Loungers PLC Trading update for the 52 weeks ended 16 April 23 (2834X)

TIDMLGRS

RNS Number : 2834X

Loungers PLC

25 April 2023

25 April 2023

Loungers plc

("Loungers" or the "Group")

Trading update for the 52 weeks ended 16 April 2023

Continued industry-leading like for like sales growth; record revenues for the full year;

good progress on accelerated site roll-out, with 29 new openings in the year

Loungers, a leading operator of all-day café/bar/restaurants across the UK under the Lounge, Cosy Club and Brightside brands, today announces a trading update for the 52 weeks ended 16 April 2023.

The Group has continued to deliver industry-leading like for like sales growth, up 7.4% on a one-year basis and 17.6% ahead of pre-pandemic levels on a three year basis. The Group is pleased to have delivered record total revenue for the financial year of GBP283.5m, up 19.5% on the previous year (FY22: GBP237.3m).

The marked growth of 11.8% in one year like for like sales in H2, whilst partially reflective of the impact of Omicron in the comparative period, also reflects a strong final 12 weeks to the financial year. Our sales performance continues to highlight the relevance and resilience of our brands.

The strength of our sales performance has enabled the business to manage the macro-economic backdrop and accordingly we expect EBITDA for FY23 to be broadly in line with market expectations.

Our balance sheet remains strong, with non-property net debt at 16 April 2023 of GBP6.2m (17 April 2022: underlying net debt of GBP2.6m). Year-end net debt reflects the acquisition during the year of three freehold sites for a total consideration of GBP3.9m and the acceleration of our site roll-out programme.

During FY23 the Group opened 29 new sites, comprising 24 Lounges, four Cosy Clubs and our first roadside site under our new Brightside brand, taking the portfolio to a total of 222 sites at year end. Subsequent to the year end, we have opened a further Lounge in Altrincham. The FY23 cohort of sites have traded well since opening and provide confidence as to the continuing strength of the pipeline.

Loungers expects to update the market next on 12 July 2023 when we announce our preliminary results for the year ended 16 April 2023 .

Nick Collins, CEO, commented:

"We have once again delivered a truly stand-out performance over the year. Our sales have been exceptional with the mature estate trading 18% ahead of pre-pandemic levels and 7% ahead of what was a really strong performance last year. We have progressed well with our accelerated site roll-out programme, opening 29 sites during the year which as a cohort are trading well above average. The property market continues to work in our favour and our pipeline of around 35 sites for FY24 is incredibly exciting with nine openings planned for the first quarter. The first site of our new roadside concept, Brightside, has opened well, and we look forward to opening the next two Brightside sites in the summer.

"For almost a decade now we have consistently out-performed the market as we strive to deliver better for our customers and our teams. The inflationary pressure across our supply chain looks to be easing, and our scale and continued growth have allowed us to mitigate much of the impact. We look forward to continued strong performance as we enter FY24."

Like for like sales performance

 
 Gross Sales - excluding VAT benefit 
 
 
 One year       20 weeks to       28 weeks to        48 weeks to 
               2 October 2022    16 April 2023      16 April 2023 
                                                          [1] 
 
                   +1.5%             +11.8%             +7.4% 
 
 Three year     24 weeks to       20 weeks to        44 weeks to 
               2 October 2022   19 February 2023   19 February 2023 
                                                          [2] 
 
                   +17.0%            +18.1%             +17.6% 
 

For further information please contact:

 
 Loungers plc                                    Via Powerscourt 
  Nick Collins, Chief Executive Officer 
  Gregor Grant, Chief Financial Officer 
 Houlihan Lokey UK Limited (Financial       Tel: [phone] 
  Adviser and NOMAD)                                        4040 
  Sam Fuller / Tim Richardson 
 Liberum Capital Limited (Joint Broker)     Tel: [phone] 
  Andrew Godber / John Fishley                              2000 
 Peel Hunt LLP (Joint Broker)               Tel: [phone] 
  Dan Webster / Andrew Clark                                8900 
 Powerscourt (Financial Public Relations)   Tel: [phone] 
  Rob Greening / Nick Hayns / Elizabeth                     1446 
  Kittle 
 

[1] 48 weeks represents the FY23 period unimpacted by government Covid restrictions. The one year LFL result is shown gross to remove the VAT benefit that ended on 31 March 2022.

[2] 44 weeks represents the comparative FY20 period unimpacted by government Covid restrictions. There is no VAT benefit in the three year LFL.

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April 25, 2023 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)