Entrepreneur Luke Johnson to the rescue at Revolution Bars

Bars and gastro pub business Revolution Bars is pursuing a twin track rescue and restructuring deal with backing from entrepreneur Luke Johnson and other existing shareholders.

The stock market listed group which owns the Revolution, Revolucion de Cuba and Peach Pubs brands is proposing that it raises £10.5m – of which £2m will come from the issuing of new shares.

The group has also triggered a formal sale process which it says is necessary due to “liquidity pressures from Q1 FY25 onwards” in a statement released last night (10 April 2024), meaning one or more of its brands could be sold off to raise cash to keep the rest of the business going.

The company has also released its unaudited interim results for the 26 weeks to the end of 30 December 2023, and requested that trading in its shares on AIM be restored.

Revolution made a profit before tax of £3.1m, after an exceptional gain on disposal of £3.9m relating to the exit from certain leasehold properties, and enjoyed what it described as “the best festive period since 2019”. Sales for the 26-week period were £82.3 million.

But the Ashton-under-Lyne headquartered group also noted that it had faced “an ongoing period of softer trade post-Christmas, coupled with significant cost pressures” which meant the restructuring plan would provide working capital by raising additional equity capital from new and existing investors.

Rob Pitcher, Chief Executive Officer, said: “The first half of FY24 has seen continued challenges with the cost-of-living crisis disproportionately impacting particularly the discretionary expenditure of our young Revolution brand guests. Revolución de Cuba and Peach have been less impacted as the guest profile is more affluent, and both brands enjoyed very strong festive trading, and Revolución de Cuba, in particular, has shown excellent trading when compared against the wider Bars market.”