NGHT.L Share Chat (NGHT)

The issue is that historically there was not the volume in the shares for someone to acquire a meaningful amount (and the spread was awful - it still isn't great). The notice of the delisting, seems to have meant that a lot more shares are available either because they are forced sellers (in an ISA or part of an EFT) or the fact that they don't want an investment in an unlisted share. So yes now you can purchase shares in a company at 3p that others are willing to invest at 5p.

If they did Vine that would be the equivalent to insider trading. That info had not been released to the market.

As the 5p placing was done at a c25% premium to the SP at the time surely anyone seeing value could have bought on the open market.

I imagine those who did the deal to invest at 5p, were fully aware of the pending delisting, and may have even suggested and support it.

They'll see the value

Anyone buying this POS needs the to see a head doctor. All you gotta do is look at the share graph to see what a disaster this has been

This is simply poor management.

How can a copy try to raise at 5p, then a few weeks later confirm intention to delist? Do they understand what a disaster than can be for shareholders.

Wouldn't suprise me if the insiders have been scooping up the shares after the huge drop.

Https://www.lse.co.uk/rns/NGHT/holdings-in-company-wt9zr4zu77zqx4z.html

Another company stolen from shareholders....I mean delisting. These btards have no shame. Where's the FCA? AWOL

Share holders will still hold shares in the company.

But privately.

They may even see a financial benefit as the company would be valued correctly, rather than being shorted and shafted as it is on AIM

I've lost enough already and nothing more to lose by staying in.

This is a real shame, and whilst there will be financial losses to those who bought a stake in the business, the BOD's reputations will now have gone down the pan! Money isn't everything!

Maybe, but all PI have been royally shafted.

If company value is not being recognised then delisting is merely throwing your dummy out.

Unacceptable for a company that only listed a few years ago.

I'm not surprised by this move to withdraw from AIM.

It seems the city boys can only make money by destroying company value. It's not the first and won't be the last to leave.

Am I right in thinking that they just raised at 5p a share? Poor investors, their new shares haven't even been admitted to AIM yet........ and, once they are, said investors will have just a few days to make the invidious choice as to whether they should stay as shareholders in a private company or bail out at a price massively below the 5p they paid a month ago.

In terms of disgraceful behaviour of AIM management, I think I've seen it all now.

Totally hopeless they informed shareholders.

Not great H1 numbers. Despite a good revenue increase, due to new bar openings, like for like down 10%.

Short on cash and now high borrowing charges mean some way from being profitable - EBITDA a bit meaningless when a company has high borrowing costs.

Whilst i'm sure train strikes have had an impact there are clearly bigger issues. WFH cannot be helping these city centre locations in midweek.

That being said , this could well get back to 15p by this time next year. The on-trade will do much better in 2024 so i would expect good financial updates over the course of the year. Especially around June/ July

I work in the drinks industry just for context

Rum will make a resurgence in the coming 2 years. Already is to a certain extent. Diageo recently bought Don Papa and will be plowing a lot of money into it as they predict that sector to grow.

Red Leg Spiced will be positioned to do well again in my opinion. Gin on the other hand is completely on a downcycle.

I wont be investing but will spectate on this one.

GLA

Only came across this share today after reading the trading update but it seems a decent one after what seems to be years of pain. Not sure what the long termers think of it?

What a great idea. Happening now in Sheffield and Nottingham they said.

Day Fever Clubs for Afternoon Partying. Will likely catch on in London too, if not already !

should be a good buy for recovery & they did have a write up in citya.m. that sounded promising.

have also included some market details.

market cap £11.98 million. shares in issue:217.88 million.

revenue reached £9.2m in december. back in june they bought the dirty martini chain.

near to 50 sites are owned across the uk. ****tails seem to be very popular.

the ex dragon's den star sarah willingham owns this company. '' we expect to see the benefits of the integration and the synergies during the coming year from the transformation of our management team and improving our systems.

Revolution Bars are closing 8 of their branches:

https://www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/news/AN_1704449734419230900/revolution-bars-plunges-amid-closure-of-eight-bars-softer-trading.aspx

Watford wasn't the first mis-step for the underpowered NGHT management team. Adverse economic conditions and train strikes can only be blamed for so long. Unimpressive.

They need to explain how they got it so wrong with Watford. Opened in Sep 22-closed “pause in trading” June 23. 500k wiped out. They talk about a much more favourable environment re rents so I assume when they go into a new location it’s with much lower overheads to make it work… this was a huge miss and a red flag for if they’re disciplined enough to execute their roll out strategy. Great concept, but need to ensure strong negotiating skills to ensure new locations are profitable

Yes, we did have a hot Sept, but only for 1 week at the beginning, not the whole month.

Also, the WFH on Friday is being used regularly now too.

Watch out for the train strike excuse in Dec although it will actually only impact 1 of the weekends in the lead up to xmas.

"Trading in the first 13 weeks of the new financial year to October was “adversely impacted” by September’s record warm weather"

What, like the warm weather that spiked UK Cider sales in the same period? What a laughable statement.

Https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/1034083/nightcap-toasts-dirty-martini-sales-boost-1034083.html

I agree. The Nightcap brand of bars target a younger crowd the majority of which live at home and are not exposed to increased mortgages costs. They still have their disposable income.

* Executive

I have to say that today's statement from the Chief Executive's reads well having had a quick scan this morning.

Interesting to learn that almost half of the sales come from pre-booked events/parties. Very good to read about their strong focus on training and investment in technology to manage/understand the customer.

It will still be a tough task to pull this all together and generate cash long term with all the challenges that exist in this sector, but the signs look promising based on their strategy which seems very clearly understood.

Hard to imagine there is much room left to crash further 😂

You have to laugh or we’ll cry

There's been practically no figures presented for 2023 at all.

Investors are flying blind hoping we're not going to crash.

Where are the half year results????

The full year is over in 6 weeks and no sign or mention in the recent rns

I sold out weeks ago. The CEO seems more interested in developing her IG following for her lifestyle and travel aspirations, than rolling up their sleeves here. Yesterday's announcement was head-scratching. GL to all who remain, IF it succeeds it will be down to individual brand teams IMHO and not the directors here.

...awaiting the forthcoming FY23 results announcement and update on trading before committing further here. I suspect that recent interest rate increases will be making quite an impact on what is already a precarious bottom line. Can this bar concept be run in a profitable way long term? In my heart I'd like to believe it can but I don't know in practice. Keeping things fresh and up to a good standard costs a lot of money.

It is a little bit too quiet for me, share price has been drifting lower and lower, no director buys, no trading updates

Starting to think I should have sold out back in Feb

We should see final results in November. Last year they were out on 10th of November.

Next trading update probably around 11 January 2024. Will be interesting to see how this Christmas performs.

YE trading update hidden at the bottom of the Dirty Martini RNS in July - appears with EBITDA lower than expected it's essentially a profit warning.

Trading update

Whilst the cost-of-living crisis has affected the entire hospitality industry, as indicated in Nightcap's previous updates, the influence of train strikes has been the main source of disruption to the Group's trading in the 52-week period ending 2 July 2023 ("FY 2023"). Recovering the lost revenues and EBITDA from the significant level of train strikes held across the UK, particularly during the key 2022 Christmas trading weeks, has proved a particular challenge. Management currently estimates that the 28 train strike days over FY 2023 have cost the Group a total of approximately £2.9 million in revenue and £1.9 million in EBITDA. In relation to FY 2023, the Board currently expects to report revenues that are broadly in line with current market expectations, with adjusted EBITDA* expected to be below current market expectations.

Re xmas trading 2023 i note that RBG mentioned in their RNS yesterday that bookings for this period are up 25% on this time last year, so hopefully Nightcap will have seen a similar increase.

Just need these train strikes to get resolved as that must be hurting, on top of all the other cost of living challenges.

on the face of it, it looks like an amazing deal. definitely some risk with the leases etc, but overall a great fit and a very opportunistic buy. i do note that they needed to fund this with another raise however-which is dissapointing, they mentioned generating $4m in cash from operations in the last half...assuming this continued for this half they should've been able to fund from existing balance sheet. i appreciate it de-risks, but given its such a good deal i would imagine that was an appropriate use of funds. noting the update also mentions a miss at the ebitda level i suspect costs are rising quicker than can be accounted for and potentially some sites might be finding themselves loss making. when they announced the last opening they mentioned something like 18 sites in negotiations etc. not a single one of these has come through, i was hoping that the decision to slow the roll out notwithstanding, there would've been a site or two that was such a good offer that they would've pulled the trigger regardless (better to get in now with a great rental offer than not). this tells me that given the rising costs they're unsure of the economics of new sites and have just implemented a blanket freeze. time will tell, but xmas season 2023 is looking like a very importing trading period to gauge overall profitability and inform further roll out potential. from memory the average ****tail club at ipo was approx $350k fit out cost v $250k contribution once all up and running (the fabled ~75% annual return) - we're now up to 13 ****tail clubs. even if all the other sites purely covered costs + overheads for the group, these should be getting us $3.25m ebitda. i suspect below the surface there has been a decline in overall site economics (hence the decision to pause the roll out).

The DM deal is transformational to the company, and the deal was amazing buying out of admin. The team are experienced classy operators, and it now allows them to take their other brands into new locations alongside DM (Manchester in particular). As HighFive says - convent garden DM is an amazing location. Exciting times.

It’s a great deal, looking forward to watching the team turn it around. The Dirty Martini location on Covent Garden is one of the best on the square.

https://www.thearmchairtrader.com/night-cap-plc-beverage-hospitality-group/

"Nightcap has reported a 48.7% revenue growth, to £23.5 million, with a 4.7% like-for-like revenue increase for Q2 FY2023, driven by the openings of six new sites. However, H1 FY2023 saw a 5.8% like-for-like decrease due to rail strikes. The adjusted EBITDA rose 25% to £2.0 million, despite rail strikes, and cash generated from operations increased by 273% to £4.1 million.
Nightcap’s net debt as of 1 January 2023 was £4.1 million, with £0.75 million of the group’s total bank debt scheduled for repayment during FY2023.

Bear in mind, 13 new sites have traded on average just over six months at the end of the period under review, with an early trading and maturity profile. It was reported that they are on track to deliver Nightcap’s target of 75% annual return on investment (ROI) on total capital invested in new bars in their third year of operation. Several sites are on track to beat the 75% ROI target in their first year of operation."

i presume you've seen the update released on 11th Jan. Headline revenue growth is good as more bars open, however, lift the bonnet and it says like for like revenues for H1 were down over 5%. When you remember 2021 xmas was covid impacted this is a concern.
I suspect the train strikes impacted city centre and late opening establishments, so Nightcap would have been hit. The train strikes the week before xmas probably had a significant impact.
Also cash is a concern. On 3/7 net debt was £200k now it is £4.1m. Whilst some of this would have been used on bar openings and refurb that's a big reduction in 6 months.
Interestingly Revolution had similar results. H1 was down on last year and they also blamed train strikes.
As the xmas period is peak trading both updates were a bit underwhelming IMHO.

Anyone have any guesses on what the trading announcement might hold?
I was fairly upbeat after the prior update but it appears everyone didnt agree as we have slowly declined since but with the mid term potential 13M Mcap seems a steal, especially since they turned a profit FY22 without all sites open

Cash - that's good to hear. Can i ask where you got this info from pre AGM?
Also when you say Q3 trading is now flat is that compared with 2019 or 2021?
Thanks in advance

Flattened now.. The only way is up.

The CFO and CEO (who is part founder and holds millions of shares and share options) were recently both awarded a 100% bonus on top of their competitive salaries.
I have no issue with a bonus being paid but based on the YE numbers recently published and the SP performance these seem excessive IMHO.

Spoke to the CFO the other day nice chap they seem to be fairing well relative to others in the industry.

If they can keep their cost base neutral in the short term they should do nicely.

Agreed, a period of consolidation would be prudent, pulling back on the planned 2023 expansion. Fill the coffers before the grim economic outlook hits revenue.

Prudent move to slow down expansion with 2023 likely to slow down for most and cash retention important, however Nightcap have the advantage of having a young fresh estate with some highly capable operators so I expect this one to buck the trend and fly along next year, and with luck we will see the squeeze easing by this time next year- there rarely seems to have been truly optimal trading conditions in the last fifteen years and Be At One for one have proved what can be achieved in such times.

https://www.cateringtoday.co.uk/news/pubs-and-bars/nightcap-to-slow-expansion-plans-despite-revenues-surging-30m/

Hahaha. Like there's gonna be another lockdown. Absolutely zero chance of that.

bojo has not ruled out another lockdown -see sky news

Any further insights given to the cash vs liabilities situation?

Actually looking a the interim results that were recently released cash may be a little tight. The EBITDA figure and cash generated were both positive which is good, however, the balance sheet is less strong.

Comparing the YE results nightcap had current assets of £14.3m v current liabilities of £11.5m. At H1 it is now assets of £11.7m v £13.7m liabilities - so in the short term we have a £2m shortfall (and a 6 month negative change of c£4m) . Clearly not all these payments need to be made at once but it's not a good indicator of a supposedly cash generating company.
It will be interesting to see if this is mentioned in the Investor Meets presentation today

IMHO cash is ok unless the purchase another brand. NGHT's strategy is to increase their venues, but i see this predominantly as expansions to existing brands . Of the 25 negotiations not all will reach a positive conclusion and it is currently a good time to get empty spaces at knock down prices. Also, if we do come out of the pandemic, as is now expected, then the timing could be ideal. Also, these are leases, not freehold purchases, so the upfront cost is a lot lower, although clearly the new venues will need to be kitted out internally so this will incur some costs - maybe £50k per venue?
Finally, hopefully the current venues will be cash generative so cash should be growing from the main operations.

...hello all. Has anyone considered the cash requirements here (from 10th Jan update) "Nightcap currently has a further 25 sites in legal negotiations or under offer across several of its brands. The Group expects for several new site leases to be entered into before the end of March 2022." - goes on to say £9.4m in the bank. Enough? Any signs of a raise on the horizon?

seems a solid update as we have almost been in semi lockdown for the last couple of months.
Regarding cash, yes looks fine. Was over £12m in Sept but we have spent c£3.6m on acquisitions since then plus upgrades to bars etc

Have moved on from Nightcap, wish all current shareholders well. Just spotted this online and thought some of you might be interested.

https://www.leeds-live.co.uk/best-in-leeds/restaurants-bars/leeds-bar-revolution-turn-huge-22775783

I heard Nightcap have just won a huge contract to supply booze and bars for Downing Street - should act as a good hedge against any future lock downs.

Assume this is the same Mark Ward who owns c10% of RBG and also a fair bit of IDP. He is a very wealthy smart cookie, so IMHO it bodes well that he is increasing his holding here

Rapid growth that will be 15% in one day! roll on Xmas .

ShandyPants - I share your view as well.

Revs was making good progress before Covid hit - the De Cuba bars usually out performed the vodka bars, however, in line with the rest of the industry I believe Revs are now seeing their younger focussed brand (Revs Vodka is 18 to 24 focussed, de cuba is 24+) outperform their slightly older focussed brand. We also saw this in 'spoons where draft beer was significantly down but drinks favoured by a younger clientele were significantly up.

Thankfully we don't all get excited by the same thing - I invest in Boo, it's not because I like £10 dresses... It's because I see significant upside in the mid term. I don't personally like tequila however the numbers look attractive to me and will significantly add to both the top and bottom line of Nightcap, this acquisition seems to make a lot of sense.

I wouldn't see them rolling it out to smaller towns but larger towns and cities could easily support one of these.

If we grow to 20 ****tail clubs, 20 Adventure Bar group bars and then 10 of these... that gives... wait for it... 50 bars.. I'm not just a pretty face..

Not bad considering where we started from. I'm actually happy seeing a lot of 'bought growth' - Nightcap was launched as an acquisition vehicle...

Fastduck - surely the cuba bars are the best in the revolution range - the standard revolution brand appears to be the issue. Also not sure how you can say RBG were on the slide before covid - the H1 and xmas 2020 period were really good - then covid hit.
This deal looks encouraging IMHO. The 60s theme bar is a stand alone brand the the others will appeal to the younger crowd who appear to be the big spenders ATM. Difficult to determine whether the price is good as revenues/trading was impacted by Covid. I like that 3 of the 5 bars have a kitchen as food ensures it can appeal to many people throughout the day, rather than just the late night drinkers/clubbers.

Definitely, its not a small town, quite few bars and several nightclubs.

Is there scope for another similar bar in your town?