Revolution Bars swings to full-year loss

Revolution Bars said on Tuesday that it swung to a full-year loss as late-night hospitality took a hit form the cost-of-living crisis.

In its preliminary results for the year to 1 July, the company said it swung to a statutory pre-tax loss of £22.2m from a profit of £2.1m the year before.

Total revenue rose by £11.8m to £152.6m. However, like-for-like revenues declined by 8.7%.

The company - which owns Peach Pubs, Revolution, Revolucion de Cuba, Founders & Co and Playhouse - said its Revolution brand was hit particularly hard by reduced footfall "as a result of the well-publicised challenges faced by our young guest base".

"On a macroeconomic basis, late-night hospitality, in particular, is facing very challenging times impacted by the cost-of-living crisis which followed the period affected by trading restrictions under the pandemic," the group said.

"In addition, the working from home trend, especially on Fridays, historically our second largest night, has affected our sales. Against this backdrop, our initiatives to drive sales, support our guests, and manage costs are making progress."

At 1350 BST, the shares were down 12.3% at 3.20p.