Hawksmoor secures £4m loan to aid liquidity through crisis

Steakhouse concept Hawksmoor secured a £4m loan to aid its liquidity through the pandemic, accounts on Companies House reveal.

According to its financial statement for the year to December 2019, in addition to the loan, the Graphite-backed business remains in talks with its banking partner regarding a refinancing of its debt, and is “confident” its outstanding balance of £7.3m will be extended “given the group’s historic trading performance”.

Though it saw trading days reduced by around 40% over the course of 2020, it said restaurant performance remained strong in open periods, and it took a number of steps to safeguard the business including making use of the furlough scheme, waiving bank covenants for June through to December and negotiating rent concessions with landlords.

The report said: “The company has built an industry-leading brand, which the directors believe will endure the current issues facing the sector. The group entered the pandemic with a healthy cash position and was able to access additional debt facilities.

“The restaurants experienced a swift return to robust trading after the government mandated lockdowns and expects strong trading to resume once the vaccination program is sufficiently progressed.”

For the year to 31 December 2019, group turnover increased from £42m (2018) to £45.5m. Underlying EBITDA rose from £6m to £6.2m.