City round-up: Revolution Bars; Victorian Plumbing
Revolution Bars Group said trading, following the easing of lockdowns, has been ahead of expectations, but remains wary of further pandemic restrictions heading into the Christmas period.
The Manchester-based operator of 67 premium bars released a trading update for the first quarter, today, which said that, during the period from July 19, to October 2, its sites have experienced strong demand delivering same site sales growth of 17% when compared with the same period two years ago, when the business traded normally pre-COVID.
The 56 English sites, which had no restrictions over this period, traded at 21% higher when compared with two years ago. In line with the previously communicated plans the group has re-commenced its refurbishment programme.
This strong trading performance was well ahead of the company’s expectations for this period, and costs have continued to be well controlled resulting in good profit generation from these sales.
However, the group said that, while confident in the outlook for the business in the current trading environment, the board remains cautious of the potential impact of an escalation of COVID-19 and any associated restrictions on the business in the upcoming key trading months, including corporate Christmas parties.
The group’s balance sheet remains strong, with net cash of £3.7m and £36.5m facility headroom as at October 6, 2021. The group intends to publish its preliminary results for the year ended July 3, 2021 on November 16, 2021.
Chief executive, Rob Pitcher, said: “We spent the lockdown periods working extremely hard to refine and enhance our brand propositions with a key focus on heightening guest experience.
“As a result, it is extremely encouraging to see we have capitalised on the pent up demand we predicted, which has been reflected in excellent trading so far this year. We are, therefore, confident in the group’s outlook assuming that there are no further restrictions on our ability to trade.”
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Victorian Plumbing
Formby-based online bathroom supplier, Victorian Plumbing Group, has reported strong revenue growth for the year.
The business, which raised £298m earlier this year after floating on AIM a market capitalisation of £850m, issued a trading update for the year to September 30, ahead of releasing results on December 9.
It said the financial year finished positively with revenue growth of circa 29%. This reflects strong trading in the first three quarters of the year, more subdued market conditions as lockdown restrictions were eased, before customer demand improved in September.
While revenue growth moderated over the summer, gross margins remained strong throughout and adjusted EBITDA for 2021 is anticipated to be ahead of market expectations.
Given the widely publicised global supply chain issues that have been affecting many companies, the group said it has been proactive in optimising its stock holding going into the new financial year.
It said it continues to progress all of the operational and strategic opportunities outlined at the time of the IPO, and management will provide a further update in the group’s maiden preliminary results on December 9.
