Restaurants

Hostmore revenues jump 147% in H1

The group also saw a 143% growth in group adjusted EBITDA year-on-year due to improved revenues, cost mitigation activities and landlord concessions

Hostmore has announced that its revenues surged 147% to £98.5m for the 26 weeks ended 3 July 2022 (H1 FY22), compared to £39.9m in H1 FY21, when business was “significantly” impacted by the pandemic.

The hospitality business owns brands including Fridays, 63rd+1st and Fridays and Go. Both volume and customer spend per head increased, although this is down 7% compared to pre-Covid levels which is in line with expectations.

Related Articles

The group also saw a 143% growth in group adjusted EBITDA year-on-year due to improved revenues, cost mitigation activities and landlord concessions.

Advertisement

Overall, trading compared to FY19 was lower in the stadium (events led) and city centre (working from home) categories, with the south-east and north-west most affected.

Undrawn banking facilities of £27.5m are presently available under the Revolving Credit Facility, which Hostmore said will support the business during a time of uncertain consumer demand and inflated utility pricing.

Meanwhile, like-for-like (LFL) revenues for the 10 weeks since the reporting date is 14% lower than the FY19 comparable period, amid weaker consumer demand and other factors including rail strikes and heatwaves.

Looking ahead, trading conditions are expected to remain “challenging”, heightened by inflationary pressures on consumers and the risk of higher utilities supply pricing. The impact of unhedged current utilities prices is expected to have an impact on FY23 EBITDA.

LFL revenue expectations for the second half are now forecast to be 11% lower than the FY19 comparative.

Robert B. Cook, chief executive officer, said: “We have delivered a stable performance for the first half of FY22 despite the undeniable and growing pressures on the consumer in the current environment. Against this tough backdrop, we have also taken swift action to manage the inflationary impacts that we and the rest of the sector face. 

“We will continue to adopt a cautious approach, reflecting ongoing uncertainty in the UK trading environment and in particular utilities pricing, mitigating costs wherever possible, whilst continuing to invest in our proposition, our people and new sites.”

Back to top button