Facebook and trend for fewer but bigger nights out lift profits at Revolution Bars Group
A large Facebook following and people opting for fewer but bigger nights out have revolutionised profits at Revolution Bars Group over the last year.
The figures
Revenue at the premium bar firm, which operates the Revolution and Revolucion de Cuba brands, was up 6.9 per cent to £119.5m in the year ended 30 June.
Like-for-like sales at its sites across the UK were up 2.3 per cent in its first full year as a listed company.
The group opened five new bars over the period and now operates 62 bars, 53 of which are Revolution branches and nine of which are Revolucion de Cuba venues.
Read more: Pour us another one: Cocktails are flourishing in Britain's bars
Revolution Bars was toasting 10.8 per cent growth in its adjusted profit before tax, which rose to £9.2m, and a rise of around 14 per cent in adjusted earnings per share to 14.6p per share.
Shares were up four per cent in early afternoon trading, with a slice of the company worth 157.95p per share.
Why it's interesting
Chief executive Mark McQuater told City PM the group has not yet seen any effect from the Brexit vote.
"The pattern pre-Brexit and post-Brexit vote are not dissimilar," McQuater said. "Christmas bookings are quite encouraging and looking ahead of last year at the moment."
The trend of people opting for fewer nights out has also been playing into Revolution's hands.
Read more: Panic at the disco? Nightclubs are struggling to compete with bars and pubs
"People are having fewer but bigger nights out and we can supply the whole thing: drinks, eating and staying on afterwards, so we're built for that."
The company has also been pushing its presence on Facebook "pretty hard", growing its number of followers 26 per cent to 695,000 in the last year.
Next year the group will focus expansion on London venues, based on good demographics for the company in the capital, though McQuater said the Night Tube had made the plan more "attractive".
Read more: Revolution Bars is expanding a bar in a World Heritage site in Liverpool
What Revolution Bars said
McQuater said:
We are delighted to have delivered excellent growth in revenue, margin and profit in our first full year as a listed company.
We have achieved this through continually improving the performance of our existing estate and through successfully opening five new bar restaurants.
The group is benefiting from its growth in scale and the establishment of its second brand Revolucion de Cuba brand which expanded from five to nine branches. We also opened a Revolution in the year. The new sites are performing well.