Hobbycraft loss widens as it patches up debt holes
LOSSES at Hobbycraft widened last year as the arts and crafts retailer was forced to shell out more than £13m to service its debts.
Interest payments and other finance costs for the private equity-backed chain overshadowed strong trading in its stores.
Hobbycraft, which is owned by Bridgepoint and has 90 shops across the UK, was around £15m in the red in the year to February 18. The performance was slightly worse than a loss of £14.7m in the previous year.
The chain reported heavy losses despite strong sales that bucked the gloom in the retail sector. Like-for-like sales, excluding revenues from new and closed stores, were up 3.9pc, and total revenues grew 6pc to £168.5m after Hobbycraft opened new shops in Bath, Farnborough, Epping Forest and Merry Hill. It has opened a fifth, in Lincoln, since the end of its financial year.
Hobbycraft, which sells a variety of craft supplies, was founded in 1995 by the family behind the Haskins chain of garden centres, who sold it to Bridgepoint for £100m in 2010.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation climbed 16pc to £8.7m, but the company’s bottom line suffered as it paid £1.1m in restructuring costs on top of the debt fees.
The results were the last to be presented by Archie Norman, the veteran former Asda boss who has stepped down as chairman after four years.
His replacement is Matt Davies, the former chief executive of Tesco’s UK business.