The growing popularity of staycations has prompted the company that owns Brighton Palace Pier and Lightwater Valley Family Adventure Park to deliver its second profit upgrade in less than six months (Dominic Walsh writes). Brighton Pier Group, which also owns a group of late-night bars and the Paradise Island crazy golf chain, said that its performance had been better than expected in the half-year to December 27 amid an easing of restrictions and pent-up consumer demand.
The announcement sent shares in Brighton Pier Group up by 8.3 per cent, or 7p, to 91p last night.
Anne Ackord, 64, the chief executive, said that the underlying trend for the first half of the year had been well above 2019 levels and had been boosted by one-off VAT and rates benefits. “Looking forward, we expect the sales trends to continue,” she said.
She was particularly pleased with the initial performance of Lightwater Valley, acquired last June for £5 million, which produced revenue of £3.9 million in the first half. An upgraded food and drink offer and new rides at the North Yorkshire venue had boosted trading and further redevelopment of the site is planned, she said.
Brighton Pier Group is chaired by Luke Johnson. The serial investor bought Brighton Palace Pier in 2016 in an £18 million deal and reversed it into Eclectic Bar Group, an Aim-listed late-night bar operator. It has sold six of the fourteen bars, leaving it with a core estate of eight sites.
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Ackord said that as well as expanding its Lightwater Valley and Paradise Island businesses, the group continued to pursue “earnings-enhancing strategic acquisitions which are synergistic, scalable and fit with the company’s expertise”.
In the first half, Brighton Pier Group reported a jump in revenue from £8.2 million to £22.8 million, with underlying earnings up from £1.9 million to £7.9 million. Pre-tax profit rose from £2.7 million to £6.6 million.
Ackord said that all four divisions had outperformed expectations and anecdotal evidence suggested that international visitors were returning to Brighton, while domestic visitors were also on the up. “There’s obviously nervousness around inflation, but people are still coming out,” she said. “We feel we navigated the Covid period very sensibly and the second half has started well.”
