City Pub group hammered by 57 per cent plunge in revenue
Hammered by restrictions, the City Pub group raked in £25.8 million in revenue last year, 57 per cent less than 2019 figures, despite buying a hefty stake in Kensington Park Hotel.
The group, which has 45 pubs across London, Southern England and Wales, snapped up a 49 per cent stake in the hotel in the year ending 27 December, to make up for its £5.1m loss in profits.
Unable to make proper use of its pubs during the last year due to the pandemic, the group also bolstered its shareholding in the London-based Mosaic Pub and Dining group by 24 per cent.
Meanwhile, share prices were up 2.32 per cent this morning at 132.5p per share.
Throughout the year, City Pub has optimised it’s outdoor spaced to take advantage of the demand after a lower-than-average revenue intake. The group also expects a boom in staycations.
“The business has been significantly improved over the past year placing us in an excellent position to take advantage of the pent-up demand as the country reopens,” executive chairman, Clive Watson, said.
With quiet pub bars and masked staff, the group built on its City Club app which now has over 100,000 active members.
The outlook looks bright for the group, with trading at 77 per cent of 2019 levels across its 24 open pubs, while it looks to open all 45 sites on 17 May.
“The early signs since we have been allowed to trade outdoors have been very heartening and it has been great to bring back our immensely talented staff and to see our customers enjoying our pubs once again,” Watson added.
City Pub also underwent a senior staff shuffle, appointing Toby Smith as its chief operating officer and Emma Fox as an independent non-executive director.
The group has hopes to use its growing shareholding to expand its estate to over 100 sites.