Takeover battle, World Cup, weather combine to hurt Revolution Bars

REVOLUTION BARS bemoaned a “disappointing year” as a protracted takeover battle, extreme weather and the FIFA World Cup pushed the company to a full-year loss.

The premium bars group – which operates the Revolution and Revolucion de Cuba brands –swung to a loss of £3.6m for the year to June 30, compared to a profit of £5.1m a year earlier.

That was against an 8.7 per cent rise in sales to £141.9m, though like-for-like sales dropped 0.6 per cent.

The premium bars group said it was hit by “well-documented levels of corporate activity”, having been the subject of a takeover tussle between rivals Deltic and Stonegate last year.

It was also hit by “management changes” that included the resignation of its chief executive officer.

Revolution Bars said: “During that activity, development work stalled while management was distracted, and in the aftermath a number of experienced senior managers on the operational side of the business resigned causing further disruption which adversely impacted trading.”

Revolution Bars also took a hit during extreme weather.

It said the cold brought in by the Beast from the East knocked sales by around £500,000 in early March, while the heatwave this summer sent customers to pubs with outdoor areas – which the group’s own sites lack.

Easter trading was then disrupted by the collapse of drinks wholesaler Conviviality, which further distracted management.

The group also failed to benefit from the excitement surrounding the FIFA World Cup as none of its bars were equipped with TVs to show the games.