TIDMBARK
RNS Number : 0732I
Barkby Group PLC
10 August 2021
10 August 2021
Barkby Group PLC
("Barkby", the "Group" or the "Company")
Trading Update
Barkby Group PLC (AIM:BARK), the diversified business group,
provides the following update on trading for the 12-month period
ended 30 June 2021.
Commenting, Charles Dickson, Executive Chairman, said;
"The Group is now benefitting from the easing of COVID-19
restrictions and expects to return to profitability for the current
financial year. Since the easing of lockdown restrictions on the 17
May, we have seen consistently strong trade across the pub business
with the Group benefitting from pent up demand and a UK staycation
boom.
Activity within the property development business has picked up
significantly with six agreements to lease exchanged or in
legals.
The Group's investments in SleepHub and Verso Biosense continue
to make positive progress and we expect to see these mature over
the next 12 months."
Operational Highlights
-- Barkby Pubs
o Return to positive cash generation in final quarter of the
financial year.
o Pubs materially impacted by COVID-19 and national lockdown,
but have traded ahead of expectations between 17 May and 30 June
2021, when restrictions in England were eased.
o Acquisition of a six-year lease of The Ebrington Arms.
o Trade for July 2021, post period end, has been extremely
strong with like for like sales up 97% on the same period last year
and up 10% on the equivalent period in 2019.
o Actively looking for further opportunities to add to our
growing pub portfolio.
-- Commercial Property Division
o Enhanced planning permissions granted at Wellingborough and
Saffron Walden, with a consequential uplift in value at Saffron
Walden, which will flow through into the current financial
year.
o New planning permission granted for 32,000 sq.ft. scheme at
Huntingdon.
o Exchanged 15-year agreement to lease with Costa Coffee Ltd. at
our Maldon scheme.
o A further five agreements to lease, across various sites, are
currently in solicitor's hands.
-- Life Sciences
o Verso Biosense gained MHRA approval and has commenced a
clinical study with University of Southampton.
o Successful launch of SleepHub in Europe, Australia and USA
with strong demand from suppliers.
Financial Highlights
-- We expect Group Revenue for the 12-month period to 30 June
2021 to be GBP15.3m (FY 2020 - GBP12.0m). Due to the impact of
COVID-19 trading restrictions, we expect this will result in an
EBITDA loss of GBP1.6m before Cambridge Sleep Science startup costs
of GBP0.9m (FY 2020 EBITDA loss of GBP1.7m).
-- Liquidity of GBP1.6m available as at 30 June 2021, the Board
continues to maintain the support of its major shareholders.
Charles Dickson, Chairman of Barkby, said:
"I am delighted to say that trading in Barkby Pubs has been
particularly strong since the easing of the government restrictions
and the business has returned to positive cash generation. We have
expanded our portfolio of high-quality pubs with accommodation to
now include the Ebrington Arms in Ebrington, Gloucestershire. We
continue to pursue further opportunities to expand the
portfolio.
Our cash generative Commercial Property Development business has
helped Barkby to weather the storm of COVID-19. The division is
seeing strong momentum, with six agreements to lease exchanged or
in legals. We are also currently in legal negotiations to acquire
two further sites.
I am particularly excited by the progress of SleepHub during the
period. We have had strong sales interest from distributors and I
am pleased to say we have developed relationships with well known
consumer brands including British Airways and Virgin Atlantic. The
product is also now available on both Amazon and eBay. Cambridge
Sleep Sciences continues to develop its proprietary technology and
is in the process of building a second generation of SleepHub
products.
The easing of government restrictions and the recovery of the UK
economy will continue to benefit the Group. We look forward to the
future with confidence, knowing that we have a highly diversified
business with significant growth opportunities."
I am extremely proud of the way my colleagues have navigated the
Group through the pandemic, and we are now seeing strong trading
with the government restrictions fully lifted."
Current Trading
Since the easing of national restrictions on the 17 May, the
Group's businesses have all resumed trading and we have been very
encouraged by the performance within our business divisions. All
divisions have started the new financial year well and activity
within the property development business is returning to
pre-pandemic levels driven by occupier demand. Centurian is trading
in line with management expectations and activity within our Life
Sciences business is continuing to make good progress. Trade at the
Barkby pubs for July 2021, post period end, has been extremely
strong with sales up 97% on the same period last year benefiting
from pent up demand and boom in staycations with accommodation
revenue up 25%, on a like for like basis, compared with the same
period in 2019.
Barkby Pubs
The final six-month period of the year was again heavily
impacted by COVID-19 related restrictions, with pubs closed for the
majority of the period. Trading restrictions began to ease in
mid-April when we re-opened all pubs for outdoor food and drink
only. Despite a positive opening weekend, poor weather resulted in
disrupted trading in April. From 17 May we welcomed customers back
inside with a maximum group size of six or two households.
Given the disruption leading up to the summer, the second half
of May and June were overall a very positive trading period with
the business returning to both positive cash generation and
profitability for the final quarter of the financial year. Forward
order bookings are strong, and we are optimistic of a sustained
period of good trade and profitability over the summer months as we
benefit from the pent up demand and UK staycation boom.
We entered a new lease at the Ebrington Arms, an award-winning
pub located in the Cotswolds, which we began trading on 30(th)
June. Opening trade was very strong with GBP23k of sales in its
first full week.
Commercial Property Development
Since the Group's interim results, there has been significant
progress as the economy has recovered from national lockdown.
Wellingborough
On 15 July 2021 we obtained a further planning permission for a
14,100 sq. ft. mixed use retail and trade scheme incorporating a
drive thru on the front of the site. We have two agreements to
lease in legal process and strong interest in the remaining units.
Construction is due to start in late 2021.
Maldon
We expect to obtain planning permission this month for a 15,400
sq.ft. mixed use trade and retail scheme at the end of August. We
have now exchanged contracts with Costa Coffee Ltd. on a 15-year
agreement to lease at a rent of GBP82,500 per annum. We are
currently in legal process with two further prospective tenants and
have strong interest in the final unit. We are planning to start
construction in late 2021.
Huntingdon
We have been granted planning permission for a 32,000 sq. ft
mixed use retail and trade scheme. We are in legal process on an
agreement to lease from a national retailer on the first unit and
have strong interest in the other unit.
Saffron Walden
The land was acquired by the Company in 2010 and is still held
at book cost. A series of successful planning applications have
been made since the land was acquired, and the site now has
planning permission for the construction of 35 residential
units.
A further planning enhancement that has reduced the affordable
housing allocation from 14 units to 7 units has materially
increased the value of the site. Although we had exchanged
contracts to sell the site for GBP2.85m with a resulting profit on
sale of GBP1.8m, our buyer does not wish to proceed due to the
valuation uplift. We have therefore instructed agents to conduct a
full marketing process. The site is ready for sale therefore we
expect to complete the sale this calendar year.
Further opportunities
We are currently in legal negotiation to acquire two further
development sites. We continue to explore opportunities to expand
the real estate business, which we believe is core to the Group's
business and where we see significant growth opportunities.
Life Sciences
Cambridge Sleep Sciences Ltd ('CSS')
SleepHub delivers scientifically formulated sounds to aid sleep,
delivered through a patent protected base unit and pair of
specifically tuned speakers. It was launched in November 2020 and
as of 31 July 2021 a total of
534 units have been sold.
Due to COVID-19, the bricks & mortar retail channel have
been slow to adopt new products and e-commerce partnership
agreements have been delayed. As bricks and mortar retail reopens,
we are starting to discuss product placement with a number of UK
retailers for an anticipated Q1 2022 launch.
Alongside established sales partnerships with British Airways,
Virgin Atlantic, Defense Portal and Blue Light Card, we have
recently launched on Amazon, eBay and Walmart's online store. We
have a strong pipeline of potential new sales partners, with
occupational health becoming a key focus. We have three separate
partners in this area launching in Q4. Recent partnerships include
Lumia3 and Nexus Digital.
Internationally, SleepHub has experienced strong sales and
interest from North America and Australia. SleepHub has been
purchased by a leading sleep clinic and an online retailer in the
US, with a CPAP supplier launching in Australia and further
distributors being signed up to increase the offering in this
regional market. Our online sales into both regions continue to
grow and are expected to increase as the product is made more
widely available in local markets.
We are exploring licensing opportunities for the IP of SleepHub.
We have had discussions with potential partners and see this as a
significant revenue source as we develop the IP further. SleepHub
is currently being tested by a major phone manufacturer and a
global bed manufacturer.
CSS is currently developing a second generation of SleepHub
products and expects these to be available in late Q4 2021. These
will likely include wireless earbuds/headband, our own App and
further technology enhancements to the product experience. This
will also allow SleepHub to offer partner branding opportunities to
corporate clients.
There are significant opportunities in the Healthcare space and
CSS has started a further clinical study to validate the benefits
of our technology. We have also stared trialing the device in
disease areas where insomnia is a significant symptom. Our initial
user trial with Parkinson's sufferers has been expanded with the
sleep gains experienced continuing to be positive.
Verso Biosense Ltd (formerly known as Vivoplex)
In May 2021, Verso Biosense received approval from Medicines
Health products Regulatory Agency ('MHRA') for the initiation of
the first clinical study for its groundbreaking uterine sensing
device and biosensing data platform.
Verso's first-in-class product monitors three key parameters in
the uterine environment - oxygen, temperature and pH, for an
extended period of time. These parameters are fundamental in embryo
development and are tightly controlled in embryo culture for in
vitro fertilisation (IVF). Verso's product and data platform
continuously captures critical in-vivo, biosensing data to provide
actionable insights for clinicians and patients on the IVF journey.
Verso's product will facilitate optimisation and personalisation of
fertility treatment.
The study, which is supported by the UK NIHR's i4i Programme in
a joint project with the University of Southampton, aims to
demonstrate the effective and safe use of this novel, wireless
powered, uterine monitoring device in women of reproductive age.
The study will test the Verso biosensing device in 20 women
continuously over a seven-day period and is being conducted at the
Princess Anne Hospital in Southampton. The successful conclusion of
this study will enable Verso to apply for a CE mark on its first
product, we expect this to be granted in 2022.
Liquidity
We have managed cash tightly through all three national
lockdowns and we increased cash headroom by refinancing the current
GBP3.5m Tarncourt facility into a new GBP5m facility with Tarncourt
earlier this year, with an expiry of 30 June 2023.
The Group currently has available funding of c.GBP1.6m as at 30
June 2021. The Board have the full backing of its major
shareholders, who have confirmed their continued support should the
Board wish to raise further capital to take advantage of attractive
growth opportunities.
Enquiries:
Barkby Group PLC
Charles Dickson, Executive Chairman
Douglas Benzie, Chief Financial Officer
+44 (0) 20 7220
finnCap Ltd (Nomad and Broker) 0500
Carl Holmes/Simon Hicks (corporate finance)
Tim Redfern/Richard Chambers (ECM)
+44 (0) 20 3757
Camarco (Financial PR) 4994
Jennifer Renwick/Jake Thomas
Notes to editors
Barkby Group PLC is a diversified group of high growth, high
quality businesses run by an entrepreneurial and experienced
management team. The existing wholly owned businesses within Barkby
include; Commercial Property Development, Barkby Hospitality
(comprising Barkby Pubs and Workshop Coffee) and Centurian
Automotive Ltd.
In addition to these businesses, Barkby Life Sciences has
invested in Verso Biosense, a digital health company aiming to
transform Women's Health with precision medicine, and its
subsidiary Cambridge Sleep Sciences Ltd has launched, SleepHub(TM),
a device which improves and facilitates natural sleep.
Barkby's strategy is to accelerate and maximise opportunities
within its existing businesses as well as continue to source and
invest in cash generative, growth businesses with the ability to
disrupt.
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes
of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it
forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union
(Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"), and is disclosed in accordance with
the company's obligations under Article 17 of MAR .
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