Adjusted profits fall by £5m at troubled bar chain

Losses before tax at the Manchester based Revolution Bars Group widened to £5.6m over the last 12 months.

However, the firm which has been through a significant period of turmoil said it is starting to stabilise the business.

The firm had shelved expansion plans as it struggled to cope with changes in spending and a tough market.

In its preliminary results Revolution said adjusted profit before tax fell by £5m to £3m.

The firm currently operates 77 bars, trading under the Revolution and Revolución de Cuba brands.

It said the firm made considerable progress made in 2019 – a year of transition which saw the business stabilised.

As a result full year results are in line with market expectations.

Like-for-like sales for the period at -3.5% mask an improving trend with H1 at -4.0%, H2 at -2.9% and Q4 at -1.8%.

Five new bars were committed to opened in the year; two Revolution bars trading strongly reaffirming relevance of brand and three Revolución de Cuba bars.

The company saw sales of £151m over the 12 months.

Annual cost savings of £1.5m announced last year are being implemented and are expected to be fully realised over the next 12 months.

Six bars were refurbished during in the first quarter including flagship Revolución de Cuba Manchester and are showing encouraging sales uplifts in their first few weeks of trading. Nine further refurbishments are planned.

Rob Pitcher, Chief Executive Officer, said: “A return to positive like-for-like sales in Q1 of the current year reflects the hard work by the team in stabilising the business.

“We will invest in our team, our brand experience and our estate to continue to improve performance. Our progress demonstrates that our business is delighting our guests, and is both profitable and cash generative. We will utilise surplus cash to reduce debt to such an extent whereby any return to expansion of the estate will be self-funding.”