Operator and developer of all day club, restaurant and hotel sites Various Eateries (VARE:AIM) experienced strong pent-up demand post reopening driving full-year revenues up 36% to £22.3 million.
On a risk-off day with the AIM market trading down 2.6% the shares lost 4% to 55p. The company listed on the market in September 2020 at 73p per share.
STEADY RECOVERY
In the five weeks between April and May when only outside trading was permitted, like-for-like sales at Coppa Club sites were 11% ahead of pre-pandemic trading.
Like-for-like growth increased to 21% from 17 May through the end of the financial year to 3 October with several sites recording record weekly and monthly revenues.
The group’s Italian restaurant brand Tavolino which operates in central London saw a slower recovery building to a positive like-for-like sales trend from September 2021.
The company returned to profitability with adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) of £1.2 million compared with losses of £800,000.
Total net losses for the year reduced by 74% to £3.7 million and the company ended the period with cash of £19.7 million.
CONTINUED EXPANSION
The company continued to execute on its strategy to capitalize on the ‘unprecedented’ opportunity presented by the pandemic which has reduced competition in the sector.
Coppa Clubs were opened in Cobham and Clifton Village and post period end Coppa Club Putney was opened. New sites are expected to open in Bath and Haslemere in the first half of the calendar year.
Several further premium sites have agreed terms or are in advanced negotiations while many others are under consideration. The company said it was ‘excited by the prospect of ramping up’ its expansion plans.
Broker WH Ireland commented: ‘With the strategy remaining unchanged since the IPO, and the size of the opportunity having arguably increased, we fundamentally believe that Various Eateries will be one of the key winners in the hospitality sector.’
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