Brighton Pier Group, the owner of the 124-year-old listed East Sussex landmark alongside bars and mini golf courses across the UK, slumped to an almost £4m loss amid a slowdown in consumer spending, “exceptionally poor” weather and weekend rail strikes.
The leisure company reported a £3.9m pre-tax loss in the half year to 25 June – down from a profit of £700,000 in the same period last year – saying its business was weathering a “uniquely challenging trading environment”.
Alongside Brighton Pier, BPG group owns eight bars and eight indoor mini golf sites that operate under the Paradise Island Adventure Golf brand, as well as the Lightwater Valley Family Adventure Park in North Yorkshire.
Anne Ackford, the BPG chief executive, blamed the soaring cost of living for driving consumers to cut back on leisure spending.
“The group is navigating a challenging environment, with persistent high inflation and cautious spending by consumers negatively impacting trading,” she said.
Overall, the company said it made lower than expected total revenues of £16.2m, down from £17.3m a year ago in the first half, prompting investors to send its shares down more than 13% in early trading on Monday.
The company said that in recent months, covering the 12 weeks to 17 September, trading had been “unusually difficult”.
“Weekend train strikes, exacerbated by exceptionally poor weather in July and August, and the temporary restriction of access following a fire at a major hotel opposite the entrance to the pier towards the end of July, resulted in sales and earnings being lower than expected,” the company said.
Visitor numbers to BPG were down 18% year on year in its most recent 12-week trading period.
The company said that the younger demographic that frequents its chain of bars has been “more severely affected by price inflation, resulting in lower spends and reduction in numbers of visits”.
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The bars division reported that revenues declined from £5.1m to £4.1m year on year in the first six months.
