24 Feb 2021 07:00
Electra Private Equity PLCChairman's remarks at Annual General Meeting
24 February 2021
At today's Annual General Meeting Chairman Neil Johnson will give the following update on Electra's portfolio companies:
"Each of the Electra Private Equity PLC ('Electra') portfolio companies is trading in line with expectations, consistent with the trends we reported at our final results announcement on 9 December 2020. Despite continued uncertainty on timing of the relaxation of trading restrictions, and the impact of that particularly on TGI Fridays, we remain on track with plans to deliver our strategic objective of portfolio realisation in 2021. In the most challenging circumstances each of our management teams and their employees have worked tirelessly to put their business in a strong position for future growth and, on behalf of our shareholders I thank them for their continuing excellent efforts.
TGI Fridays
TGI Fridays ('Fridays') performed strongly across the massively fluctuating trading conditions of 2020. Friday's agility in responding to changing conditions and optimising opportunity, combined with careful financial and cash management, allowed it to end the year with its cash position virtually unchanged from March 2020. With substantial re-opening now likely to be in mid-May this leaves the business well positioned to emerge strongly from lockdown in a market with competition reduced by an estimated 20-30% from pre Covid levels by widespread restaurant closures.
During lockdown Fridays continues to trade through delivery / 'click and collect' from 27 stores and nationally though delivery of prepare at home meals and Fridays cocktails. On resumption Fridays will re-open its 85 existing stores and in addition will open both its first '63rd + 1st' location in Cobham and a new Fridays store in Lincoln. '63rd+1st' is a new brand building on Friday's heritage in cocktails to provide a smaller site format cocktails led experience with a focussed high quality menu. A pipeline of 3 additional '63rd+1st' stores and 2 additional Fridays stores will open throughout 2021 with an additional 9 targeted locations in varying stages of delivery across both brands.
An investor presentation focused on Fridays has been submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will shortly be available for inspection at: https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism
and online on the Company's website at www.electraequity.com/investor-relations.
Hotter Shoes
Hotter's strong trading through its direct-to-consumer channels is continuing into 2021 with direct channel growth of 68% in January outweighing the impact of retail lockdown to deliver overall sales growth of 15% YOY for the month. This leaves sales growth in the UK Direct Channel at 20% for the 4 months since Hotter's new business model and improved product collection were launched in October of last year.
Hotter's new spring / summer collection, further developing its differentiated focus on comfort and fit supported by technological innovation, is now available on www.Hotter.com.
Sentinel Performance Solutions
Sentinel has continued to trade strongly through the winter months in UK and Europe despite Covid restrictions and January Brexit disruption. For the first 10 months of its Financial Year to March Sentinel is now over £1.1m (42%) ahead of the prior year at EBITDA level despite sales being negatively impacted by Covid by an estimated £2m. The business is poised to continue its progress with focus on further growth in the UK and overseas through new and existing products."
A further update on progress towards delivery will be given in Electra's interim results, which are expected to be announced on or around 21 May 2021.
Results of Annual General Meeting
The results of Electra Private Equity PLC's Annual General Meeting resolutions will be announced following the meeting later today.
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Neither the contents of the Company's website nor the contents of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the Company's website (or any other website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.
For further information: Gavin Manson, Chief Financial and Operating Officer, Electra Private Equity PLC 020 3874 8300