breakfasts and a dedicated children’s menu. The burgers have four options: beef, chicken, soya and rib. Furthermore, there are many plant based options available including the Beyond Burger.

Spur Steak Ranches also sells food to takeaway, delivering in some locations.

Procurement, manufacturing and distribution

Spur Steak Ranches operates a sauce manufacturing facility that supplies franchisees with the brand’s sauces. Its sauces and marinades are also retailed in major South African retailers, along with certain products, which are externally manufactured under licence, such as frozen ribs and burger patties.

Panarottis Pizza Pasta

The company also owns the Panarottis pizza and pasta restaurant chain. This chain was started in 1990 and has 84 outlets. In addition, the Spur Group purchased a 60% shareholding in John Dory’s Fish and Grill in 2004. John Dory's is a KwaZulu-Natal-based franchise with 54 outlets.