Revolution Bars trades ahead of expectations since reopening

Bar operator Revolution Bars said on Thursday that trading since reopening had been ahead of expectations, partly due to Downing Street's "Eat Out to Help Out" initiative.

Revolution said comparable venue sales in the eight weeks ended 29 August came to 72.5% of those recorded last year, while in the last four weeks during the government scheme comparable venue sales were 77.5%.

The AIM-listed group stated that the scheme had been "a big success", driving Monday to Wednesday comparable venue sales to 188.4% of last year, and vowed to continue running the programme at its own cost throughout September.

Revolution said it remains focused on reducing costs while trade was still constrained by social distancing restrictions and highlighted that ongoing discussions with landlords at 16 of its venues would hopefully reach "an acceptable outcome" before the September quarter date.

However, the group also said it was "disappointed" that almost half of its landlords had refused to enter into meaningful discussions.

Chief executive Rob Pitcher said: "Having opened two-thirds of our estate I'm pleased that these bars have outperformed our base case scenario assumptions, however, sales in the 8 weeks since reopening commenced remain 27.5% below last year despite the assistance of the government's 'Eat Out To Help Out' scheme that finished earlier this week.

"We have more openings planned during this week and next but will have eleven bars that are very unlikely to resume trading until there is a further relaxation of social distancing measures and late-night venues are legally allowed to reopen."

As of 1120 BST, Revolution shares were up 7.93% at 15.65p.