Brighton Pier thanks weather for bright start to the year

The owners of Brighton’s 120-year old Palace Pier said on Monday that the current year had got off to a sunny start thanks to record weather over the August bank holiday.

AIM-listed Brighton Pier Group, which along with Palace Pier owns indoor mini golf sites and bars, said the warm weather contributed to the pier achieving a record week and meeting expectations for the summer.

It added that the current year would also benefit from the recent completion of upgrades to the London to Brighton mainline; the refurbishment and relaunch of its Le Fez bar in Putney, south London; a new golf site in Rushden Lakes trading "ahead of expectations"; and the opening of another golf course in Plymouth scheduled for later in the year.

The upbeat forecast came as Brighton Pier, which is chaired by serial entrepreneur Luke Johnson, reported revenues of £32.0m in the year to 30 June, up on the previous year’s figure of £31.4m.

Adjusted group earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose from £4.4m to £4.8m, while pre-tax profits were flat at £3.2m.

Johnson said the pier division had been hit by 30 days of closure during the mainline upgrade, which happened mostly over the weekends and key half-term periods, and poor weather. Many rides and shops on the pier were either disrupted or closed by winds and rain, meaning overall EBITDA for the pier - which the group acquired in 2016 - fell £0.3m to £3.1m.

The golf division completed its first full year inside the group and contributed EBITDA in line with expectations of £1.5m. The bars business saw earnings dip, however, from £1.8m to £1.4m, largely because of the temporary closure of Le Fez.

Chief executive Anne Ackord said: "I am delighted that the group has delivered growth in both sales and earnings.

"Trading for the group during the important first two months of the currently financial year - July and August 2019 - met budget. Consequently, we remain confident of our prospects."

Investors adopted a more cautious tone, however, sending the stock down 2% to 48.50p by 1230 BST. Johnson, the former chair of Patisserie Valerie, is the company’s biggest shareholder with a 27% stake.