Safestay revenues boosted by new sites on the Continent

Hostel operator Safestay saw revenues and earnings move ahead in its last trading year, driven in part by the addition of new sites in Barcelona, Brussels and Vienna.

Safestay improved revenues 39% to £14.6m in the twelve months ended 31 December - well ahead of the 5% average annual growth rate in the contemporary hostel market.

Growth in occupancy grew to 75.6% from the 72.8% recorded in 2017.

The AIM-listed outfit now expects to record an EBITDA of no less than £3.4m - a £200,000 improvement on the previous year.

Looking forward, chairman Larry Lipman said: "The focus is to grow the brand and the company has the capital to support an increase from the 13 sites today to over 20, at which point the business will become self-funding and increasingly gain from economies of scale and brand growth."

Safestay also noted that it had completed the 73-bed extension of its popular Elephant & Castle hostel located in the Labour Party's ex-headquarters, taking the group's total bed count to 2,792.

As of 1030 GMT, Safestay shares had climbed 8.95% to 36.50p.