Last checked at 11 May 2021 07:00
Revolution Bars Group plc (LSE:RBG)
Re-opening Update
Revolution Bars Group plc ("the Group" or "the Company"), a leading operator of 66 premium bars, trading under the Revolution and Revolucion de Cuba brands, welcomes the comments by the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson on 10 May 2021 in relation to the Roadmap for England, further easing restrictions to allow indoor trading of our bars on 17 May 2021 and confirming that the Roadmap remains on track for a return to restriction free trading on 21 June 2021.
As previously announced in our interim results on 13 April 2021, the Company was excited to be able to recommence trading outside on 12 April 2021 in 20 bars, ready to bounce back to capture the pent-up demand and to take advantage of the improvements made to our brands over the past year. Since that date, a further five bars have opened outdoor space including those as permitted by the relaxation of restrictions in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
We are pleased to report that since opening those bars have traded extremely strongly, fulfilling the desire for our customers to return despite the often unseasonably cold weather. The restrictions in place are such that in the bars where we have been able to trade outdoors the covers available represent approximately only 15% of total capacity of those venues, which are also trading for shorter hours than normal. Despite these constraints, we are delighted to report that these venues have delivered 48% of the sales in the four weeks to 9 May 2021 when compared to the same period in 2019, when there were no COVID-19 restrictions. We believe this performance has been underpinned by the strength of our brands, our loyal customer base and the improvements we have made to the business during the period of forced closure. Net bank debt at 10 May 2021 stood at £28.5m, with total available facilities of £40.2m.
Following the customer reaction we have seen over the last four weeks, the Board is confident that significant further pent up demand exists and therefore further strong trading is anticipated in the months to come as restrictions fall away and we fully open up the estate.
Taking the above into account, together with continued tight cost control and better than anticipated support from third parties, we now expect that our full year performance for the year ending 30 June 2021 will be ahead of previous management expectations.
Rob Pitcher, CEO of Revolution Bars Group said:
"As predicted we have seen huge pent up demand and a rapid recovery across the nation in the bars with outside space that we have been able to open to date.
The ability to trade inside from 17 May 2021 provides another landmark in the Roadmap and whilst we will still be restricted to using less than 50% of our actual capacity, the demand that we have experienced in recent weeks provides us with the confidence to open all the remaining bars.
We are delighted to welcome our guests back indoors from the 17 May 2021, and look forward to the full benefits still to come when all restrictions are lifted in mid-June."
Enquiries:
Revolution Bars Group plc Tel: 0161 330 3876
Rob Pitcher, CEO
Danielle Davies, CFO
finnCap, NOMAD and Joint Broker Tel: 020 7220 0500
Matt Goode / Simon Hicks / Teddy Whiley (Corporate Finance)
Tim Redfern / Richard Chambers (ECM)
Peel Hunt LLP, Joint Broker Tel: 020 7418 8900
George Sellar / Andrew Clark
Instinctif (Financial PR) Tel: 020 7457 2005/7427 1445
Matt Smallwood
Jack Devoy
The information contained within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU No. 596/2014) which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (withdrawal) Act 2018. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.