REG - Various Eateries PLC - Trading Update

Various EateriesAnnouncement

01/11/2023 07:15

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RNS Number : 9504R  Various Eateries PLC  01 November 2023

VARIOUS EATERIES PLC

("Various Eateries" or "the Company" and with its subsidiaries "the Group")

 

Year End Trading Update

 

Various Eateries PLC, the owner, developer and operator of all day club,
restaurant and hotel sites in the United Kingdom, announces an update on
trading for the 52-week period ending 1 October 2023.

 

Trading performance for the period was in line with expectations. Revenues
were slightly higher than market expectations at £45.5m (unaudited) (2022:
£40.7m), largely driven by new site openings. Site EBITDA (before pre-opening
and IFRS16) is expected to be c.£3.8m (unaudited) with Group EBITDA (before
AIM costs of £0.6m) expected to be a loss of c.£1.6m (unaudited).

 

Group like-for-like sales ("LFL"), excluding the benefit of the reduced rate
of VAT in the prior year, were maintained, which is a good performance
considering the challenging macroeconomic environment, continued train strikes
and unseasonably wet weather in the spring and summer months.

 

Noci, designed to be a modern Italian pasta concept, is the result of work
evolving Tavolino for the high street, and continues to perform well. H2
(April to September 2023) LFL sales at the first Noci site in Islington grew
23%. Noci's second and third sites opened in Battersea Power Station and
Shoreditch, in May and September 2023 respectively and have both traded in
line with management's expectations to date. With a proven blueprint, the
Board considers Noci to be a very compelling near-term rollout opportunity and
will focus initially on further openings in the Greater London area.

 

The Group's townhouse Coppa Clubs in Bath and Guildford, benefiting from high
footfall city centre locations, delivered positive performances. This bodes
well for the Group's townhouse sites in Cardiff and Farnham, scheduled to open
in FY24. The performance of those Coppa Clubs with large outdoor spaces which
benefitted in the prior year from exceptionally good weather, were impacted
this year by extended periods of unusually wet conditions, including the
wettest July since 2009.

 

The Group's Tavolino site continued to benefit from the steady return of
office workers in central London, delivering LFL sales growth of 10%.

 

Previously announced inflationary pressures persisted throughout the year but
encouragingly some, including food and energy, are beginning to ease. Reducing
operational costs and improving efficiency remain priorities, along with
exploring technological solutions.

 

As previously stated, in the Board's experience of navigating challenging
market conditions, a focus on the top line as opposed to short-term profit
maximisation is fundamental to the success of any roll-out strategy. The Group
has therefore continued to prioritise revenue and customer retention,
deliberately not passing cost increases onto customers in full. The Board
firmly believes this will stand the Group's brands in good stead for
sustainable long-term growth as the market recovers.

 

Cash at bank at 1 October 2023 was £1.9m (2022: £9.4m).

 

Andy Bassadone, Executive Chairman, commented:

 

"Our teams have worked hard to manage the perfect storm of challenges the
industry has faced over the past 12 months and on behalf of the Board I would
like to thank them for their efforts. In this context, Group performance has
been steady with the traction Noci is building a particular highlight. While
Noci is still a relatively small part of the Group, we expect it to become an
increasingly core part of our growth strategy going forwards.

 

We continue to believe our strategy of focusing on the top line will leave us
in a stronger long-term position than many in our industry who have
compromised their offerings to protect short-term profits. Encouragingly,
there are signs that some of the well-publicised pressures on margins are
beginning to dissipate. Nonetheless, we continue to prioritise cost control
and efficiency initiatives including leveraging new technology which will
benefit the Group long after we emerge from the downturn.

 

Looking ahead to FY24, we intend to maintain a measured approach to opening
new sites and, supported by strong and highly relevant brands, remain
confident in our ability to accelerate progress as conditions improve."

 

 

Contacts

 

 Various Eateries plc                                  Via Alma PR
 Andy Bassadone            Executive Chairman
 Sharon Badelek            Chief Financial Officer

 WH Ireland Limited        Sole Broker and NOMAD      Tel: +44 (0)20 7220 1666
 Broking

 Harry Ansell
 Nominated Adviser

 Katy Mitchell

 Alma                      Financial PR               Tel: +44 (0)20 3405 0205
 David Ison                                           variouseateries@almastrategic.co.uk
 Rebecca Sanders-Hewett

 

About Various Eateries

 

Various Eateries owns, develops and operates restaurant, clubhouse and hotel
sites in the United Kingdom. The Group's stated mission is "great people
delivering unique experiences through continuous innovation".

 

The Group is led by a highly experienced senior team including Hugh Osmond
(Founder), Andy Bassadone (Executive Chairman), and Sharon Badelek (CFO).

 

The Group operates three core brands across 18 locations:

 

·    Coppa Club, a multi-use, all day concept that combines restaurant,
terrace, café, lounge, bar and workspaces

·    Tavolino, a restaurant aiming to address a gap in the market for
high-quality Italian food at mid-market prices

·    Noci, a modern, neighbourhood pasta-only concept which serves very
high-quality dishes at reasonable prices

 

For more information visit www.variouseateries.co.uk
(http://www.variouseateries.co.uk)

 

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