Yahoo Finance Brighton Pier takes £1 million in a week for first time ever thanks to staycation boom
Brits are out and about enjoying themselves, which is good news for businesses like Brighton Pier that offer a good time.
The owners of the famous pier today say “pent up” demand, good weather, and the boom in staycations helped the popular tourist attraction surpass pre-pandemic sales. Revenue was 14% above 2019 levels over the crucial summer trading period. The final August bank holiday saw the pier take in £1 million in a single week for the first time in its history.
“It is good to be able to report a new record,” chief executive Anne Ackord said.
Brighton Pier Group, which also owns other attractions such as Yorkshire’s Lightwater Valley theme park, said sales across the group totalled £15.9 million in the 13-weeks to the end of September. That was 44% higher than pre-pandemic revenue over the same period.
The company was also boosted by news of an insurance pay out. Brighton Pier Group said it had secured £5 million through its business interruption insurance cover, which reimbursed the company for business lost during the pandemic. As a result, full year earnings are set to be £2 million higher than market forecasts.
Shares rose 10p, or 18%, to 63.53p.
“There is finally some good news for the bars-to-golf and pier-to-theme parks group,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
“A £5 million Business Interruption insurance claim has been paid out, while fun- and refreshment-seekers have started to return to its bars and sites in greater numbers as the economy begins to reopen in the wake of the multiple rounds of lockdown.”
Mould said the key question was the company was whether good momentum could be maintained.
“The insurance claim is a one-off benefit,” he said. “The company has also been helped by rates relief and a reduction in VAT and what could have been an initial burst of relief from thirsty, hungry and fun-starved customers.”
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