Business
AGM Statement
AGM Statement.
About this update from Xp Factory Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n \n \n \n RNS Number : 9152Z\n Escape Hunt PLC\n 24 September 2020\n \n \n \n \n \n 24 September\n \n \n 2020\n \n \n \n \n \n \n Escape Hunt plc (AIM: ESC)\n \n \n \n \n \n (\"Escape Hunt\" or the \"Company\")\n \n \n AGM statement\n \n \n \n \n Escape Hunt, a global leader in the growing escape rooms sector, is holding its Annual General Meeting today which will be held as a closed meeting. Ahead of the meeting, Richard Rose, its Chairman provides the following statement on current trading:\n \"Trading in our UK owner-operated sites has been encouraging since we re-opened on 12 July 2020. We initially chose to open sites on Thursdays to Sundays only, with the exception of the Summer Bank Holiday on 31 August 2020 and have since extended our opening from Wednesday to Sunday. In the first eight weeks after re-opening to 6 September 2020, sales grew from an initial level of around 25% of the 7-day week's sales in the equivalent week in 2019 to over 90% of sales in the equivalent week in 2019 in each of the last two weeks of the eight-week period. Since then September has, as expected, seen the pace of recovery slow, although sales in the six weeks to 20 September were nevertheless an encouraging 72% of the same period in 2019.\n Additionally, helped by the UK Government's flexible furlough scheme and our reduced operating hours, we have been able to operate sites significantly more efficiently with lower labour cost ratios than we have historically been able to achieve. As expected, the first four weeks following re-opening generated site level EBITDA losses as the level of sales was not sufficient to cover fixed costs, including property. However, in the six-week period to 20 September 2020, the growth in sales resulted in a positive site level EBITDA which was approximately 33% higher than the site level EBITDA in the equivalent six-week period in 2019. Whilst the period under consideration is admittedly short, the performance is encouraging, in particular the significantly higher profit conversion ratios achieved. We are, however, aware of the growing rate of COVID-19 infections and the likelihood of further restrictions being imposed, whether national or local, which may impact sentiment and performance.\n With the exception of six of our thirty eight sites, our internat...