Shares in Brighton Pier Group PLC (AIM:PIER) plunged 50% in early trading on Wednesday after the company revealed plans to delist from London’s AIM market and go private, citing rising costs, a tough trading environment and limited investor interest.
The leisure group, best known for its iconic Brighton seafront attraction, said staying listed no longer made financial sense.
The move, if approved by shareholders at a general meeting on 22 April, would see trading in its shares cease on 1 May, with the company officially re-registering as a private limited firm shortly after.
Chief among the reasons was cost: The board expects to save up to £300,000 a year in regulatory and advisory fees. Management also flagged limited trading liquidity, market volatility and the difficulty of raising fresh capital as a micro-cap company.
Brighton Pier said business had been “in line with expectations” over the past year, but its bars and mini-golf businesses had experienced a slow start to 2025. While warm weather gave a small sales boost at the pier itself, overall group revenue in the first 12 weeks of the year dipped to £4.2 million, slightly down from £4.3 million in the same period in 2024.
The company blamed a combination of factors for the increasingly tough environment: Higher wage and energy costs, interest rates, changes in consumer spending, and further cost pressures stemming from the upcoming National Insurance rise.
Brighton Pier Group will offer shareholders a “matched bargain facility” to trade shares after the delisting but warned that selling stock may become more difficult.
The stock fell 8.6p to 8.55p, valuing the business at just under £6.4 million.