Business
Pre-close trading update
Pre-close trading update.
About this update from Harbour Energy Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n RNS Number : 4941Z Holidaybreak PLC 23 September 2009 \n \n\nWednesday 23 September 2009: For immediate release\n\nHOLIDAYBREAK PLC\nPre-close trading update\n\nHolidaybreak, the education, leisure and activity travel group, today releases its pre-close trading update ahead of the end of its current financial year on 30 September 2009.\n\nCurrent trading and outlook \nThe Group is performing well, given the current economic environment, and expects to meet management expectations for the full year. It continues to manage its borrowings carefully with year-end net debt expected to be approximately £130m.\nThe Group has begun to deploy the additional expansion capital it received following the completion of the rights issue in July 2009. On 18 September it completed the purchase of a 150 acre site at Liddington, Wiltshire. The site, formerly a training centre and more recently a hotel and conference centre, will open as a PGL outdoor education centre in 2010.\nWhilst performance in the Education Division should prove resilient, the Group remains focused on cash generation and cost control across its businesses in expectation of continued challenging trading conditions.\n\nJohn Coleman, Executive Chairman said:\n\"The financial year has progressed broadly as expected and we anticipate meeting management expectations for the full year. Later bookings, particularly in the Camping Division, have come through as expected. Education, our largest division, continues to perform well and we are pleased with our site at Windmill Hill, which opened for business in May. In Hotel Breaks, we are seeing continued signs of an improvement in booking volumes, albeit on lower average transaction values. The previously announced restructuring programme for the Adventure Travel Division is progressing as planned.\" \n\"The Education Division's visibility for 2009/10 provides a healthy outlook. However, the global economic environment remains uncertain and we continue to manage the entire business tightly, with a focus on cash generation and cost control.\" \n\nDivisional updates \nEducation Division sales for 2008/09...