Revolution Bars trades 'extremely well', FY revenues seen ahead of expectations

Bar operator Revolution Bars Group said on Thursday that its locations had traded "extremely well" within the restrictions in place from 12 April, when trading outdoors was permitted.

Revolution said the "strong performance" had also continued since 17 May, when indoor trading was permitted and all of its bars were able to trade, albeit with continuing significant restrictions.

Despite the restrictions in place since 17 May, when seated capacity in its bars represented only 28% of total capacity, Revolution stated trading had improved to 86% against the same period in 2019, with full-year revenues now expected to be ahead of previous expectations.

While Revolution said it was "confident" that further pent-up demand remained, the firm said it was "cautious about the coming financial year" as the continuing impact of Covid-19 remained "unclear".

The AIM-listed firm now expects its full-year performance for the twelve months ending 3 July to be ahead of previous expectations, with an underlying loss of roughly £12.5m, before IFRS16 adjustments, and a significantly lower net bank debt of around £5.0m.

Chief executive Rob Pitcher said: "As predicted we have continued to see huge pent-up demand and a rapid recovery across the nation in our bars following indoors reopening. We were disappointed to see that the much anticipated 'Freedom Day' of 21 June was delayed but the new date of 19 July, when our bars will be able to trade without restrictions, looks more certain than ever.

"Following sixteen months of government-imposed restrictions on our business our customers are very keen to take advantage of our full guest experience. Whilst we anticipate strong demand for our late-night offering, we continue to be cautious about possible restrictions on our business during the winter period."

As of 0840 BST, Revolution shares were up 7.96% at 22.78p.