Nightcap PLC (LON:NGHT) said all of its 19 premium bars are now open across London, Bristol and Birmingham and that trading has been strong despite COVID-19 restrictions on group sizes and social distancing.
“Whilst we look forward to all COVID-related restrictions being lifted on 21 June 2021, in line with the government's previous guidance and the bars being able to trade to their full potential, we now have confidence that all sites will continue to trade well even if the current capacity restrictions remain in place,” it said in a trading update.
Group revenues in the three weeks from May 17, when indoor hospitality was allowed to reopen, to June 6, jumped 92% compared with the same period in 2019 when the group had 16 bars. Group revenue grew 53% on a like-for-like basis.
“The strong sales performance since re-opening is significantly ahead of the board's expectations, given that the bars have restricted capacity due to social distancing requirements,” it said.
“On the back of the strong recent trading performance, the group continues to expand its opening pipeline for the next three years. Our management teams are travelling around the UK looking for new properties and we have a number of sites that are currently in legal negotiations across several of the group's brands,” it added.
Over the same three weeks, The London Cocktail Club saw revenues grow 83% from 2019, or 69% on a like-for-like basis. Nightcap's latest acquisition, Adventure Bar Group, saw revenues up 96%, or 46% on a like-for-like basis, including a weekly sales record in excess of £520,000 across its nine bars.
Nightcap said it was particularly encouraged by the strong trading of the group's two most recently opened venues: Luna Springs and Tonight Josephine in Birmingham.
Luna Springs, Nightcap's first outdoor trading space outside of London, and Tonight Josephine Birmingham, the first expansion of the Tonight Josephine brand outside of London, are both part of the company’s national roll-out strategy.