Trading and openings update

RNS Number : 8492X

Nightcap PLC

10 January 2022

 

This announcement contains Inside Information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014 (which forms part of domestic UK law pursuant to the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018).  Upon the publication of this announcement this Inside Information is now considered to be within the public domain.

10 January 2022

Nightcap plc

("Nightcap" or the "Company" or the "Group")

Trading and openings update for the 26 weeks ended 26 December 2021

Trading update

26 weeks ended 26 December 2021 ("H1 FY2022")

Nightcap (AIM: NGHT) is pleased to announce a positive trading update for the 26 weeks ended 26 December 2021, despite the UK Government 'Plan B' guidelines ("Plan B") imposed during the key Christmas trading weeks. Unaudited Group net sales were £15.5 million for H1 FY2022, resulting in a 46.2% net sales increase on the same period in 2019 and a 22.4% like for like* increase compared to the same period in 2019. Excluding the Plan B period, Group net sales increased by 52.7% and 28.3% on a like for like* basis for the 24 weeks ended 12 December 2021.

13 weeks ended 26 December 2021 ("Q2 FY2022")

Nightcap continued its strong growth during the second quarter of its 2022 financial year, seeing three successful new site openings for The Cocktail Club ("TCC") during November 2021 in Bristol, Reading and Mansion House in London. Adventure Bar Group entered into a new lease for a site in Cardiff on 23 December 2021.

Although more than 7,500 bookings for the Christmas period across the Group were initially cancelled following Plan B, the Board is pleased that over 70% of these bookings were re-scheduled to take place between January and March 2022.

Unaudited Group net sales were £7.9 million for Q2 FY2022, resulting in a 32.1% net sales increase and a 12.9% like for like* increase compared to the same period in 2019. Excluding the Plan B period, the Group saw net sales increase by 41.9% and 22.4% on a like for like* basis for the 11 weeks ended 12 December 2021.

New site openings and additional pipeline

Nightcap is pleased to announce that Adventure Bar Group has entered into a lease for a new Tonight Josephine site in St. Mary Street, Central Cardiff. The site covers an area of approximately 6,000 square feet with a 3:00 a.m. license Monday to Sunday. The site is expected to open in March 2022 and will have an unrestricted capacity of 294.

Nightcap currently has a further 25 sites in legal negotiations or under offer across several of its brands. The Group expects for several new site leases to be entered into before the end of March 2022.

The Group's balance sheet is solid with unaudited cash at bank of approximately £9.4 million at 26 December 2021.

Sarah Willingham, Chief Executive Officer of Nightcap, commented:

"As we approach our first anniversary since our IPO, I could not be prouder of the entire team across our three operating businesses. To achieve 46.2% growth in net sales and 22.4% on a like for like basis represents a monumental effort under any circumstances, not least during a time when new COVID-19 guidelines negatively affected the important Christmas trading period."

"With the first new Adventure Bar Group site lease signed and a further 25 sites under offer or in legal negotiations across the Group, we are well positioned for significant expansion as we enter 2022 with sufficient cash reserves of approximately £9.4 million for the Group's operations and to execute our growth strategy."

For further enquiries:

Nightcap plc Sarah Willingham-Toxvaerd / Toby Rolph / Gareth Edwards	[e-mail]
Allenby Capital Limited (Nominated Adviser and Broker) Nick Naylor / Alex Brearley / Piers Shimwell (Corporate Finance) Matt Butlin / Amrit Nahal / Tony Quirke (Sales and Corporate Broking)	[phone] www.allenbycapital.com
Bright Star Digital (PR) Pam Lyddon	https://www.brightstardigital.co.uk/ [phone] [e-mail]

* Like for like net sales are a measure of growth in total net sales for sites that have been opened for at least a year, which the Board considers to be a widely used indicator in the hospitality sector to measure current trading performance. Within the context of this announcement the Group's trading over the 26-week period from 28 June to 26 December 2021 has been compared with the 26 weeks ended 29 December 2019; or the Group's trading over the 13-week period from 27 September to 26 December 2021 has been compared with the 13 weeks ended 29 December 2019; or the Group's trading over the 11-week period from 27 September to 12 December 2021 has been compared with the 11 weeks ended 15 December 2019, as appropriate.

 

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