Bar chain Revolution has launched a fundraiser to secure £15 million from shareholders as it works towards re-opening its sites in August.
The company said the move will cut further into its debts and help it to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic in "a position of strength" after shutting all 74 of its sites.
Revolution also announced plans to delist from the London Stock Exchange's main market in favour of a listing on the junior AIM market. The move will allow “cheaper and quicker” fundraisings going forward.
In a statement, Revolution said: "The UK Government's current guidance is that pubs and bars will be closed until at least July 4. Based upon this guidance, the board have assumed in their 'base case' scenario that the group will be able to reopen its estate in August 2020.
"The group will make some changes to its operating model, assuming current social distancing, and anticipates a gradual recovery in customer numbers. The base case scenario assumes that the group will deliver sales in August 2020 at approximately 55%."
Cost of Covid-19 scams passes £5m
Reported losses from coronavirus-related fraud have passed the £5 million mark, with scammers bombarding consumers with fake emails and texts.
Action Fraud figures show £5,142,265 worth of fraud has been reported since February, with the number of reports totalling more than 2,100. More than 11,500 reports of coronavirus-themed phishing scams have been made to Action Fraud as criminals impersonate a variety of organisations dealing with measures to limit the spread of Covid-19.
TSB and fraud prevention body Cifas have identified the most common Covid-19 scams Britons have been targeted with during the pandemic. Some of the most common include track and trace scams, home working cons, bereavement fraud and Covid-19 phishing quizzes on social media.
Consumer confidence hits new decade low
Confidence among UK consumers in late May fell to its lowest level since the global financial crisis as people worried about unemployment and falling house prices resulting from lockdown measures to contain the coronavirus.
Polling firm GfK said its consumer confidence index slipped to -36 in the second half of the month, a deterioration from -34 in the first two weeks of May. That was the lowest since January 2009 and not far off a series low of -39 recorded in July 2008.
“With no sign of a rapid V-shaped bounce-back on the cards, consumers remain pessimistic about the state of their finances and the wider economic picture for the year to come,” GfK’s client strategy director Joe Staton said.
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