Losses narrow for Revolution Bars as it looks optimistically at post-Covid market
Losses have narrowed for Revolution Bars, the operator of Revolution and Revolución de Cuba brands, which suffered heavily following the pandemic.
Reporting preliminary results for the 53 weeks ending 3 July 2021, the group said it had faced “an extraordinary year where every week of trade was impacted heavily” by restrictions or enforced closure.
However, Revolution is looking optimistic and having used this period to further invest and improve its brands and operations, it is now picking up where it left off prior to COVID-19.
Revenues for the year stood at £39.4m, which were down on the prior year’s £110.1m.
In that period losses-before-tax narrowed from £31.7m to £26.3m.
Net bank debt reduced from £22m to £3.6m following two equity fundraisings achieving total net proceeds of £34m. The funds were used to reduce the group’s debts, accelerate its existing site refurbishment programme and to take advantage of favourable market conditions for estate expansion.
The group said it has also created two new brand concepts, Founders & Co, an artisanal market-place experience, and a soon-to-launch socialising concept.
It said it has also strengthened the engagement of its teams and driven its Diversity & Inclusion agenda, “in order to set the business up to perform strongly when trading restrictions ended.”
During the period the group closed eight loss making sites.
Rob Pitcher, CEO, said: “We are very excited to be back trading and doing what we do best. As we had hoped and expected, our young guest base was ready to return to our bars and we continue to be pleased with our level of trade, reflecting the fun and memorable experiences our teams create for our guests.
“Our strategy, and the investment in our brands and people, is showing real results. We are pleased with the launch of our two new brand concepts, and love to see our two established brands continue to thrive and grow.”
He added: “Whilst the disruption caused by COVID has set back our timescales for expansion, we believe that post COVID, our market place and the competitive landscape will be fundamentally different and there will be good opportunities for our brands to expand their estates at a much lower level of investment.”
