Ten Entertainment revenue slumps amid Covid ‘confusion’
Bowling alley chain Ten Entertainment today forecast a sharp decline in revenue for the full year as coronavirus lockdowns and confusion over changing restrictions battered sales.
The London-listed firm said it expected total sales to fall 60 per cent to £36.3m in 2020 after its venues were forced to close for roughly half the year.
Ten Entertainment reported strong trading ahead of the first coronavirus lockdown in March, booking a 12.7 per cent growth in total sales for the first 11 weeks of the year.
Sales were wiped out completely between April and July, before recovering to 77 per cent of last year’s levels as the economy reopened in August and September.
However, revenue slumped again in the fourth quarter, with Ten Entertainment blaming “considerable consumer confusion” over curfews, household mixing and alcohol sales rules.
The company, which operates 46 bowling alleys across the UK, said it expected to fall to a loss in 2020.
Ten Entertainment closed the year with £12.4m of liquidity, which it said was enough to stay closed for at least another eight months.
The group today said it has agreed a further £14m loan from RBS under the government’s coronavirus large business interruption loan scheme and a revised covenant on its existing £25m debt facility.
It said this would provide enough liquidity to survive into 2022 should the lockdown continue.
Ten Entertainment today confirmed Graham Blackwell as its new chief executive. Blackwell, who previously served as chief operating officer, had taken up the position in an interim capacity in September after Duncan Garrood stood down earlier than expected.
Ten Entertainment said it remained confident about the outlook as it was set to benefit from pent-up demand and the closure of casual dining venues when lockdown eases.
“We expect there to be significant pent-up demand when our business reopens. Our highly popular competitive socialising model, operating in safe, spacious and well-invested centres, will be extremely attractive to people in a post-vaccine environment,” Blackwell said.