Restaurant group deals were severely confused by the lockdown at the beginning of the year
The restaurant group has reported an overwhelming result for H1, recording a statutory pre-tax loss of £58.8 million.
Wagamama owners have seen sales decline 4.5% to £226.8 million compared to the same period in 2020.
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The restaurant group saw a slight recovery in EBITDA. This rose from a loss of £18.2 million to profits of £11.2 million.
The company also confirmed safe refinancing and recapitalization to raise £500 million from loans and senior credit facilities.
“In the short term, there are several well-documented sector challenges to navigate, particularly the availability of the workforce and supply chain, but this group is well positioned in the long term. I think there is,” said CEO Andy Hornby.
For the first six months of the year, trade was severely disrupted by hospitality industry restrictions.
Harry Barnick, senior analyst at Third Bridge, commented on the restaurant group’s results: Now, when customers return, the restaurant group is operating in a competitive environment and has breathing space during the recovery period. ”
“That being said, we have heard about the aggressive expansion from smaller brands like Franca Manca.
“Given the reduction in operational costs during the pandemic, analysts hope that normalisation of transactions will improve margins once and for once, which will help restaurant groups to lower rental fees. It depends heavily on how successful it is to do, but testing labor and food shortages can raise costs in the short term and limit the likelihood of rising margins.”
