BrewDog hopeful of a better year after filing 2020 losses
BrewDog has said the most recent trading numbers for its bar division “tell a very different story” to its yearly results for 2020.
The company’s venues division posted a pre-tax loss of £10.4m for the year ended December 31 2020. This is compared to a pre-tax loss of £653,000 in 2019.
What’s more, the company posted a turnover of £25m down from 2019’s figure of £47m.
The Scottish brewing business stressed its venues were shut or operating under Covid restrictions for the majority of the period. It said it was “optistmic for a better 2021,” in accounts posted to Companies House.
The company said its UK operations were trading ahead of 2019 levels although trade had been slow to return in some areas, including London.
A surge in online sales had helped grow the craft brewer’s revenue 10 per cent last year, despite the shutdown of bars, BrewDog revealed earlier this year.
Revenue hit £238m for the year, driven by a thirteen-fold increase in digital sales of its drinks.
“In March 2020 we closed almost all of our 105 locations globally with the exception of our Brisbane taproom, the Covid crisis impacted our bars business extensively. While we maintained a strong takeaway and delivery presence through our BrewDog Now app, trading remained challenging,” James Brown, retail managing director of BrewDog, said.
“Since reopening our UK estate has seen strong trading performances in particular regional locations with central London and business district locations slower to recover. Since the end of August we have seen a step change in both trade and footfall, particularly in London and are now trading in line with 2019 sales.”
The brewer also reported it was trading ahead of expectations in its newest locations in Exeter, Plymouth, Ealing, Bath and its Manchester hotel.