Nightcap has reported its full year results for the year ended 3 July 2022 – its first full year of trading – with revenue up from £6m last year to £36m and gross profit up from £4.5m to £28.6m.
Profit before tax was £238,000, compared to a loss of £53m the previous year, while adjusted EBITDA rose from £0.2m to £3.3m.
During the year, the owner of The Cocktail Club, Adventure Bar Group, and Barrio Familia group took the number of bars it operated from 19 to 31, driven both by new openings and acquisitions. The group has opened further sites since the year end and currently operates 36 bars.
Trading in Q1 FY2023 – the first 13 weeks of the new financial year to 2 October 2022 – has been adversely impacted by record warm weather, train strikes, and the cost of living crisis, according to the update. While this reduced demand at basement bars, warm weather was offset by record trading at outdoor venues.
Unaudited group revenue was £10.3m for the 13 weeks to 2 October 2022, a 35.5% increase compared to £7.6m for the same period in Fy2021. However, this represents a 15% like-for-like decrease.
Despite favourable conditions in the property market, Nightcap plans to slow down its expansion plans accordingly, focusing on maximising returns from existing and newly opened sites. The rollout programme will continue as market conditions improve.
Post year end, the company completed a refinancing with HSBC bank, increasing debt facilities from £5.5m at year end to £10m to support expansion plans.
It has entered fixed two-year energy contracts expiring between March 2023 and March 2024 for the majority of its sites.
CEO Sarah Willingham commented: “I am extremely proud to present these excellent audited results for the 53 weeks to 3 July 2022, representing Nightcap’s first full year of trading.
“Our year has been eventful, fun and, at all times, rewarding. During the year the number of bars we operated increased from 19 to 31 and this reflects our strong growth, driven by both new openings and acquisitions.
“Going from £6m to £36m of revenue and £0.2m to £3.3m of Adjusted EBITDA (IAS17 basis) is impressive growth, but what excites me the most is that we have defined our brands and fine-tuned their business models to optimise the roll out of the individual brands.
“We have opened several more sites post year end taking the total amount of opened bars to 36 and, whilst there are a growing number of outstanding sites available to us on increasingly advantageous terms, build costs have continued to increase and trading in the first 13 weeks of the new financial year (period to 2 October 2022) has been adversely impacted by record warm weather, train strikes and the cost of living crisis.
“With the uncertainty in the economic climate in mind, we will slow down our expansion plans of new site openings during the current financial year. Our focus will be to maximise returns from our existing and newly opened sites and then continue our roll out programme as market conditions improve.”
