Hotel Chocolat Group PLC Business Update (7400L)
May 04 2020 - 1:00AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMHOTC
RNS Number : 7400L
Hotel Chocolat Group PLC
04 May 2020
4 May 2020
Hotel Chocolat Group plc
(" Hotel Chocolat ", the "Company" or the "Group")
Business Update
Hotel Chocolat, the premium British chocolatier, provides an
update on its financial position and Easter trading
Performance.
Financial position update
Hotel Chocolat today confirms the successful completion of an
increase to its banking facilities, in the form of a new GBP35m
revolving credit facility ('RCF') with Lloyds Bank plc, which
replaces an existing GBP10m overdraft facility. This follows the
Group's recent equity placing, announced on 20 March 2020, from
which the Group raised gross proceeds of GBP22 million to fund
growth capital investment and to provide operational headroom.
Since the start of the UK lock-down in March, the Group has
undertaken a broad range of actions to manage its costs and cash
flow, whilst also adapting swiftly to new and changing
circumstances, supporting colleagues, and utilising the flexibility
of its multi-channel business model.
The RCF is comprised of two separate tranches; GBP25m expires in
December 2021 and is provided by Lloyds Bank under the terms of the
Government CLBILS loan guarantee scheme, and a GBP10m facility
provided on normal commercial terms expiring at the end of December
2020. For as long as the GBP25m facility remains in place, the
Group will be restricted from paying Dividends. The Group retains
the option to cancel all or part of this RCF at any time by
repaying the monies drawn. The Group has modelled a scenario with
business disruption continuing throughout 2020, and these
facilities are intended to provide more than sufficient liquidity
in this event.
Trading Update
Easter is the second largest seasonal peak for the business. As
anticipated, closing all retail stores from 23 March 2020 has had a
material impact on trading. However, the Group has been able to
rapidly leverage its direct-to-consumer multi-channel model to
redirect demand to online, and to modify the working methods of its
distribution warehouse to operate safely, with a temporarily
reduced product range. Whilst not fully mitigating the total retail
sales loss in the key three-week Easter period, the Group is
encouraged by the agility and resilience of the business model and
continues to explore further avenues for online growth whilst
working safely.
Angus Thirlwell, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Hotel
Chocolat, said:
"Hotel Chocolat is a strong brand with differentiated products,
a loyal customer base, and a vertically integrated
direct-to-consumer business mode, built for agility. It is a
reflection of these attributes that we have been able to add
additional banking cover to the over-subscribed equity placement in
March. The financial headroom gives us greater resilience against
ongoing disruption and enables us to move onwards with longer-term
growth opportunities.
"I would like to thank our team for their creativity and
determination to swiftly adapt so we can continue to serve our
community of customers, who tell us about the joy of receiving an
unexpected delivery of our chocolate with a personal message from
someone they love but can't go and see, and the happy ritual of
passing a box of chocolates around their lock-in household in the
evening. One of the benefits of being an employee of Hotel Chocolat
is getting a 50% discount on our products. Back in March we made
the NHS and emergency services honorary members of our family while
they work so hard for us all and have shipped many tens of
thousands of parcels to help keep morale and stamina up.
"Our market leadership in digital and subscription chocolate is
more valuable than ever and we will accelerate the planned
innovations and investments behind these models. Plans are in
progress to re-open our physical locations when appropriate, with
adjustments in place to make shopping with us safe and pleasurable
again.
"Every day at Easter the online demand exceeded the quantity of
orders we could accept, due to the requirements to ensure safe
working, combined with the short adjustment period. With the plans
we are putting in place over the next months, we aim to be able to
switch the vast majority of demand to online should the need arise
in the future."
For further information:
Hotel Chocolat Group plc c/o Citigate + 44 (0) 20
Angus Thirlwell, Co-founder and 7638 9571
Chief Executive Officer
Peter Harris, Co-founder and Development
Director
Matt Pritchard, Chief Financial
Officer
Liberum Capital Limited - Nominated
Advisor and Broker
Clayton Bush
James Greenwood
Miquela Bezuidenhoudt + 44 (0) 20 3100 2222
Citigate Dewe Rogerson - Financial
PR
Angharad Couch
Ellen Wilton + 44 (0) 20 7638 9571
Notes to Editors:
Hotel Chocolat is a premium British chocolatier with a strong
and distinctive brand. The business was founded in 1993 by Angus
Thirlwell and Peter Harris and has traded under the Hotel Chocolat
brand since 2003. The Group sells its products online and through a
network of locations in the UK and abroad. The Group has a cacao
plantation and eco-hotel in Saint Lucia, offering complete cacao
immersion through tree-to-bar experiences and wellness treatments.
The Group also has a flagship restaurant and cacao roastery in
London's Borough Market: Rabot 1745. The Group was admitted to
trading on AIM in 2016.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
END
UPDKXLFBBELXBBV
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 04, 2020 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)
Hotel Chocolat (LSE:HOTC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Hotel Chocolat (LSE:HOTC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024
