Abbeycrest suffers six month loss

JEWELLERY group Abbeycrest hopes new sales and marketing initiatives will help it turnaround a six month pre-tax loss of £1.3m.

The half year loss, up from £500,000 in the same period last year, was posted on the back of revenues down from £18.8m to £12.6m.

Leeds-based Abbeycrest operates through two trading subsidiaries, Abbeycrest Thailand Limited and Brown & Newirth Limited.

Simon Ashton, executive chairman of Abbeycrest, said: “Our objective this year is to lay the foundations for growth and to provide sufficient time for both ATL and B&N to benefit from the sales and marketing initiatives we now have underway.

“Whilst we are moving forward, difficult trading conditions, coupled with the usual lag between investment and return, mean that it is unlikely that we will see any significant return from these initiatives until the next financial year.”

Abbeycrest held negotiations with its lenders earlier this year and secured £1m from Siam Commercial Bank but it today warned it would need to extend its current facilities or reduce its working capital needs by £200,000 this month.