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Revolution Bars Group

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and Accounts

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

Revolución de Cuba Aberdeen

premium

BARS...

Financial highlights

REVENUE

Gross margin

FY £110.1m

FY £151.4m

FY £83.5m

FY £114.8m

H1 £81.2m

2020

£110.1m

ADJUSTED EBITDA*
FY £9.8m

H1 £78.5m

2019

FY £11.1m

H1 £12.8m

H1 £6.9m

2019

2020

£9.8m

H1 £61.8m

2020

£83.5m

ADJUSTED (L)/PBT*
FY (£9.8m)

H1 £2.9m

2020

(£9.8m)

H1 £59.5m 

2019

FY £3.0m

H1 £2.9m

2019

*  

 Adjusted performance measures exclude exceptional items, share-based payment (credits)/charges and bar opening costs (see reconciliation table  
on page 22 of the Financial Review).

 The Group has adopted IFRS 16 in the year which has given rise to a number of adjustments to profit measures impacting FY20 reported numbers only;  
the comparatives have not been restated as permitted by the transition provisions of IFRS 16.

 All bars were subject to the UK-wide Government enforced lockdown for the last 14 weeks of the reporting period.

 
 
Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

1

Contents
Strategic report
2 

 Chairman’s Statement

4 

5 

6 

8 

 At a Glance

 Investment Case

 COVID-19: Our Response

 Business Model

10    Chief Executive’s Review

14   

 Strategic Framework

16    Strategy in Action

18   

20  

 Risk Report

Financial Review

24    Section 172(1) Statement

26  

 Operating Responsibly  
for our Stakeholders

Governance
34  

 Board of Directors

36  

 Senior Management

37   Chairman’s Introduction

38   Corporate Governance Report

42   Board Activity

44   Nomination Committee Report

46   Audit Committee Report

50   Directors’ Remuneration Report

58   Directors’ Report

63   Directors’ Responsibility Statement

Financial Statements
66  

Independent Auditors’ Report

74   

75  

76  

77   

78  

112  

113  

114  

115  

 Consolidated Statement  
of Profit or Loss and Other  
Comprehensive Income

 Consolidated Statement  
of Financial Position

 Consolidated Statement  
of Changes in Equity

 Consolidated Statement  
of Cash Flow

 Notes to the Consolidated  
Financial Information

 Company Statement  
of Financial Position

 Company Statement  
of Changes in Equity

 Company statement  
of Cash Flow

 Notes to the Company  
Financial Information

118   Glossary

119   Corporate Information

... operating two market-leading brands, 
“Revolution” and “Revolución de Cuba”. 
We have a strong national presence 
across the UK but with significant 
opportunities for further expansion.  
We currently trade from 67 bars located 
predominantly in town or city centre  
high streets.
Both brands focus on a premium drinks range  
and a quality food offering typically trading from  
late morning through into the late evening.

Purpose
We create fun 
and memorable 
experiences with our 
teams and guests.

Vision
The place where 
everyone wants  
to be.

Values
Fun
It’s at the heart of what we  
do, it’s who we are. Have fun,  
be fun and create fun.

Ambition
Always striving to be the  
best version of ourselves.

Integrity
Just doing the right thing,  
because it’s the right thing to do!

Recognition
Creatively rewarding and 
recognising the achievements  
of all our people.

Venues across the UK

67

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements 
 
 
 
 
2 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

CHAIRMAN’S

Statement

I am pleased to report that prior to the 
COVID driven enforced closure of our 
estate, our business continued to make 
good progress, achieving improved 
performance in the first half of the financial 
period and into the early weeks of 2020. 
The business benefitted from our strategic 
priorities of investing in our existing space 
to improve our underlying like-for-like*  
sales performance, redefining and 
rejuvenating the Revolution brand,  
and reducing bank debt.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic (‘COVID’) severely impacted  
our reported performance for the full FY20 period following the UK 
Government’s enforced closure of all UK pubs, bars and restaurants  
from 20 March 2020 which meant we were unable to trade for the  
final 14 weeks.

Our senior management team has shown exceptional leadership  
and resilience in the face of the most extreme circumstances and  
taken all appropriate actions to ensure that our bars could reopen  
safely when permitted to do so and to protect and safeguard the  
future of the business.

Our business
At the end of the reporting period, the Group 
operated 74 premium bars with a strong 
presence throughout the UK for its two high-
quality retail brands: Revolution, focused on 
young adults; and Revolución de Cuba, which 
attracts a broader age range. Most of the 
Group’s sales are derived from drink and food 
with some late-night admission receipts driven 
by entertainment completing the sales mix.

Our strategy to focus both management  
resource and investment capital on the existing 
estate to improve the underlying performance  
of the business and to use surplus cash to reduce 
debt continued to gain momentum pre-COVID, 
following on from the improving trends seen 
through the last few months of FY19.

Consistent with our strategy, no new bars  
were opened in the period and 11 bars  
were refurbished at cost of £2.4 million.  
Our refurbishment programme was cut short  
by COVID so we were unable to cover one fifth  
of the estate consistent with our stated aim of  
a five-year cycle. However, we were pleased with 
the results of the programme, which delivered 
an overall sales uplift pre-COVID consistent with 
the first wave of eight refurbishments undertaken 
in FY19. Good progress was also made with 
exiting underperforming bars with six leases 
surrendered including two bars that had not 
traded since 2015. Since the end of the reporting 
period, two more loss-making leases have been 
surrendered and a further five sites returned to 
their landlords through a Company Voluntary 
Arrangement (‘CVA’) undertaken by the Group’s 
wholly owned subsidiary entity, Revolution Bars 
Limited, resulting in an estate of 67 premium bars 
as at 16 December 2020. The CVA also delivered 
rent savings at a further eight bars. With a 
streamlining of our Support Centre resource 
undertaken post period end and our estate 
unburdened by a number of underperforming 
bars, the Board believes, subject to a return 
to normal trading conditions, the Group is well 
positioned to operate more efficiently and, 
longer term, achieve a higher net margin.

Our results
Sales of £110.1 million (2019: £151.4 million) were 
27.3% lower than the previous period as result 
of the COVID lockdown eliminating all trading 
for the last 14 weeks of the period. Like-for-like** 
sales in the first half were up 1.2% and for the 
36 weeks to the end of February 2020, before 
COVID started to impact sales performance, 
were up 1.3%. Adjusted EBITDA*, our preferred 
KPI, is significantly impacted by the change  
in reporting resulting from the implementation 
of IFRS 16. From next year, when there will  
be consistency of reporting, our preferred KPI 
will become adjusted EBITDA including rent 

The business achieved a much-
improved performance in the first  
half year and remained on a good  
track until COVID struck in March.”

Keith Edelman 
Non-Executive Chairman

Summary

Like-for-like** sales in first half

+1.2%

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

3

charges, but for this year the directors believe 
that business progress is best measured by 
the directly comparable IAS 17 Alternative 
Performance Measures (‘APM’)*** measure of 
adjusted EBITDA* which was £0.1 million (FY19: 
£11.1 million). Due to the operational leverage 
in the business, the full year adjusted EBITDA* 
performance was severely impacted by the 
closure of sites during the COVID lockdown.

After APM*** exceptional items of £20.1 million 
(2019: £7.1 million), bar opening costs of £nil 
(2019: £1.5 million) and a charge from long term 
incentive plans of £0.04 million (2018: credit  
£0.1 million), the APM*** operating loss was  
£27.5 million (2019: loss £4.7 million).

Statutory exceptional items of £21.9 million 
include non-cash charges of £21.5 million for asset 
impairments, including in the current period right-
of-use assets, and are net of exceptional gain on 
disposal of leases included in exceptional finance 
income (2019: £7.1 million for asset impairments 
and onerous lease provisions). Cash exceptional 
items in the period were £0.4 million comprising 
expenditure incurred in the admission to AIM 
(2019: £nil). This gives rise to a statutory operating 
loss of £32.7 million under IFRS 16.

When free to trade without the imposed COVID 
restrictions, we are a highly cash generative 
business and excellent progress was made on 
reducing gross bank debt to £11.5 million as at the 
end of the first-half of FY20, down £6.0 million in 
six months from the end of FY19. However, by the 
end of FY20, due to COVID, gross bank debt had 
risen back to £24.5 million (FY19: £17.5 million).

Our Board
Our Board has remained unchanged throughout 
the period. The Board demonstrated significant 
commitment to the business over the final 
four months of the period to deal with the 
consequences of COVID and to review and ratify 
many of the difficult decisions made by the senior 
management team and to provide a sounding 
board and support to the executive directors 
given the unprecedented situation. The Board 
also showed strong leadership and empathy 
for the difficulties that COVID has caused for 
most of the Group’s workforce by agreeing a 
50% reduction in Board salaries with effect from 
1 April 2020 (see Report of the Remuneration 
Committee on page 50 for more details).

At our AGM on 22 December 2020, Mike Foster, 
our Chief Financial Officer will retire from the 
Board. Danielle Davies will be appointed to the 
Board in his place. We have known for a while 
that Mike was likely to retire at some point and 
so we started succession planning well over a 
year ago. Danielle has been working with Mike 
for almost six months during which time she 
has provided support and eased the extensive 
burden of additional work caused by COVID 
and considered necessary to safeguard the 
business. Therefore, I am very confident that  
the transition between Mike and Danielle will  
be straightforward.

Our team members
At the end of the reporting period, the Group 
employed over 2,900 people, all of whom strive 
to provide the outstanding customer experience 
that is at the heart of our strategy. 2020 has 
been a year like no other in terms of the 
challenges our team members at every level of 
the business have faced and I must pay tribute 
to their resilience throughout the lockdown 
period, their bravery on returning to work under 
extremely difficult operating conditions, and for 
their whole-hearted support of the management 
team in the face of some very difficult actions 
necessary to safeguard the business. I must also 
pay tribute to the senior management team and 
indeed all levels of management who have had 
to adapt to very different ways of operating and 
leading and having to deal with many matters 
they could not have contemplated a year ago. 

COVID-19
We cannot avoid the fact that the trading 
backdrop for at least the next few months 
remains very uncertain. Whilst acknowledging 
that management of the pandemic and balancing 
the health and economic consequences is 
far from easy, the way in which the hospitality 
sector appears to have been sacrificed in 
order to curb the spread of the virus when all 
the evidence suggests that the way in which 
pubs, bars and restaurants have adapted their 
operations has been very effective, seems very 
disproportionate and completely misguided.  
As a wet-led business with a significant element 
of trade being late-night and entertainment-led, 
our business has suffered disproportionately 
from the many operating restrictions imposed 
on it. Whilst furlough support and relief from 
business rates has been necessary and helpful, 
Eat Out To Help Out and the VAT reduction were 
of some limited value to a wet-led predominantly 
late-night business, and the grants now being 
made available to cover some of the other 
overheads are woefully short of the levels 
necessary to compensate for being sacrificed 
by the UK Government in this way. The UK 
Government has shown a completely inadequate 
grasp of our situation and, to date, an obdurate 
unwillingness to do anything about it.

The UK Government should recognise that  
in 2019, the Group contributed £48.4 million  
to HMG Treasury, equivalent to 44.0% of its total 
revenue. Any government support provided  
to our business now is protecting a reliable  
and much larger level of tax revenue flowing  
back to HM Treasury as soon as the pandemic  
is defeated.

I must also thank our suppliers who have been 
extremely supportive by suspending contracts 
or agreeing deferred payments, our staff for 
their salary sacrifices, many landlords who have 
part-waived rent, NatWest who has been very 
supportive and increasing our committed debt 
facilities, and our shareholders for supporting 
our successful equity fundraising.

I would also like to acknowledge the outstanding 
efforts of Kate Nicholls, who has represented 
the hospitality sector with unwavering vigour, 
dedication and determination throughout this 
challenging period.
Our dividend

The Group suspended dividend payments in 
March 2019 in order to prioritise the reduction 
in bank debt. Given the material uncertainties 
caused by COVID, this situation continues  
to prevail.

Our Future
Overall revenue generated in the first 24 weeks 
of FY21 is £20.6 million, down significantly on 
the same weeks in FY20 (£72.1 million) due to 
the cautious and phased reopening of our bars 
from 6 July 2020 and as a result of the severe 
and constantly evolving operating restrictions 
including further national and local lockdowns, 
table service only and the 10pm curfew. 
However, the Board is encouraged by the 
recent announcements of the COVID vaccine 
and currently expects that the business will 
gradually recover to its previous performance 
levels over the course of the six months from 
April 2021, being the date the UK Government 
expect restrictions to materially ease.

Since the end of FY20, the business has  
taken steps to substantially increase its liquidity 
including increasing its committed bank facilities, 
completing a £15.0 million equity fundraising, 
which was used to pay down debt, negotiating 
further rental support from landlords and 
undertaking a CVA in Revolution Bars Limited 
(as referred to above under ‘Our Business’). 
The Financial Review on page 20 provides 
information on liquidity and going concern  
and also the full going concern disclosures, 
which include references to material uncertainty, 
on pages 60 to 62 of the Directors’ Report 
replicated on pages 78 to 80 of the financial 
statements and in the independent auditors’ 
report on page 66. 

The business achieved a much-improved 
performance in the first half year and remained 
on a good track until COVID struck in March since 
when it has dominated our agenda. However, 
the management team have taken all necessary 
actions available so that the business is able 
to recover quickly once normalised trading 
conditions return.

Keith Edelman 
Non-Executive Chairman

16 December 2020

* 

** 

*** 

 Adjusted performance measures exclude exceptional 
items, share-based payment (credits)/charges and bar 
opening costs (see reconciliation table on page 22 of 
the Financial Review).
 Like-for-like (LFL) sales are defined as total retail sales 
from bars that have traded throughout both the current 
and prior reporting periods.
 APM refers to Alternative Performance Measure being 
measures reported on an IAS 17 basis that are directly 
comparable to FY19 reported measures.

APM*** Adjusted ebitda*

£0.1M

REVENUE

FY
£110.1m

H1
£81.2m

2020

£110.1m

Gross margin

FY
£151.4m

FY
£83.5m

FY
£114.8m

H1
£78.5m

2019

H1
£59.5m

2019

H1
£61.8m

2020

£83.5m

Like-for-like** sales in first half

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements4

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

Revolution Clapham Junction

AT A GLANCE

MAKERS OF THE

party spirit

Two premium brands

Drinks

Food

Entertainment

A wide range of premium cocktails 
and vodka focused drinks.

Signature pizzas and burgers 
supported by delicious grazing dishes.

Rum-led cocktails and Latin 
American inspired drinks.

Cuban and Latin American inspired 
tapas focused food menu.

Delivering the party spirit since 
1996, the best place to celebrate any 
occasion with our award-winning DJs.

Authentic live Latin music and  
dance productions.

Venues across the UK

Our first Revolution bar opened 
in Manchester in 1996, and now 
we have 49 bars across the UK.

Our first Revolución de Cuba bar 
opened in Sheffield in 2011, and 
we now operate 18 bars across 
the UK.

7 
Scotland 
12  North-East 
11  North-West 
12  Midlands 
2  Wales 
14  South-East 
8  South-West 
1 

 Northern Ireland*

18

67

Total venues

49

Revolution

Revolución de Cuba

*  Revolución de Cuba only in Northern Ireland

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

5

INVESTMENT

Case

Renewed management energy  
and focus on our turnaround strategy  
and core strengths are beginning  
to yield results.

Two PREMIUM  
Brands

Revolution has been delivering the party spirit 
since 1996 and continues to be famed for 
creating fun and memorable experiences

Revolución de Cuba brand presents relatively 
high barriers to entry and delivers a highly 
differentiated offer in the marketplace

Improved Revolution estate following CVA 
resulting in exit of five underperforming sites

Read more on page 4

The right team  
and strong culture 

Experienced Executive team empowered by 
the Board to maximise trading post COVID-19

Purpose, Vision and Values embedded 
throughout the businesses

Focus on safeguarding our colleagues  
and customers

Engaging our 2,600-strong passionate team

Attracting new talent and new thinking

Clear Strategy  
in place

Building guest loyalty

Driving sustained profit improvement

Developing our estate

Investing in: 
-  Our teams 
-  Our brands 
-  Our core estate

4.42

Read more on pages 14-17

Financially  
well structured

Strong cash generation

Significantly improved liquidity from  
increased debt financing including £16.5 million 
Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan 
(CLBIL) and £15.0 million equity fundraise

Utilisation of Government support including 
furlough scheme

Long-term debt target to below one times 
EBITDA and future expansion to be largely  
self-funded

Read more on pages 34-36

Read more on pages 20-23

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6 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

COVID-19

Our response

All our bars were closed by order of the 
UK Government as part of the measures 
to stem the spread of COVID on 20 March 
2020 and trading was not permitted until 
after the end of FY20 on 4 July 2020.

How we are 
managing  
the situation:

Health and safety
Preparation of our bars for reopening by:

•  installing separation screens and other 

protective measures such as table spacing 
and signage in order to ensure social 
distancing protocols were followed, 
sanitiser stations in key areas of our bars;

•  health screening of our teams and 

developing new training programmes  
to deal with all aspects of operating  
safely and keeping each other safe;

•  implementing digital daily and weekly 

management checks along with monthly 
senior management audits to ensure 
compliance with COVID secure measures;

•  removal of cash payments from the 

business to further reduce the possibility  
of infection.

The Group adopted a cautious approach to reopening to ensure  
that it could operate safely and viably and chose not to reopen on 
Saturday 4 July 2020 as the Board considered that a potentially very  
busy Saturday was not a sensible way of testing many of our new  
systems for delivering a safe environment for our staff and customers. 

Initially, we opened six bars for two  
weeks and then opened our bars in further 
tranches until 65 of our bars were trading  
by 21 September 2020. There have been  
a number of challenges during this period, 
with numerous changes to the operating 
rules and restrictions imposed by the various 
governing authorities, and our revenue  
has been subject to large fluctuations with 
weekly sales varying between £nil, -100%  
on last year, to 90% of last year. 

Safeguarding the future
We recognised at an early stage that our 
business model being wet-led and with  
a late-night focus was going to be severely 
impacted by COVID and the imposed 
restrictions. Therefore, a number of steps 
were taken to both improve the liquidity 
available to the business and to minimise  
the cash burn rate as follows: 

•  support from the Group’s bank, NatWest,  
to increase available debt facilities from 
£21.0 million (in March 2020 and due to 
decrease to £18.0 million in June 2020), 
to £37.5 million effective 6 July 2020 
(including a Coronavirus Large Business 
Interruption Loan Scheme (‘CLBILS’) term 
loan of £16.5 million);

•  an equity fundraising of £15.0 million by 
way of a Firm Placing and a Placing and 
Open Offer that completed shortly after 
the end of FY20 on 27 July 2020;

•  transferring the Company’s stock market 

listing from the Main Market to AIM so that 
the Company was better placed to raise 
further funds quickly and more cheaply 
should that become necessary;

•  securing agreement with our key suppliers 

to extend credit, in some cases until 
trading recommenced, and to suspend 
contracts whilst we were unable to trade;

•  putting 98.5% of our staff on furlough 

during the enforced closure period and, 
whilst we topped-up pay to 80% of salary 

The occurrence of Board and senior 
management meetings have increased  
to ensure the Group could adapt quickly  
to the frequent changes in the industry.  
Our priority throughout both the closure 
period and since reopening has been 
the safety of our guests and teams and 
safeguarding the future of the business  
and our response is summarised as follows:

for those above the furlough threshold,  
the salaries of the senior team who 
remained in work were reduced to 80%  
and Board salaries were reduced to 50%;

•  taking advantage of other support 

measures from the UK Government such as 
100% relief for business rates and deferring 
£2.1 million of VAT until March 2022 and  
£1.6 million of PAYE under Time to Pay 
being repaid in instalments to March 2021;

•  reorganisation of the central support 

team in line with future business needs, 
reducing the headcount by 16%;

•  securing agreements with landlords 

to share the pain of enforced closure. 
Initially, progress was slow in this area 
but accelerated as the moratorium period 
against forfeiture was extended through 
FY21 and an increasing number of 
consensual deals were completed.  
Overall savings in rent payments from  
the March 2020 rent quarter day to the  
end of FY21 are £4.1 million – see note 1  
to the financial statements for more  
detail; and

•  undertaking a Company Voluntary 

Arrangement (CVA) in November 2020 
in respect of the Group’s wholly owned 
subsidiary entity Revolution Bars Limited 
that resulted in exiting five loss-making 
leases and reduced rental terms on eight 
others for the duration of the two-year  
CVA period. 

Revolution Parsonage Gardens

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

7

C
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kits and ready to drink cocktails for  
home delivery;

•  used our IT resource during lockdown  

to expand the functionality of our booking 
system to make it fully automated so that 
customers can fulfil all their booking needs 
on-line without talking to a member of our 
sales team or venue staff;

•  developed order and pay at table for  
the Revolution App and entered into  
a partnership with Omnifi to create  
order and pay at table for Revolución  
de Cuba facilitating a safer operation  
on reopening; and

•  created on-line cocktail masterclasses  

for COVID secure group bookings.

Team member engagement
We recognised that with so many of our 
2,900 team members on furlough there 
would be challenges keeping team members 
engaged with the business and the rest of the 
Revolution family and sustaining their physical 
and mental well-being. To that end we:

•  provided weekly briefings for all team 
members via a mixture of newsletters, 
emails and Microsoft Teams calls  
and encouraged feedback, questions  
and interaction;

•  held several virtual events to keep our 

team members interested in the business;

•  developed a monthly digitally interactive 

company newsletter;

•  delivered refresher training to all our  
team members at regular intervals  
during lockdown;

•  were delighted when many of them came 

together to organise the Revs runners relay 
from Inverness to Plymouth to London to 
raise funds for Shelter and the NHS.

Brand innovation/ 
customer engagement
In order to keep our brands front of our 
customers’ minds during the lockdown, we:

•  broadcast on-line Revolution DJ sets;

•  partnered with Pernod Ricard, Bacardi and 
Diageo to host rum tasting masterclasses 
live on Instagram;

•  developed our online gifting platform/ 

shop to include branded cocktail making 

Staff furloughed  
during lockdown 

98.5%

Strategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements 
8 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

BUSINESS 
Model

Our business model provides solid foundations from which the 
business can recover strongly from the COVID-19 disruption.

leveraging our sources  
of competitive advantage

Creating value from our  
customer proposition

Two recognised brands 
Revolution and Revolución de Cuba, both of which  
are synonymous with a fun night out

Over half of customers surveyed associate fun with 
the brands

+50%

Improved estate quality 
Leases of six loss-making sites surrendered in the period,  
a further two post period end, and a further five through  
the CVA process post period end

Sites surrendered in the year

6

Experienced team and skilled staff 
Highly experienced and dedicated Executive team 
empowered by the Board to reposition business during 
COVID-19 period and to drive the business forward  
strongly when operating conditions permit

Employees at period-end

2,968

Strong financial structure 
Strong cash generation prior to COVID-19, with debt levels 
significantly reduced

Cash flow generated from operating activities

Innovative

FOOD

Impactful

VENUES

Lively

ENTERTAINMENT 
AND ENERGY

£6.5m

Maximising  
value

1
Strong COVID-19 
strategy

2
Embedded  
values

See page 6

See page 26

 
 
Creating value from our  

customer proposition

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

9

Sharing value with  
our stakeholders

Customers 
Fun and safe night out for our predominantly  
female customers

Average star rating across all online review platforms

4.5

Employees 
Rewarding roles, with opportunities for advancement

Percentage of our people who are proud to work  
for us

92%

Shareholders 
In the first 36 weeks, before COVID-19 hit, like-for-like sales 
up 1.3%, with continued focus on turnaround strategy

Like-for-like sales increase in first 36 weeks of FY20

+1.3%

Communities 
Vibrant bars and job opportunities at the heart  
of communities

Locations

67

Impactful

VENUES

Large, characterful spaces

Premium 

DRINKS
Two thirds of drinks  
sales from cocktails  
and spirits

Lively 

ENTERTAINMENT 
AND ENERGY
Live music, DJs  
and entertainers

Innovative 

FOOD
All-day menus that 
are both delicious and 
Instagram worthy

Premium

DRINKS

3
Robust risk 
management

4
Sound  
governance

See page 18

See page 38

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements 
 
 
 
 
10 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S
Review

Our business has made good 
steps forward this year despite 
the massive disruption caused 
by COVID in the second half  
of the year.

Business review 
Our first half financial performance was very encouraging with  
like-for-like** sales growth at 1.2% and APM*** adjusted EBITDA* 
10.6% higher than FY19. Our like-for-like** sales performance tracked 
ahead of the Bars sector, as measured by the CGA Peach tracker, 
driven by an outstanding performance in Revolución de Cuba at 
+5.0%. Revolution at -0.4% was much improved on FY19: -4.6%,  
as the multiple workstreams we had initiated during the prior year  
to rejuvenate the brand started to gain customer appeal.

The good start to FY20 continued into the first 10 weeks of the second half with  
like-for-like** sales up 1.6% with Revolution in growth at +0.5% and Revolución de  
Cuba strengthening further to +3.9%. However, from the second week of March 2020, 
COVID started to adversely affect sales and ultimately the UK Government ordered  
all pubs, bars and restaurants to cease trading with effect from 20 March 2020.  
We were unable to trade for the remainder of FY20, a period of just over 14 weeks 
although our sales had been adversely impacted for at least two weeks longer.

The outlook for our business  
in recent weeks has been  
brightened significantly by the  
news of successful vaccine trials.”

Rob Pitcher
Chief Executive Officer

The strategic priorities we set for 
FY20 were delivered despite the 
distraction of COVID with some  
of the highlights set out below:

 Investing in our team:
•  started with creating new Purpose,  

Vision and Values statements for the 
business at our annual conference in early 
August, which we then used as a central 
part of our team training throughout the 
year to ensure everyone was aligned  
with our business goals and their role  
in achieving them;

•  we launched a new benefits programme 
‘Revs with benefits’ in February for all 
of our team members to support their 
financial, physical and mental well-being;

•  an apprenticeship scheme was launched 

for our kitchen teams in February;

•  early in 2020, and in response to feedback 
from hourly paid team members, we offered 
the option of minimum hour contracts 
(effective from April) in place of zero-hour 
contracts and these were taken up by  
48% of those team members.

 Investing in our brands  
and guest experience:

•  further customer research was 

commissioned into the Revolution brand 
proposition as part of our work to reimagine 
Revolution for the next generation  
and to maintain the momentum of the 
brand development;

•  an acceleration of our digital capabilities, 
the urgency for which became much 
greater in order to operate effectively 
under the imposed COVID restrictions. 
This included enhancing our internally 
developed booking system to become fully 
automated and accessible by customers 
on-line so that they are now able to fulfil 
all their basic booking needs at any of our 
bars without talking to a member of the 
sales team, a significant and necessary 
enhancement in the new COVID-19 
(‘COVID’) environment.  

Summary

H1 APM*** Adjusted ebitda*

+10.6%

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

11

strategic

priorities

 Investing in our estate:

•  in the 36 weeks of FY20, when it was 

There has also been further development 
of the Revolution App to include order 
and pay, with the benefit of significantly 
increasing users of the App to 545,000 
registered users, up from 230,000 in 
February 2020. At the same time we 
partnered with Omnifi to deliver order  
and pay at table across our Revolución  
de Cuba bars; and

Five of these leases were with one  
landlord as a result of a sale and leaseback 
financing transaction in 2007, which 
over time had seen the leases become 
unviable. The exit cost for all six leases 
was initially agreed at £3.9 million but was 
subsequently reduced to £2.6 million to 
facilitate the completion payments after 
COVID restricted the Group’s cash flows. 
The lease surrenders save annual losses  
of £1.3 million so represented a good use  
of capital; and

•  two further lease surrenders of 

underperforming bars have been completed 
subsequent to the end of FY20 (see current 
trading and liquidity).

possible to operate without restrictions, 
we refurbished 11 bars at a cost of £2.4 
million. Based on their trading in the weeks 
following refurbishment, these bars were 
collectively delivering sales growth 7.1% 
higher than the remainder of the non-
refurbished estate and is an improvement 
on the first wave of 8 bars refurbished in 
FY19. This represents a return on capital 
of 58%;

•  focusing management attention on  
our existing estate has also enabled  
us to address some of our legacy and  
under-performing sites and during the  
year we surrendered six leases including 
two that had not traded since FY15.  

•  the guest experience metrics in both 

brands moved forward (as measured by 
Reputation.com); Revolution from 4.3 stars 
at June 2019 to 4.5 stars at February 2020, 
the last time it was possible to accurately 
measure feedback, and Revolución de 
Cuba from 4.3 stars to 4.4 stars over the 
same time period.

Our Team
The last four months of FY20 and subsequent 
months, dealing with COVID and the related 
fall-out in terms of its impact on our business 
and the many difficult decisions we have  
had to make to safeguard its future, has  
been an immense challenge for all our team 
members. Throughout this period, I have been 
amazed and uplifted by unsolicited feedback 

and support from our team members 
acknowledging the efforts and achievements 
of the senior team to keep the Revolution 
family together and their generosity of spirit 
in dealing with those very difficult decisions 
and the circumstances generally. I feel very 
proud and very humble to lead such a great 
team and I know that when our business  

is free to trade once more unshackled by  
the pandemic and the burden of related 
operating restrictions imposed upon us,  
the character and togetherness of our  
team will be even stronger. 

Group strategic objectives
Our three strategic objectives are now more relevant than ever; these being:

1 

 Building  
guest loyalty;

2 

 Driving  
sustained profit 
improvement; and

3 

 Development  
of our estate. 

These three pillars continue to be our guiding 
principles and drive our long-term decision-
making. Our three-year plan, mapped out 
well over 18 months ago, made clear that our 
initial focus was on the first two objectives 

but suggested that we expected to be able 
to start planning for estate expansion at the 
end of FY20. Whilst the disruption caused 
by COVID has set back our timescales for 
expansion, we believe that post COVID,  

our market place and the competitive 
landscape will be fundamentally different  
and there may be good opportunities for 
both our brands to expand their estates  
at a much lower level of investment. 

Return on capital of refurbs

Users of the app

Cash burn rate per week

58% 545k £0.4m

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements12 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S

Review continued

Strategic priorities for FY21
Due to the later publication of this Annual 
Report, we are already almost half-way 
through the FY21 reporting period with the 
first half of that period also totally dominated 
by COVID; necessarily our day to day actions 
have focused on adapting our operations 
in accordance with the constantly changing 
rules and guidance issued by the various  
UK statutory authorities, and our priorities 
remain the health and safety of all our staff 
and customers, ensuring that we can trade 
viably and doing everything possible  
to safeguard the future of the business. 
Against that backdrop and mindful that 
COVID will continue to dominate our day  
to day actions for several more months,  
we remain committed to the following 
strategic priorities in FY21:

Investing in our team:

•  developing and rolling out a new 

immersive induction programme for  
new recruits to both brands as our 
business builds back up;

•  establishing Diversity and Inclusion 
champions across the business; and

•  remapping and reinvigorating the  

career paths for both front of house  
and back of house team members. 

Investing in our brands  
and guest experience:

•  refining the customer service journey 
through further development of order  
and pay at table to relieve the issues  
of queuing at bar;

•  rolling out our new brand proposition for 
Revolution focusing on bringing people 
back together in real life in a place for 
high quality interactions but allowing for 
conscious escapism in an ethical and 
sustainable way;

•  taking Revolución de Cuba into people’s 

homes with the development of our on-line 
product offering and to outside events and 
private functions with our Cuban party van;

•  creating many new reasons to visit our bars 
through the evolution of our ‘event space’ 
customer offering;

•  further development of our bookings 
platform and our order and pay at  
table technology.

Investing in our estate:

•  restarting our refurbishment programme  
in the last quarter (three bars targeted); and

•  accelerating our sustainability agenda  

and completing our planning to announce 
in the next 12 months our specific goals  
to become carbon neutral.

Debt reduction:

•  closely managing debt mindful of our  

long-term target that net bank debt should 
be no more than one times adjusted 
EBITDA* (IAS 17).

Relaunch our business: 

•  using our workstream methodology, 

requiring workgroups from a mixture of 
relevant disciplines across our business 
led by one or more members of the senior 
executive team to relaunch all elements  
of our business. 

recovery so that hospitality businesses and 
their funding partners can start planning their 
route back to full recovery.

Also, longer term, we believe that there  
may be good property opportunities, both 
in terms of availability and lower investment 
cost, as a result of business failures and, 
connected to this, a decrease in rental levels.

Market outlook 
The outlook for our business in recent weeks 
has been brightened significantly by the 
news of successful vaccine trials; that the UK 
Government has secured significant stocks 
of vaccine and that a vaccination programme 
to deal with this terrible disease is now 
underway. As COVID disproportionately 
threatens those in our population who are 
older and the medically vulnerable, and given 
that the vaccination programme will rightly 
prioritise those groups, we believe it should 
be possible for operating restrictions to be 
lifted once that part of the vaccination roll-
out has been completed. Notwithstanding, 
it is apparent from the UK Government 
announcements during late November that 
there is unlikely to be a significant loosening  
of operating restrictions until Easter 2021 
and, therefore, the levels at which we may  
be able to trade until then are uncertain.  
It is reasonable to assume our business may 
be able to trade in a more normal manner 
from April 2021, subject only to consumer 
confidence. There is both an economic  
risk, given the fall-out from COVID with 
soaring unemployment, lower earnings  
and, longer term, potentially higher taxes  
to start repaying the government borrowing 

caused by COVID, and a health and safety 
confidence risk given that the UK authorities 
scapegoating of hospitality may have 
undermined customer confidence. There  
are, however, several reasons for us to 
remain positive about the future, including:

•  our target customers, due to our focus  
on young adult age groups, are at lower 
risk from COVID health issues;

•  there is likely to be huge pent up demand 

given that normal operations will have been 
suspended for over twelve months; and

•  our marketplace may be less competitive as 
some operators may not survive this period.

Longer term, the UK Government must 
recognise that it needs to provide continuing 
support to enable hospitality companies to 
be able to repay the debt funding built up as 
a result of the operating restrictions imposed 
upon them during the pandemic. The best 
way of achieving this would be to extend the 
reduced VAT rate of 5% to all sales of food 
and drink until at least the end of 2021 and  
to extend the relief for business rates into the 
2021/22 fiscal year. Now that there appears 
to be a clear path back to ‘normal’ trading 
conditions, the UK Government should lay 
out its package of longer term support to aid 

Revolución de Cuba Glasgow

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

13

and £1.0 million reduction at the end of June 
2021 (more detail on page 22 of the Financial 
Review), committed bank facilities will now 
reduce to £36.6 million at the end of June 
2021 to £34.1 million at the end of December 
2021 and to £32.6 million at June 2022.  
The Group estimates that if it is unable to 
trade then under the current arrangements 
for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, 
minimal benefits from government grants,  
and current agreements with landlords, 
its cash burn rate is just over £0.4 million 
per week. Please see the going concern 
disclosures, which include references to 
material uncertainty, on pages 60-62 of 
the Directors’ Report, replicated on pages 
78-80 of the financial statements and in the 
independent auditors’ report on page 66.

Rob Pitcher 
Chief Executive Officer

16 December 2020

* 

** 

*** 

 Adjusted performance measures exclude exceptional 
items, share-based payment (credits)/charges and bar 
opening costs (see reconciliation table on page 22 
of the Financial Review).

 Like-for-like (LFL) sales are defined as total retail sales 
from bars that have traded throughout both the current 
and prior reporting periods.

 APM refers to Alternative Performance Measure being 
measures reported on an IAS 17 basis that are directly 
comparable to FY19 reported measures.

Current Trading and liquidity
We commenced a cautious reopening  
of our bars from 6 July 2020 with an initial 
tranche of six bars and by 21 September  
we were trading 65 bars. As expected, sales 
were well below normal levels given the 
operating restrictions around the maximum 
sizes of customer groups, table service only 
severely reducing our operating capacity and 
the ban on live entertainment and dancing. 
Nevertheless, our customers enthusiastically 
returned to our bars and sales rose steadily  
on a weekly basis with some additional help 
from Eat Out To Help Out during August 
giving us momentum into September. In the 
four weeks between 1 August and 31 August, 
comparable venue sales were 82.2% of last 
year, which in the circumstances was very 
encouraging. However, the imposition of the 
10pm curfew on 24 September resulted in 
an immediate downturn in sales trend by 
approximately 19.3%, and the introduction  
of regional lock-downs and further operating 
restrictions under the tier systems further 
reduced sales before the latest four week 
national lockdown took effect on 5 November. 
Overall, sales in our ongoing estate for the  
first 24 weeks of the new financial period  
were 41.4% of last year.

During this period, we surrendered leases on 
loss-making bars at Cavern Quarter - Liverpool 
(Revolution) and Huddersfield (Revolución  
de Cuba) eliminating annual EBITDA losses of 
£0.3 million at a cost of £0.5 million. As a result 
of the CVA undertaken by Revolution Bars 
Limited (see Chairman’s Statement on page  
2 and section on our COVID response on 
page 6 for further details), the Group exited  
a further five sites and therefore at the date  
of this report the Group now trades from  
67 bars.

Christmas trading has traditionally been 
a key trading period for the business and 
responsible for a significant proportion of the 
Group’s annual profit, but this year Christmas 
trading has been effectively wiped out by 
the imposed operating restrictions. From 
4 December 2020, when the four-week 
lockdown period had ended in England,  
new restrictions were implemented in Wales 
and different versions of the tier system were 
active across the UK, the Group effectively 
had one bar in tier 1, 32 bars in tier 2 and 34 
bars in tier 3. Tier 3 bars are unable to trade 
and as tier 2 bars are only allowed to serve 
alcohol with a substantial meal their viability 
is at best marginal. It is now clear that trading 
in the first quarter of 2021 (the Group’s 
third quarter), is also likely to be severely 
compromised and therefore the FY21 
financial period will incur a substantial loss.

At 16 December 2020, the Group had net 
bank debt of £19.5 million compared with 
total committed bank facilities of £37.1 million. 
As a result of the Group’s banker, NatWest, 
agreeing to defer both a £7.5 million reduction 
in debt facilities at the end of March 2021 

Revolución de Cuba Glasgow

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements 
14 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

STRATEGIC
Framework

Good progress made on implementation of 
Revolution turnaround with like-for-like sales 
growth restored, and debt reduction prior to onset 
of COVID-19. Given the hiatus since March 2020, 
our strategic priorities remain largely unchanged.

FY21 Strategic priorities

Investment

Debt reduction Work-streams

Invest in our team, our  
brands and guest experience  
and our core estate

Debt reduction targeting  
below one times adjusted  
EBITDA (IAS 17)

Deliver work-streams

Good progress was achieved in 
the first half year with the business 
returning to sales growth and 
demonstrating steady improvement 
over that period.

However, since March 2020, COVID-19 
(‘COVID’) has hijacked the strategic agenda 
and, out of necessity, management focus 
initially shifted to survival mode, prioritising 
cost reduction and cash liquidity, and then  
to ensuring that when hospitality was allowed 
to reopen (July 2020), the business could 
operate safely and cost efficiently within  
the imposed operating restrictions.  

The period since reopening has been 
disrupted by continuing changes in operating 
guidance and further restrictions, which 
has required considerable management 
resource to ensure that the business remains 
legally compliant and is also making the 
right decisions to maintain the safety of 
staff and customers. This has necessitated 
prioritising a reactive management focus 
over strategic development but has 
resulted in the acceleration of certain 
strategic initiatives such as “order and pay 
at table”, further development of our brand 
Apps, strengthening our food offering and 
simplifying our drinks menus with less 

emphasis of discounting, and exiting  
the under-performing part of the estate.

As the late-night business has been  
unable to operate since the onset of COVID, 
all related initiatives have been temporarily 
shelved in favour of a focus on building 
daytime trade through greater emphasis 
on food. Customer feedback has been very 
encouraging, and management believe that 
this will ultimately result in an expansion of 
the customer base when market conditions 
return to normal.

Customer proposition

Workstream
•  Female customer at heart of 

both brand propositions; focus 
on clean, well-maintained,  
safe environments

•  Project “Event” – to leverage 
use of club rooms offering  
new reasons to visit and attract  
new customers

•  Focus on online offerings and 
marketing – cocktail making, 
virtual entertainment

Progress
•  “Pup” up and Drag Brunches 
proving particularly popular
•  Friday evening guided rum 

tastings provided by leading 
brand ambassadors for  
up to 500 people at a time
•  Saturday night Live DJ sets, 
saxophonists and dancers  
over Facebook Live for  
brand awareness

KPIs
•  4.5 feedback rating in 

Revolution (FY19: 4.3) and 
Revolución de Cuba at 4.4  
(FY19: 4.3)

•  240 new events launched  
prior to onset of COVID 

Next Steps
•  Maintain high level of feedback 
response both centrally and  
at our bars

•  Finding more ways of  

delivering what our customers 
want in a safe way

•  Continue innovating and 

refreshing our drinks offer by 
working with key brand owners

 
Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

15

Progress
•  Average time in post for 

KPIs
•  500 members of staff attended 

Next Steps
•  Continued support of our 

General Managers up from 17 
months to 21 months, reflecting 
increased desire to build their 
career with the Group

•  Charity fundraising events 
including Virtual run from 
Inverness to Plymouth to 
London during lockdown,  
and Shelter Walk to raise 
awareness of homelessness

•  Kitchen Apprenticeships  

now offered to upskill chefs  
and kitchen managers 

the FY20 conference

•  “Rob’s Recaps” newsletter 
launched and released  
every month with updates  
and good news

•  “RBG Revs Runners”  

relay challenge, over 300 
individuals, 1,639kms run  
and over £10,000 raised for 
Shelter and NHS Charities

venue-based staff to help them 
deliver an amazing customer 
experience in the “new normal”

•  Further development around 
our employee welfare, and 
diversity and inclusion policies

•  Restructuring the team  

to ensure we have the right 
resources post COVID

Progress
•  Over 545,000 registered 
downloads of the App  
since launch

•  Order and pay at table via  

the App ready for both brands 
launched on reopening  
post lockdown

•  Online sales from introduction 
of cocktail kits and rum tastings

KPIs
•  Over 70% of sales made via  
the App since reopening
•  Online bookings make  
up approximately half  
of all bookings and rising

•  Social media following  
up 27.7% on last year

Next Steps
•  Continued development  

of the Apps

•  Further use of technology in 
delivering customer journey

Progress
•  Cocktail “make at home” kits 
delivered through lockdowns
•  Takeaway cocktails served and 
packaged in bars in response 
to curfew

•  Menu adaption and changes  

in bar ergonomics to drive sales

KPIs
•  At half-year, like-for-like sales 
were up 1.2% on last year
•  At full year, like-for-like sales 
were down 27.8% due to 
enforced closure of estate  
in last 14 weeks of the period

Team engagement

Workstream
•  Training available to all staff
•  Encouragement for all  

staff to live and breathe fun  
in their jobs

•  Bringing our teams back  

to work safely

•  Regular updates to all team 

members throughout lockdown, 
including those on furlough

•  “Rev U” learning brand  

rolled out

Digital journey

Workstream
•  New App features to enhance 

customer digital loyalty
•  New Party Booking system
•  Utilising technology to address 
Government measures like 
Track & Trace

Sales generation

Workstream
•  Focus on daytime offerings  
with trading restrictions, like 
food and Bottomless Brunch
•  Reduced level of discounts 
given lower footfall and 
operating capacity reductions  
to protect margin

•  Selling fun times and happy, 
memorable experiences

Next Steps
•  Rethinking core offerings in  

line with operating restrictions, 
e.g. Cocktail Masterclasses 
offered direct to your table
•  Ready to offer high energy 
entertainment packages 
(Saturday X and Saturday Y) 
when late-night trading is 
allowed to resume

•  Online Vodka and Rum 

Masterclasses

Next Steps
•  Modelling best use of 

Government Support such  
as furlough scheme

•  Ongoing focus on how to 
minimise the impact from 
National Living Wage increases

•  Monitoring of trials to 
understand best cost 
leadership plan

•  Continued process simplification

Next Steps
•  Return to focus on 

refurbishments of existing 
estate when the time is right
•  Ongoing negotiations with 
landlords for continued 
improved rental terms

Cost Leadership

Workstream
•  Re-engineered menus with 

Progress
•  Energy-saving initiatives 

focus on cost effective products 
to improve margin and improve 
speed of service

•  Partnering with cost reduction 
specialist incentivised to  
reduce costs on all non-resale 
product spend

•  Support from suppliers in 

challenging market conditions

including LED lighting roll-out  
to 53 bars (FY19: 41 bars)

•  Payment holidays and 

suspension of contracts utilised 
through lockdown

•  New central supplier to manage 
all contract cleaning and door 
security requirements

KPIs
•  Cash burn rate reduced 

to £400k per week during 
lockdown, including rent
•  Over 200 fewer products on 
latest drinks stocking policy 

Estate development

Workstream
•  Shift focus to exiting 

• 

underperforming estate rather 
than investing in new sites 
Investment in making  
bars COVID-safe to ensure 
customer confidence on 
reopening post lockdown

•  Rent reduction

Progress
•  New Head of Property and 
realigned property team to  
best address key focuses

•  Significant investment  

in PPE, screens, sanitiser,  
signage, all making a COVID-
safe environment for staff  
and customers

•  Company Voluntary Agreement 
(CVA) for Revolution Bars Limited 
completed post period end

KPIs
•  11 bars refurbished in the period
•  Six loss-making leases 

surrendered during the period

•  CVA – exiting further five 

underperforming bars and  
rent reductions terms on  
eight others

•  Cash rent reductions 

negotiated on non-CVA  
bars (see note 1 of the  
financial statements) 

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements16 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

Revolución de Cuba Manchester

STRATEGY IN
Action

Case Study

Investment in our customer experience.

Investment

CUSTOMER PROPOSITION

New menu development and  
collaboration with brands

•  Focus on what is selling and what isn’t  
– we want interesting, fun cocktails  
that customers want to drink while being 
mindful of the bartender time and the 
garnish requirements

•  Collaboration with the teams from our core 
drink brand partners to understand what 
they want their drinks to be made with, then 
we take that brief and “Revolutionise” it

•  A visit to the Ketel One distillery in the 

Netherlands, to learn more about the brand 
and the development of Ketel One Botanicals 
to take inspiration for future menus. Ketel 
One is the Revolution house pour vodka

•  Collaboration with Red Bull to host the final 
of the Red Bull UK Freestyle DJ competition 

•  Focus on introducing more sustainable 

vodka brands; partnered with Black Cow 
vodka to create a unique cocktail with the 
fully sustainable brand

•  Food team visited Brooklyn lager’s brewery 
in the US to research some exciting ideas, 
resulting in an autumn burger specials  
menu and future direction for the main  
menu development 

•  Constant focus to refresh and improve the 

menus, with a greater focus on our daytime 
and food offerings in the COVID restrictions

Our customer proposition is what defines us; throughout the  
COVID-19 (‘COVID’) lockdown we wanted to make sure our customers  
knew we were there for them – whether that was partying with  
a Live Stream DJ Event, or ensuring that we were available to help 
rearrange bookings. And in terms of our social messaging, we wanted  
our customers to know that we were ready to reopen our doors,  
welcome them and resume the party in a COVID-safe environment.

During the first half of the year we  
made great progress on a number of our 
workstreams to redefine the Revolution 
brand’s position and saw this translate into 
more new customers into our bars by hosting 
third-party events (some of the four-legged 
variety...), and built customer loyalty.

When COVID resulted in the enforced  
closure of our businesses, we took the 
opportunity to prioritise our strategy, 
ensuring we were able to operate in  
a safe and secure environment and be 
compliant with the operating restrictions.  

We’ve accelerated the development  
of “order and pay at table”, significantly 
enhanced our online booking platform  
and gone cashless in order to improve 
various elements of our interactions with 
customers, and we are working on lots  
of new opportunities to bring back our 
Cocktail Masterclasses and other events  
in a COVID-secure way.

Below are some of our core customer 
proposition strategies and successes  
we are really proud of this year.

Locally driven sales events

Brand new training and investment in staff

• 

 We love our teams taking the initiative  
to drum up local support – when one  
of our bars has a great idea and success,  
we shout it out to all the other bars!

•  Over the last year we’ve achieved real 

success with Dog Cafes – these are hosted 
on a Sunday, so great business on one  
of our quieter trading days, and they bring  
in new customers

•  We’ve partnered with two great organisers 
who have hosted weekly “Pup up Cafes”, 
seeing Pugs, Frenchies and Dachshunds 
joining us for a few puppuccinos!

•  Brunch has become a big success story 

driven by our Drag Brunches. These fabulous 
ladies have joined us across many themed 
events – St Patrick’s Day, Halloween, Bingo  
– and always bring the sass and fun!

•  Last Christmas, we hosted wreath-making 

classes in our venues, giving customers the 
opportunity to come in from the cold, learn  
a new skill, whilst enjoying a nice hot drink 
(or cocktail!)

•  We are always on the lookout for new 

opportunities as part of our “Project Event 
Space” and welcome businesses of all  
kinds to partner with our bars in hosting  
their events

• 

  Introduction of our brand new “Rev U”  
(that’s Revolution University) learning centre

•  All career path training has been rethought, 
rewritten and all of our bar staff have been 
retrained. The COVID lockdown provided 
us with a unique opportunity to roll out this 
training across all bar staff, ensuring they 
have the skills to succeed

•  The new Rev U career path training was  

all delivered digitally, ensuring our staff can 
learn and develop in a safe environment

•  “Back to Life” training rolled out to all  

staff, teaching the new operating protocols, 
the new ways of working, the new customer 
journey – ensuring our teams were 
supported and helped into operating  
under the “new normal”

•  We’ve collaborated with our core drink 

brand owners to offer unique training and 
masterclasses to our head bartenders about 
the brands and the history behind the original 
production of the spirits to ensure they have 
all the knowledge to deliver both a great 
cocktail and the fun facts behind it

•  We’ve launched a new Careers  

website that gives a real preview  
of what life at Revolution is like

•  “Lunch and Learn” sessions have  

been hosted at our Head Office giving  
the opportunities for our departments to  
do some learning, personal development  
and interacting with others on a wide  
variety of topics such as mental health, 
presentation skills, dealing with stress  
and organisational skills

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

17

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e
p
o
r
t

i

F
n
a
n
c
i
a

l

S
t
a
t
e
m
e
n
t
s

Number of Bottomless  
Brunches served

59k
40

Head Office staff trained as Mental 
Health First Aiders in the year

Pup up Cafe Revolution Parsonage Gardens, Manchester

Drag Brunches Revolución de Cuba Aberdeen

 
 
 
 
18 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

RISK
Report

Risk Management
In order to fully understand and manage the Group’s exposure  
to risk, each key area of our operations is reviewed annually using  
a methodology that allows us to measure, evaluate, document  
and monitor our key risks.

Our risk management process identifies, monitors, evaluates  
and escalates risks as they emerge, enabling management to take 
appropriate action wherever possible in order to control them and 
also enabling the Board to keep risk management under review.

Principal risks
The risk factors set out below are those which the Board believes 
are the most significant to the Group’s business model that could 
adversely affect its operations, revenue, profit, cash flow or asset 
values and which may prevent the Group from achieving its strategic 
objectives. There may be additional risks and uncertainties that are 
currently unknown or currently believed to be immaterial that may 
also have an adverse effect on the Group.

Risk management  
framework

Board 
Responsible for risk management

Audit Committee

Risk Committee

Non-Executive Directors

Underlying cause of risk

Response and mitigation

Change to 
residual risk  
in FY20

Commentary

COVID-19

The Group’s operating environment is 
severely impacted by COVID, significantly 
restricting the Group’s ability to trade at 
normal levels due to social distancing and 
restricted opening hours. There is the 
risk of ongoing extensive local or national 
lockdowns and potential fines if operating 
restrictions are not fully complied with.

Brexit

Brexit may have short-term impacts  
on consumer prosperity and disposable 
income. An impact on supply may be seen 
with the Group’s key wholesale suppliers.

Dependence on key bars

•  Operational procedures implemented to ensure 

safeguarding of our staff and customers

• 

Investment to ensure COVID-safe venues 
through use of screens, signage, PPE and 
enhanced cleaning procedures

•  Regular Board reviews and action planning  
to deal with local and national lockdowns

•  Significant step up in cash liquidity made 
available to support further lockdowns.

The Group continues  
to carefully monitor the 
ongoing situation and will 
react quickly to further local 
and national restrictions for 
hospitality businesses.

•  The Group’s suppliers have assured us they 
are monitoring the position closely and have 
contingency plans in place to maintain supply

•  Relatively low levels of employees from  
the EU but confident our processes will  
meet post-Brexit policy changes.

The Group operates wholly 
within the UK and therefore 
exposure is limited. The Board 
will continue to monitor the 
situation and react accordingly 
to mitigate risk. 

The Group operates throughout the UK. 
Certain bars deliver significantly more 
profit than others based on geographical 
diversity. A significant decline in profitability 
at a key bar could have a material adverse 
impact on Group profits.

•  Operational management focus on economically 

significant bars

•  More frequent refresh on such bars to ensure 
decor is maintained to the highest standards

•  Expand the business through new bars to reduce 

exposure of individual bars.

Six underperforming bars 
exited in the year to mitigate 
diversification risk.

Investment across existing 
estate to improve returns.

Acquisition of new bars

The Group’s long-term strategy is based  
on growth through the acquisition of new 
bars. Longer-term market expectations  
rely on the Group sourcing and developing 
a pipeline of good sites.

•  The development team and property  

agents have sufficient resources to ensure  
the investigation of new site opportunities,  
as required.

The Board’s focus has shifted 
to invigorating the current 
estate and successfully 
navigating COVID until better 
trading conditions return.

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

19

Change to 
residual risk  
in FY20

Commentary

Bars refurbished in year were 
showing improvements before 
lockdown. Pause in investment 
due to COVID but expecting  
to resume towards the end  
of FY21.

COVID has increased 
macroeconomic uncertainty 
and consumer demand both 
financially and from a health 
risk perspective.

Underlying cause of risk

Response and mitigation

Refurbishment of existing bars

Underinvestment in the current  
estate resulting in declining  
like-for-like performance.

•  Shift in focus from acquisition of new  
bars to investment in the existing bars

•  5/6-year investment cycle for all bars.

•  Ability to tailor offerings in response  

to macroeconomic influences, including  
quick adjustments to promotional activity

•  Ensure a safe and welcoming environment  

in a COVID world

•  Group’s proposition is not based solely on selling 
price; a more affluent demographic is targeted  
and thus there is some down-side protection 
against adverse macroeconomic factors.

Consumer demand

The out of home markets for eating  
and drinking depend on the consumers’ 
disposable income. Macroeconomic factors, 
such as employment levels, interest rates 
and consumer confidence are important 
influences on disposable income.

Health and safety

The Group’s bars are open to the public 
and the Group has a duty of care to look 
after its staff and its customers, which  
risk is increased significantly due to the 
outbreak of the COVID pandemic.

Leasehold rents

All of the Group’s operating sites  
are held under leases. Typically, rents  
are determined on a five-yearly cycle  
by reference to open market rents 
prevailing at the time of the review.

Supplier concentration

•  The Group’s policies and procedures manual 

covers all aspects of operations 

•  Adherence to these is strictly enforced both 

through internal operational line management 
and through external third-party audits

• 

Incidents are thoroughly investigated and  
any lessons learned communicated widely 
throughout the business and where appropriate, 
policies, procedures and staff training updated.

Scores from the independent 
audit of Health & Safety 
matters across our bars has 
steadily improved over a period 
of two and a half years. 

Enhanced procedures 
to ensure a safe COVID 
environment for staff  
and customers.

•  The Group employs specialist rent review 
advisers who deal only with tenant reviews

•  CVA in year resulted in exit of five sites,  
and improvements in terms on others

•  Many concessions and rent reviews finalised  

due to COVID negotiations.

The difficult economic 
backdrop has eased the 
pressure on rent reviews 
and improved rental terms 
have been agreed on many 
Revolution bars in the year.

In April 2018, Matthew  
Clarke’s parent company 
entered into administration, 
and the Group invoked its 
contingency plan for several 
weeks with an alternative 
supplier to no significant 
adverse impact.

The drinks distribution market is dominated 
by one significant business, Matthew Clark, 
which is the Group’s principal supplier. 
Matthew Clark operates nationwide 
whereas other drink wholesalers do not. 
If Matthew Clark were to face business 
difficulties or otherwise change its 
arrangements or pricing, then the Group’s 
operations could be disrupted.

•  The proposed strategy is to tolerate the risk, 

based on the Group’s assessment that Matthew 
Clark is the best supplier, and a four-year deal  
is in place to December 2021

•  A contingency plan is in place to move to an 
alternative supplier should Matthew Clark be 
unable to supply. This has been stress tested  
in a real situation.

National minimum/living wage

A significant proportion of bar-based staff 
are affected, directly or indirectly, by wage 
legislation. Recent years have seen rises 
above inflation imposed on the business 
and given the current political backdrop, 
these pressures are likely to continue for  
at least the next few years.

•  Technology is utilised to deploy staff more 
effectively and to streamline back office 
processes that will help mitigate wage increases

•  To some extent small increases in selling prices 
may be possible to help cover increased costs.

Better adoption and 
refinements of the labour 
scheduling system has 
allowed improvements in 
efficiency of staff rostering.

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements20 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

FINANCIAL

Review

The headline numbers are  
difficult to interpret because,  
as permitted, current year  
numbers are presented under  
IFRS 16 whilst the comparative 
period is presented under IAS 17.

Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, 
FY20 comprised two very contrasting 
halves. The first half saw improvements 
on the previous year.”

Mike Foster 
Chief Financial Officer 

Summary 
Alternative Performance Measures 
(“APM”) for the current period 
under IAS 17 are given equal 
prominence in this review because, 
in the opinion of the Directors, 
these provide a better guide to 
the underlying performance of the 
business relative to the prior period.

•  When considering the results for the  

period, it should also be noted that due  
to a government enforced closure of pubs, 
bars and restaurants on 20 March 2020,  
the business was unable to trade in the 
last 14 weeks of the period. 

•  Revenue in the period was £110.1 million 
(2019: £151.4 million), a 27.3% decrease. 
Prior to the enforced closure of the estate, 
revenue was 1.3% like-for-like** (‘LFL’) 
ahead of the comparable prior period.

•  The underlying result, as measured by 

adjusted EBITDA*, was £1.3 million lower  
at £9.8 million (APM: £0.1 million) (2019: 
£11.1 million). 

•  The Group incurred an operating loss  
of £32.7 million (APM: £27.5 million)  
(2019: loss £4.7 million) after charging 
non-cash exceptional items of £27.4 million 
(APM: £19.7 million) (2019: £7.1 million) and 
cash exceptionals of £0.4 million (APM: 
£0.4 million) (2019: £nil).

•  The Group generated net cash flow  

from operating activities in the period  
of £6.5 million, £4.1 million less than  
in the prior period (2019: £10.6 million).

•  Net bank debt at period end was  
£22.0 million (2019: £14.9 million). 

*  

 Adjusted performance measures exclude exceptional 
items, share-based payment (credits)/charges and bar 
opening costs (see reconciliation table on page 22  
of the Financial Review).

 The Group has adopted IFRS 16 in the year which 
has given rise to a number of adjustments to profit 
measures impacting FY20 reported numbers only;  
the comparatives have not been restated.

 All bars were subject to the UK-wide Government 
enforced lockdown for the last 14 weeks of the 
reporting period.

Summary

REVENUE

FY
£110.1m

H1
£81.2m

2020

£110.1m

FY
£151.4m

H1
£78.5m

2019

 
 
Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

21

IFRS 16
The Group adopted IFRS 16 with effect 
from 30 June 2019. The Group applied the 
standard using the modified retrospective 
approach and thus comparative information 
has not been restated and is presented,  
as previously reported, under IAS 17.

The impact of IFRS 16 is twofold:

•  to create a lease liability in the balance 
sheet measured at the present value of 
remaining lease payments discounted 
appropriately, and a corresponding right-
of-use asset, adjusted for prepaid and 
accrued lease payments; and

•  to remove the rental charge from the 

income statement and replace it with a 
depreciation charge in respect of the right-
of-use asset and a finance charge in respect 
of the unwinding of the lease liability.

Further details on implementation of this 
standard, and a reconciliation of profit under  
the previous lease accounting standard,  
IAS 17, to the statutory figures are included  
in note 26 to the financial statements.

Presentation of results 
As noted above, IFRS 16 became effective in 
the current reporting period and comparative 
disclosures have not been restated and 
continue to be shown on an IAS 17 basis. 
Given that IFRS 16 materially impacts the 
presentation of several of the Group’s 
KPIs, a pro forma income statement and 
supporting notes are presented in note 28 
as APM to show how the results would have 
been presented under IAS 17. The Board 
considers that this is necessary for the FY20 
reporting period only in order to show true 
comparability against the prior year. Note 
26 to the financial statements provides a 
reconciliation of the two measures. There 
have been no other changes to accounting 
policies in the period under review.

The Directors have, for many years, relied 
upon the performance measures, adjusted 
EBITDA*, adjusted operating profit* and 
adjusted pre-tax profit*, to give a clearer 
indication of the underlying performance 
of the business as these measures exclude 
exceptional items, one-off bar opening costs 
that are a function of the timing of the new 

bar development programme rather than 
the underlying trade, and non-cash charges 
relating to long-term incentive schemes that 
tend to reflect changes in the management 
team rather than the underlying business 
performance. However, it should be noted 
that adjusted EBITDA* is also significantly 
impacted by IFRS 16 and, therefore, from next 
year, when both periods will be reported  
on an IFRS 16 basis, the preferred alternative 
performance measure will become adjusted 
EBITDA* including rent charges. In the current 
reporting period, because of changes to the 
basis of the rent charge, it is not appropriate  
to simply deduct rent from adjusted EBITDA* 
to derive an accurate figure comparable with 
last year’s IAS 17 reported number due to 
different accounting treatments for rent-
free periods and onerous lease provisions. 
Accordingly, the Directors continue to rely (for 
the FY20 reporting period only) on the APM 
adjusted EBITDA* as being their preferred 
measure of underlying business performance.

Results
Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic (‘COVID’), 
FY20 comprised two very contrasting 
halves. The first half saw improvements on 
the previous year, with like-for-like** sales 
improving by 1.2% and APM adjusted EBITDA* 
stepping forward by £0.7 million to £7.6 
million (2019: £6.9 million). This was a direct 
result of the turnaround plan launched a year 
earlier gaining momentum and included the 
benefit of a successful Christmas period, 
bar refurbishments, improved late-night 
entertainment experiences and other 
promotional activity. However, the second 
half was severely impacted by the enforced 
closure of all our bars from 20 March 2020 
and all income was foregone for just over 
the last 14 weeks of the period. Accordingly, 
management efforts focused on cost 
reduction, cash liquidity and stakeholder 
communication. APM adjusted EBITDA* in  
the second half was a loss of £7.5 million 
(FY19: profit £4.3 million).

During the enforced closure, the Group  
took advantage of all applicable Government 
support. The Group utilised HMRC’s Time  
to Pay and tax deferral schemes in respect  
of PAYE and VAT liabilities amounting to  
£3.1 million of liabilities that were due for 
payment being deferred until after the end of 
the period. All bar teams and a majority of our 
support centre staff were placed on furlough 
under the rules of Coronavirus Job Retention 
Scheme (CJRS). A small number of general 
managers and most area managers were 
retained to visit sites and stay in contact with 
staff. Board directors and other members of 
the senior management team agreed to take 
voluntary pay cuts of up to 50% for the Board 
and 20% for other managers. Many suppliers 
agreed to extended payment terms and/or 
to suspend contracts, and before the period 
end a small number of landlords agreed to 
waive some or all rent during part or all of the 
closure periods. Agreements with landlords 
predominantly waived or reduced rent with 
very little rent deferred. Subsequent to the 
year end, further rent waivers and lease 
regears have been completed that related 
to the FY20 period as did the Company 
Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) undertaken 
by the Group’s wholly owned subsidiary 
entity Revolution Bars Limited, which was 
approved by creditors on 13 November 2020. 
Any element of the earnings benefit of these 
deals relating to FY20 is to be recorded in 
FY21 when the agreements were executed.

COVID has impacted the Group’s results 
extensively and consideration was given 
to separately reporting within the accounts 
all associated costs and any related grant 
support and other reliefs. To do so would 
have been a massive exercise but the Board 
adjudged it would be very difficult to ensure 
that such disclosures were complete and 
accurate and ultimately it was somewhat 
meaningless given the ongoing nature of  
the disruption and therefore all such items 
have been treated as part of normal income  
and expenditure.

Revenue for the full period was £110.1 million 
(2019: £151.4 million), down 27.3% compared 
with the prior period. The underlying result, 
as measured by APM adjusted EBITDA* 
(see note 28), was £11.0 million lower at £0.1 
million (2019: £11.1 million). Statutory adjusted 
EBITDA* was £9.8 million (2019: £11.1 million). 

In the accounting period and prior to the 
period of enforced closure, lease surrenders 
were negotiated on six underperforming sites, 
three of which were already closed, and a 
further site was closed for sub-let. These 
difficult decisions were taken to safeguard  
the rest of the business for the longer term.

Cash generated 
from operating activities

Adjusted EBITDA*

Adjusted (L)/PBT*

FY
£6.5m

FY
£10.6m

FY
£9.8m

FY
£11.1m

H1
£15.5m

2020

£6.5m

H1
£6.9m

2019

H1
£12.8m

H1
£6.9m

2020

£9.8m

2019

FY
(£9.8m)

H1
£2.9m

2020

(£9.8m)

FY
£3.0m

H1
£2.9m

2019

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements22 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

FINANCIAL

Review continued

Results continued
Central costs of £8.6 million (2019: £8.8 
million) represent 7.8% of revenue compared 
to 5.1% in the prior period and equates to 
£109,000 per bar (2019: £97,000).

Underlying profitability
The Board’s preferred profit measures are 
APM adjusted EBITDA* and APM adjusted* 
pre-tax (loss)/profit as shown in the tables 
below. The APM adjusted measures exclude 
exceptional items, bar opening costs and 
charges/credits arising from long term 
incentive plans. 

The Group incurred an APM operating loss 
of £27.5 million (2019: loss of £4.7 million) 
after charging non-cash exceptional items 
of £19.7 million (2019: £7.1 million) and cash 
exceptionals of £0.4 million (2019: £nil). 

The Group reported an APM pre-tax loss  
for the period of £28.1 million (2019: loss  
£5.6 million) impacted by the exceptional 
costs as detailed below.

Number  
of bars

 2020
£m

APM adjusted EBITDA*

Like-for-like** estate EBITDA

Bars opened in prior period (FY19)

Trading venue EBITDA

Bars closed in current period (FY20)

APM adjusted EBITDA from bars

Central support costs

APM adjusted EBITDA

69

5

74

5

79

APM reported pre-tax loss

Add back Exceptional items

Add back Bar opening costs

Add back Charge/(Credit) arising from long-term incentive plans

APM adjusted pre-tax (loss)/profit

Add back Finance costs

Add back Depreciation

APM adjusted EBITDA

9.2

0.2

9.4

(0.7)

8.7

(8.6)

0.1

2020
£m

(28.1)

20.1

–

0.0

(8.0)

0.6

7.5

0.1

2019
£m

19.9

0.5

20.4

(0.5)

19.9

(8.8)

11.1

2019
£m

(5.6)

7.1

1.5

(0.1)

3.0

0.9

7.2

11.1

Exceptional items, bar opening 
costs and accounting for long term 
incentive plans
Exceptional items, by virtue of their size, 
incidence or nature, are disclosed separately 
in order to allow a better understanding  
of the underlying trading performance of the 
Group. The statutory exceptional position 
of £21.9 million, is £1.8 million higher than 
the APM exceptionals £20.1 million due 
to additional impairment on right-of-use 
assets, methodology changes to fixed asset 
impairments, and accounting treatment 
changes on the surrender of leases and 
onerous lease provisions, all as a result  
of the implementation of IFRS 16.

The charge of £21.9 million comprises 
£27.4 million (FY19: £7.1 million) of non-cash 
exceptionals relating to fixed asset and right-
of-use impairment charges offset by a gain 
on disposal recognised under IFRS 16 upon 
surrender of leases of £5.9 million, included 
as exceptional finance income. It also 
includes cash exceptionals of £0.4 million 
(FY19: £nil) relating to moving the listing of 
the Company’s shares from the London Stock 
Exchange premium segment to AIM. 

In the prior reporting period, non-cash 
exceptionals related to the impairment of fixed 
assets and an increase in the onerous lease 
provision. A full analysis of exceptional items  
is given in note 3 to the financial statements.

Bar opening costs refer to one-off costs 
incurred in getting new bars fully operational 
and primarily include costs incurred before 
opening and in preparing for launch. The most 
significant element of these costs relates to 
property overheads incurred between signing 
the lease and opening for trading. There were 
no openings in the current period and five in 
the prior period.

Charge relating to long-term incentive 
schemes resulted from equity-settled  
share-based payment transactions.  
No awards vested in either the current  
period or prior period.

Finance costs
The significant increase in finance costs to 
£4.9 million (2019: £0.9 million) related to IFRS 
16 interest charges (£4.3 million). Charges 
related to the Company’s committed revolving 
credit facility with NatWest (the “Facility”) 
including commitment fees relating to any 
undrawn element of the Facility, and the 

amortisation of arrangement fees over the life 
of the Facility were lower than the prior period 
due primarily to lower average bank debt 
levels during the year as a result of reduced 
borrowings until the very end of the year when 
all trade over the last 14 weeks was foregone.

Liquidity
As at the date of the consolidated financial 
position, the Facility provided £30.0 million 
committed funding to December 2021 of 
which £24.5 million (2019: £17.5 million) was 
utilised. Shortly after the end of the reporting 
period, the Company received from NatWest 
a £16.5 million Coronavirus Large Business 
Interruption Loan (CLBIL) in the form of a 
three-year term loan which was used to pay 
down the Facility and the Facility commitment 
was reduced to £21.0 million and its term 
extended to June 2022. This provided the 
Company with committed facilities of £37.5 
million of which £7.5 million was due to be 
prepaid at the end of March 2021 with the 
Facility reducing by a further £1.0 million at  
the end of June each year. The CLBIL was  
due to amortise by £1.0 million per annum.

On 27 July 2020, the Group completed an 
equity fundraising of £15.0 million, receiving 
net proceeds of £14.1 million. 

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

23

These net proceeds were used to repay  
all remaining outstanding loan draw downs 
on the Facility.

On 16 December 2020, NatWest agreed  
to defer both the £7.5 million prepayment  
on the committed facilities due at the end  
of March 2021 and the £1.0 million reduction 
on the Facility due at the end of June 2021 
and accordingly the Company now has 
committed Facilities as follows:

Taxation
There is no tax payable in respect of the 
current period. The charge of £3.5 million 
(2019: credit £0.4 million) principally arises 
from the derecognition of the deferred tax 
asset that was created on the implementation 
of IFRS 16 given the difficult trading outlook 
resulting from COVID.
Earnings/(loss) per share
Basic loss per share for the period was  
70.3 pence (2019: loss 10.4 pence). Adjusting 
for exceptional items, non-recurring opening 
costs and credits arising from long-term 
incentive plans resulted in an adjusted  
loss per share for the period of 37.3 pence  
(2019: earnings of 3.4 pence).
Operating cash flow and net 
bank debt
The Group generated net cash flow from 
operating activities in the period of £6.5 
million (2019: £10.6 million), but after deducting 
both the principal and finance elements of 
lease payments this reduces to a net cash 
outflow of £0.9 million. The Group focused on 
minimising its cash outflow and liquidity in the 
last quarter of the year under the lockdown 
conditions to ensure that the business would 
be in a strong position to resume trading 
when conditions permitted. The cessation 
of trading from 20 March 2020 presented a 
risk of a significant negative working capital 
unwind. However, this was mitigated through 
payment deferral arrangements with the 
Group’s largest suppliers, rent waivers agreed 
with a limited number of landlords, utilisation 
of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme 
and HMRC Time to Pay schemes, reduction 
of capital expenditure and reduction of costs 
wherever possible.

Capital expenditure payments of £4.2 
million (2019: £11.6 million), lease surrender 
payments of £1.4 million (2019: £nil), bank 
loan interest £0.6 million (2019 £0.8 million) 
and dividends of £nil (2019: £1.7 million) 
all contributed to a net cash outflow in the 
period of £0.1 million (2019: £1.4 million) 
increasing net bank debt from £14.9 million 
(2019: £11.5 million) to a closing position of 
£22.0 million (2019: £14.9 million).

Capital expenditure
The Group made capital investments  
of £4.2 million (2019: £11.6 million) during 
the period; this was incurred entirely on the 
existing bars, comprising bar refurbishments, 
building renovation works, equipment 
replacement and IT investment. Of the £11.6 
million in the prior period, £6.6 million related 
to new openings and £5.0 million related to 
the existing estate. 

31 December 2020
30 June 2021
31 December 2021
30 June 2022

RCF - "The Facility" 
(£m)

CLBILS  
(£m)

21.0
21.0
19.6
18.6

16.1
15.6
14.5
14.0

Total  
(£m)

37.1
36.6
34.1
32.6

The Facility is repayable in full at 30 June 2022. CLBILS is a three-year term loan expiring  
6 July 2023.

Post balance sheet event
On 13 November 2020, the Group announced 
the completion of a Company Voluntary 
Arrangement (‘CVA’) of its largest trading 
subsidiary entity, Revolution Bars Limited. 
This entity holds all but four of the Revolution 
branded bars; the CVA resulted in the Group 
permanently exiting five underperforming 
bars and benefitting from the waiver of rent 
arrears and the imposition of turnover rents 
for the next two years at several other bars.
Dividend
As notified previously, the Board had 
suspended payments of dividends. 
Furthermore, (a) a condition of taking on the 
CLBIL facility is that the Company is unable 
to pay a dividend whilst the CLBIL remains 
outstanding and (b) as a result of the CVA 
referred to above under post balance sheet 
event, the Company’s subsidiary entity, 
Revolution Bars Limited, is unable to pay 
a dividend for a period of three years until 
13 November 2023. A restriction on the 
Group’s principal trading subsidiary being 
unable to make a dividend payment to its 
parent company may significantly impact 
the Company’s ability to make a dividend 
payment until after 13 November 2023.  
There was no dividend paid or declared  
in the prior period in relation to FY19.
Going concern
Under the terms of its banking facilities  
with NatWest, the Company has one financial 
covenant – ‘minimum liquidity headroom’ 
between its net bank debt and its committed 
bank debt facilities. The directors have 
modelled both a management base case 
forecast scenario and a severe but plausible 
downside scenario. No forecast breach of 
the banking covenant arises under either 
forecast scenario but there is very limited 
headroom under the severe but plausible 
downside forecast scenario under which 
headroom is minimised to £1.2 million at the 
end of March 2021.

The low level of liquidity headroom under  
the severe but plausible downside forecast 
scenario relative to the minimum liquidity 
covenant and the material uncertainty caused 
by COVID coupled with forecasting difficulties 
as a result of constantly changing operating 
restrictions means that the Group cannot be 
assured that it will not breach the minimum 
liquidity covenant. A breach of covenant 
would require the bank to grant a waiver or  
for the Company to renegotiate its banking 
facilities or raise funds from other sources, 
none of which is entirely within the Group’s 
control. A breach of the covenant would also 
result in the reclassification of £24.5 million 
non-current borrowings to current borrowings 
as at the date of consolidated financial position.  

The directors have assessed, however, that 
given a strong underlying business, particularly 
post lease surrenders of under-performing bars 
and the CVA undertaken during 2020, the 
Group’s existing relationships with its main 
creditors, its success in recent years in 
obtaining covenant waivers and renegotiating 
its banking facilities and a recent equity 
fundraising, that a request for a waiver of  
a covenant breach or renegotiation of the 
banking facilities would be successful.

The severe disruption to the Group’s trade 
during the last nine months caused by 
COVID and the resultant and frequently 
changing operating restrictions imposed 
by the UK Government and the devolved 
authorities means that there is a material 
uncertainty over the going concern of the 
Group. This uncertainty exists because of 
the unpredictability of the nature, extent 
and duration of COVID, the vaccination 
programme, and the imposed operating 
restrictions in the calendar year 2021 and 
how this will impact the Group’s operational 
performance and, in particular, the level of 
sales and EBITDA generated that will in turn 
determine the Group’s covenant compliance.

Notwithstanding the material uncertainty, 
after due consideration the Directors have 
a reasonable expectation that the Company 
and the Group have sufficient resources to 
continue in operational existence for the 
period of 12 months from the date of approval 
of these financial statements. Accordingly, 
the financial statements continue to be 
prepared on the going concern basis. 
However, the trading conditions indicate the 
existence of a material uncertainty which may 
cast significant doubt about the Group’s (and 
the Company’s) ability to continue as a going 
concern. The financial statements do not 
contain the adjustments that would arise if 
the Group (and the Company) were unable  
to continue as a going concern.

A more comprehensive disclosure on going 
concern including the banking facilities, 
liquidity and the detailed assumptions 
behind both forecast scenarios is given in the 
Directors’ Report on pages 60-62 and in note 
1 to the financial statements on pages 78-80.

Mike Foster 
Chief Financial Officer 

16 December 2020

* 

** 

*** 

 Adjusted performance measures exclude exceptional 
items, share-based payment (credits)/charges and bar 
opening costs (see reconciliation table on page 22 of 
the Financial Review).
 Like-for-like (LFL) sales are defined as total retail sales 
from bars that have traded throughout both the current 
and prior reporting periods.
 APM refers to Alternative Performance Measure being 
measures reported on an IAS 17 basis that are directly 
comparable to FY19 reported measures.

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements 
24 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

SECTION 172(1)
Statement

The revised UK Corporate Governance Code 
(“2018 Code”) was published in July 2018 
and applies to accounting periods beginning 
on or after 1 January 2019. The Companies 
(Miscellaneous Reporting) Regulations 2018 
(“2018 MRR”) require Directors to explain 
how they considered the interests of key 
stakeholders and the broader matters set out 
in section 172(1) (A) to (F) of the Companies 
Act 2006 (“S172”) when performing their 
duty to promote the success of the Company 
under S172. This includes considering how 
the interests of other stakeholders impact 
the long-term success of the Company. 
This S172 statement, which is reported for 
the first time, explains how the Company’s 
Directors have:

•   engaged with employees, suppliers, 

customers and others; and

•   had regard to employee interests, the 

need to foster the Company’s business 
relationships with suppliers, customers  
and others, in relation to the principal 
decisions taken by the Company during 
the financial year.

The S172 statement focuses on matters  
of strategic importance to the Group.  
The Directors consider that the nature of the 
Group’s business is relatively simple and well 
understood by its stakeholders and therefore 
much of this statement cross references other 
areas of the Strategic Report and Corporate 
Governance section of the Annual Report and 
Accounts, where it believes the information  
is set in a better context.

The Board’s two Executive Directors are 
closely involved in all aspects of the Group’s 
business on a day-to-day basis in conjunction 
with the senior management team (together, 
the Executive Committee) whose activity 
is reported back to and influenced by the 
full Board. Therefore, some of the activity 
referred to below relates to Executive 
Committee matters as the Board believes  
this provides a better understanding of  
how the Group does business and how the 
Board exerts control.

General confirmation  
of Directors’ duties
The Board has a clear framework for 
determining the matters within its remit and 
has approved terms of reference for the 
matters delegated to its Committees. An 
authority manual setting out the delegation 
and approval process across the entire 
business and the related financial thresholds 
therein is reviewed and approved annually 
by the Board; this includes identification of 
those matters requiring Board consideration 
and approval.

When making decisions, each Director is 
aware of his/her responsibility to act in the 
way he/she considers, in good faith, is likely 

to promote the Company’s success for the 
benefit of its members as a whole, and in doing 
so have regard (among other matters) to:

S172(1) (A) “The likely consequences  
of any decision in the long term”

The Directors understand that business 
decisions cannot solely focus on what is best 
for the Group and its stakeholders today but 
must also take a long-term view. The Board 
has been faced with some difficult decisions 
as a result of the stated strategy of de-risking 
the business by reducing the level of bank 
debt, the surrender of under-performing 
leases, and the enforced closure of all 
trading venues due to COVID-19 (‘COVID’). 
The Board’s first and foremost priority has 
been the Group’s survival, and whilst this 
is in the best interests of stakeholders 
collectively, the Board recognises that 
decisions in relation to these matters will 
have disadvantaged smaller groups of 
stakeholders, such as employees in the case 
of a lease surrender or small local suppliers 
to that venue. Such decisions are taken only 
when the Board is satisfied that such action  
is necessary to protect the future of the entire 
business. Every effort is always made to 
redeploy displaced team members at other 
venues in the Group.

The Board is also aware that the Company’s 
customers and most of its front-line team 
members are young adults for whom the 
sustainability agenda is very important.  
The Board also recognises that it has a wider 
responsibility to society to run a sustainable 
business and has increased planning in  
order to announce in the next 12 months  
our specific goals to become carbon neutral. 
The business is working with Energise (Office 
of Low Emissions Vehicles accredited) to 
ensure that this is a determined commitment. 
More information regarding sustainability 
can be found in the Corporate and Social 
Responsibility Statement (‘CSRS’) on  
page 26.

S172(1) (B) “The interests of the  
company’s employees”

The Directors recognise that attracting 
and retaining employees is fundamental to 
driving business success, particularly given 
the Group’s purpose, vision and values 
(see page 1). Creating fun and memorable 
experiences for customers will not succeed 
without engaged, well-trained and motivated 
employees that enjoy working in our bars 
and being part of a team where having fun is 
a prerequisite. There is much that has been 
achieved during the last year, including the 
introduction of minimum hours contracts 
and moving away from zero hours contracts, 
introducing an additional benefits package 
for all employees, new commitments around 
shift notifications and maximum working 
hours and a rebalancing of incentive 
arrangements to make this fairer across 
participating employees.  

More detail is given on these matters in the 
Chairman’s Statement (page 2), CEO Report 
(page 10), COVID-19: Our Response (page 6) 
and in the People section of the CSRS (page 
26). Underpinning these initiatives is the 
Board’s determination that the Group remains 
a responsible employer, from pay and benefits 
to health and safety in the workplace. 

S172(1) (C) “The need to foster the 
company’s business relationships  
with suppliers, customers and others”
The Directors recognise that the  
Group’s strategic development requires 
mutually beneficial relationships with  
many other parties.

•  Drinks brand owners: The Group 

maintains close relationships with key 
drink brand owners, recognising that 
accessing new premium products is a  
key element of keeping the Group’s offer 
vibrant, refreshed and interesting, whilst 
providing the brand owners with an 
opportunity to showcase their products  
in a “feel-good and fun” environment. 
Brand owners and all key suppliers are 
invited to attend the Company’s annual 
conference, which includes sessions for 
the drink brands to understand how they 
can work with the Group and provides 
them an opportunity to showcase new 
products. Strong relationships with 
suppliers enabled the Group to agree 
extended payment terms and contract 
suspensions and extensions during the 
enforced closure period for which we  
were very grateful. All major contracts are 
reviewed and approved by the Board when 
they are first entered into and at renewal. 
The senior management team regularly 
engages with the development teams at 
the leading drinks brands to look at menu 
innovation – a good example of which  
was collaborating with Ketel One (the 
Group’s house-pour vodka and a Diageo 
development brand) and Fever Tree 
regarding their new botanical range to 
create an exciting new range of cocktails.

•  Smaller suppliers: The Group organises 

“Dragon’s Den” style events that 
are attended by a cross section of 
management to enable the showcasing  
of new products and ideas.

•    Landlords: Relationships with landlords 

have come under the microscope 
during the COVID crisis. The Directors 
recognise that the situation is challenging 
for landlords and there has been mixed 
success in persuading landlords to share 
the severe impact of the government 
enforced closure of bars. Some 
acknowledged the situation quickly and 
agreed rent waivers or deferrals, but 
others have refused to engage or resorted 
to legal action despite the government 
sponsored Code of Practice establishing 
an expectation that landlord and tenant 
should work together.

•   Licensing authorities: The nature of the 
Group’s business, with 74.9% revenue 

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

25

derived from alcoholic drinks, and the 
Group’s development strategy depends on 
its ability to operate safely and within the 
many laws and regulations governing the 
licensing and operation of bars. The Group 
allocates significant resources to this area 
recognising that the loss of a licence or 
the imposition of trading restrictions can 
materially impact financial performance. 
The Group seeks to maintain strong 
relationships with all local authorities and 
has reporting systems in place to identify 
problems and take corrective action before 
such matters may be formally raised by any 
statutory body. These reports are regularly 
reviewed by the Directors.

•   Banking: NatWest provides the Group with 
significant debt funding and, therefore, 
a strong relationship between the Board 
and the bank is critical to the Group’s 
development. In early 2019, the Group 
prioritised a debt reduction target to one 
times adjusted EBITDA, and the Executive 
Directors meet regularly with the bank 
to discuss progress. The debt reduction 
target was in sight for the end of FY20 
when the enforced closure of the Group’s 
bars was announced in March 2020. The 
strong relationship with the bank and the 
good progress on debt reduction meant 
the bank acted quickly and decisively to 
increase debt facilities in early April 2020 
ensuring the Group had significant liquidity 
during the enforced closure period and 
whilst a long-term funding solution was 
implemented. NatWest’s confidence in the 
Group was further evidenced by financial 
covenants being simplified to a single 
liquidity headroom test and the Company 
being the bank’s first customer to take 
advantage of CLBILS shortly after the end 
of the reporting period. 

S172(1) (D) “The impact of the company’s 
operations on the community and  
the environment”

The Board is aware that companies must 
be mindful of the impact of their operations 
on the environment and that this resonates 
strongly with the Group’s young customer 
base. Sustainability is an important 
workstream driven by members of the senior 
management team and regularly updated 
to the Board. The workstream looks at all 
aspects of sustainability and is targeting 
significant improvements in the recycling of 
waste and reductions in energy consumption. 
The business is using a specialist consultancy, 
Energise, to create and deliver a strategy 
to become net zero carbon; we plan to 
announce our specific goals for this in the 
next 12 months. More detail is given in the 
Environment section of the CSRS on page 28.

 The Board is also mindful that because the 
Group’s trade is associated with the retailing 
of alcohol, it can sometimes be portrayed 
negatively by the media. Accordingly, 
significant resources are allocated to staff 
training and customer supervision to ensure 
that customers do not gain entry if they are 
intoxicated or become intoxicated on our 
premises and that they leave our venues at 
the end of a busy day’s trade in a safe and 
orderly fashion so as not to cause disruption 
to others and to any residences nearby.

The Executive Directors took the decision  
not to reopen any venues on Saturday 4  
July 2020, being the first day that trading  
was possible post the enforced closure of 
bars, because of the high risk of negative 
media attention. 

S172(1) (E) “The desirability of the company 
maintaining a reputation for high standards 
of business conduct”

The Board has in recent years put in place 
and by reviewing annually reaffirms its 
commitment to its Modern Slavery Statement 
and its Anti Bribery and Corruption policy, to 
ensure that high standards of business ethics 
are followed by its employees and suppliers. 
The Group’s major suppliers are required to 
include appropriate statements on modern 
slavery and anti-bribery and corruption in 
any significant contract to supply goods or 
services to the Group. This helps assure that 
decisions taken by everyone acting for the 
Group are consistent with high standards  
of business conduct.

 S172(1) (F) “The need to act fairly as 
between members of the company”

The organisational arrangements, discipline 
and protocols under which the Board 
operates (as referred to in the Corporate 
Governance section on page 38 means 
that all relevant factors are considered and 
debated before deciding on a course of 
action to best enable delivery of the Group’s 
strategy through the long term, taking into 
consideration the impact on stakeholders.  
In doing so, the Directors act fairly between 
the Company’s members but are not required 
to balance the Company’s interest with 
those of other stakeholders, and this can 
sometimes mean that certain stakeholder 
interests may not be fully aligned.

Culture
Promoting the right culture throughout the 
Group’s workforce is integral to driving the 
development of our brands and better relating 
to the needs of our customers. The Group’s 
purpose is to create fun and memorable 
experiences with our teams and guests and 
the Board recognises that can only succeed 
if the desired culture is embedded in the 
values, attitudes and behaviours that are 
demonstrated throughout all of the Board, 
senior management and general management 
activities and stakeholder relationships.  
At the heart of the cultural ethos are the values 
of Fun, Ambition, Integrity and Recognition. 
The Group’s Purpose, Vision and Values 
were developed through senior management 
workshops and further developed at the 
Group’s annual conference attended by 
over 500 management, and then the results 
were shared throughout the business using 
a mixture of videos and training workshops. 
Every employee is expected to know the 
Purpose, Vision and Values and perform their 
roles within their teams in that manner. The 
Board are acutely aware that they must show 
leadership on all cultural values and typically 
on visits to the Group’s bars and other 
Company locations will recognise success, 
achievements and high standards. 

Our health and safety policies also make clear 
that every employee must act responsibly 

by understanding and taking responsibility 
for keeping each other safe. That has never 
been more important than in the current 
trading environment and prior to the post 
COVID reopening of our venues, we consulted 
extensively across our front-line teams to 
ensure that we had addressed everything  
we reasonably could to keep everyone safe 
and that they are comfortable about their  
work environment.

A high proportion of the Group’s customers 
are female and the Board is conscious that  
its workforce at management level should 
better reflect the gender mix of customers.  
In operational management, the necessity for 
late-night and weekend working can more 
often present a problem for female managers 
and can often act as a barrier to progression. 
This is something that the Group is actively 
addressing through establishing groups 
where our female leaders can gather to share 
experiences and ideas whilst also showcasing 
flexible working patterns. The Group has also 
recently enhanced our Maternity policies, 
held focus groups with colleagues from 
across the business and are currently in the 
process of establishing diversity champions 
across the Group. The Group has also this 
year established its first ever Diversity and 
Inclusion Strategy, committing to addressing 
recruitment and selection channels and 
equal opportunities for career progression 
into senior roles, whilst also addressing our 
internal policies and ensuring we build an 
inclusive culture. Further information on 
gender and racial equality is given in the 
Nominations Report on page 45. 

The Board considers the twice-yearly Quality 
of Life survey undertaken across the whole of 
the Group’s workforce to be the most effective 
way of measuring employee engagement, 
motivation, affiliation and commitment 
to the business. The surveys, which are 
managed and evaluated independently, 
achieve a consistently high response rate 
and provide the Board with excellent insights 
into employee views that can then be used to 
leverage and strengthen the Group’s culture 
and values. The introduction of minimum 
hours contracts, new maternity and paternity 
policies, and a new benefits platform during 
the year were in direct response to feedback 
from the surveys.

Stakeholder engagement 
The Board recognises that the Group will 
achieve more success by working closely 
with its employees, customers, suppliers, 
government and licensing authorities, trade 
groups, landlords, investors and other 
stakeholders. Working together has never 
been more important or necessary given 
the unique challenges caused by COVID, 
in particular, and sharing knowledge and 
experience with others provides greater 
insight into our own business. We endeavour 
to establish long-term relationships with 
stakeholders, recognising that stability and 
better understanding of each other leads to 
more opportunities to drive mutual benefit.

Information on how the Directors have 
engaged with employees can be found in the 
Our People section in the CSRS on page 26.

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements26 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

OPERATING RESPONSIBLY

for our stakeholders

Corporate and Social  
Responsibility Statement.

The Group’s 
corporate social 
responsibility 
activities  
prioritise our 
people, responsible 
retailing  
and charity.

People
As at the end of the reporting 
period, we employed over 2,900 
people and we are committed  
to creating rewarding careers  
for all of them. 

Providing rewarding careers supports staff 
retention and that in turn provides a better 
skilled workforce and helps to ensure that 
our investment in training is focused on 
improving talent levels leading to improved 
customer service and business efficiency  
– a virtual circle. In the year up to the 
enforced closure of our venues in March 
2020, team member turnover was 10%  
lower and management stability in bars  
had improved from 1.5 years to 1.8 years.

We aim to create defined career paths 
for every part of the business so that we 
maintain a strong pipeline of managers to 
lead and grow the business. Our detailed 
succession plan and talent management 
programmes have historically seen us fill over 
80% of our management positions internally. 

Whilst we seek to promote from within, 
we are also keen to introduce talented 
individuals into the Revolution Bars Group 
family and learn new ideas and different ways 
of doing things and in so doing broaden  
the skills and knowledge base of our teams.  
In April 2020, we launched our new careers 
website to attract the best talent and  
to celebrate our people and culture. 

For bar-based staff who are ambitious  
to progress, career development paths 
are clearly outlined in My Career Portfolio 
(“MCP”), taking team members from first-line 
supervisor roles all the way up to General 
Manager and Area Manager positions.  
Twice yearly, we recruit new talent to our 
Academy programme, selected using an 
assessment centre selection process, and  
in so doing we ensure that the most talented 
individuals join our next cohort of future 
managers at a two-day development centre. 
This is followed-up by pairing each of them 
with a dedicated mentor and establishing 
a programme of regular reviews with their 
General Manager. Each year we hold our 
annual conference to set the direction for 
the year to come, create a strong network 

amongst peers and ensures that our  
purpose, vision and values are embedded 
into the day-to-day activity and behaviours 
with customers and fellow team members. 

Our training utilises a variety of development 
tools including online technology to ensure  
a blended approach to meet all learning 
styles. We combine our e-learning platforms 
with face to face training to ensure all our 
employees are skilled on all the required areas 
from the day they join us. These programmes 
embed learning about our purpose, vision 
and values as part of the induction through  
to mastering a range of brand standards  
that ensure quality and speed of service  
are a focus for all venue-based team 
members. Across the last 18 months we  
have implemented Apprenticeship schemes 
to support both our Kitchen and Sales staff 
to further develop their skills and help them 
to achieve their potential. The operational 
challenges due to COVID-19 since March 
2020 have resulted in a very high proportion 
of our teams being on furlough for the last 
quarter of the financial period. This ruled out 
classroom-based management development 
training courses, but we took the opportunity 
to use the time to overhaul our front-of-house 
team training. In May 2020, we launched 
our brand new Bartender Career path, 
which includes four development levels and 
provides training in bite-sized chunks TikTok 
style allowing individuals to learn at their 
own pace whilst aiming to become a best 
in class bartender. During the year we also 
established our first ever wellbeing strategy 
and we trained 40 Mental Health First Aiders.

The Group is committed to equal opportunities 
and the elimination of discrimination, 
harassment and victimisation of employees. 
Of our workforce, 45% is female and 55%  
is male. We are active members of the 
Women in Hospitality, Travel and Leisure 
partnership helping to promote the Diversity 
and Inclusion agenda across our sector and 
during the year we established the Group’s 
first Diversity and Inclusion strategy, which 
started with focus groups drawn from across 
the business.

Revolución de Cuba Sheffield

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

27

C
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v

i

e
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with all our employees through a series  
of newsletters, personal emails, virtual team 
calls and quizzes. In our ‘keeping in touch’ 
survey, undertaken in May 2020, 92% of 
respondents said they were proud to work 
for the business and 91% said they felt the 
business had communicated effectively  
with them during the crisis.

vouchers and are entitled to a 50% discount 
on food and drink purchased within our 
bars. An Employee Assistance programme 
is provided to all managers to assist them 
with issues that might be impacting their 
well-being. 

The Group’s performance as an employer 
is measured twice yearly through an 
independently administered “Quality  
of Life” surveys sent to every employee.  
These employee surveys are linked to our 
customer feedback platform to identify ways 
to not only improve employee engagement 
but to provide a direct link to how this can 
enhance how customers experience our 
brands. In the most recent survey, undertaken 
in March 2020, the Employee Net Promoter 
Score improved by 10 percentage points  
and engagement levels improved by 4% also. 
Following the furloughing of much of our 
workforce towards the end of March 2020, 
substantial efforts were made to keep in touch 

92% 91%

Of respondents said they were 
proud to work for the business 

Of respondents felt the business 
had communicated effectively with 
them during the crisis

During the year we are proud to have 
significantly improved the benefits for all  
our employees. Much was in direct response 
to feedback from our staff following our staff 
surveys (as referred to below) which revealed 
there were significant differences in opinions 
on zero-hour contracts. In April 2020,  
we provided the option for all employees  
to receive a minimum hours contract and  
48% have taken advantage of this option 
moving on to different contract options of 
between 6 hours and 30 hours per week  
with the remaining 52% preferring to continue 
with zero hour contracts. Additionally, the 
following improvements have been made  
to other benefits:

•  new maternity and paternity policies and 
best practice guides plus enhancements  
to leave - 12 weeks at 90% for primary  
carer and enhanced paternity leave  
of 2 weeks at 90% pay;

•  ‘Revs with Benefits’ – inclusive of a 

24/7 GP helpline, telephone Employee 
Assistance Programme for all, cycle to 
work scheme, and retail discounts; and

•  Salary finance – an on-demand  

payment and financial wellbeing platform 
providing employees quicker access to 
their earnings in case of emergencies 

We also have a suite of reward and  
incentive schemes in place but due to the 
suspension of trade we agreed to defer 
certain bonus payments and suspend  
bonus schemes in the current year, with 
employees supportive of the measures  
in the circumstances. All employees may  
join the Group’s stakeholder pension plan,  
as well as obtain tax-efficient childcare 

Governance ReportFinancial Statements 
 
28 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

OPERATING RESPONSIBLY

for our stakeholders continued

Responsible drinks retailing
The Group supports practices which promote 
responsible drinking and has established its 
own “Responsible Alcohol Retailing Policy”, 
supported by staff training and monitoring. 
The Group’s pricing models are set so 
as to avoid deeply discounting products. 
Events are promoted responsibly and are 
accompanied by individual risk assessments. 
A number of bars enter local “Best Bar 
None” schemes (run by local authorities and 
the police to encourage good behaviour in 
town centres), promoting a safe and secure 
environment. Test purchasing exercises are 
organised through Serve Legal to ensure that 
staff are exercising their judgement in the 
way that they are trained to do with regard  
to age verification.

Food information and quality
The Group continuously aims to improve 
the quality of its food offering and provide 
customers with the required information 
about its products to allow them to make 
informed decisions about their food 
consumption. This includes providing 
allergen and calorie information for all dishes 
via our website. Products not containing 

gluten or meat are advertised on the printed 
menu. Full training is provided to bar teams 
to enable them to deal with customer queries 
and prevent cross-contamination. The Group 
sets out strict specifications for all products 
so that high standards of quality are met.

The Group continues to place greater 
emphasis on offering increased menu 
choices for vegetarians, vegans and those 
with food intolerances, given that this  
is important to an increasing proportion  
of our customer base.

Charity
As part of its social responsibility agenda, 
the Group extended its relationship with its 
nominated charity Shelter, the housing and 
homelessness charity, to a second year; this 
charity having originally been selected by our 
employees who told us that homelessness 
was a matter of serious concern to them 
given the frequency with which they 
encounter those who are homeless when 
they leave our venues to return to their 
homes late at night. During the last year, 
more than £47,000 was raised for Shelter 
through various employee activities including 
sponsored events and through the Group 

promoting the donation of 20 pence from 
every hot beverage sold. Many of the Group’s 
head office employees participated in the 
Sleep Walk for Shelter sponsored event that 
was held in December 2019 in Manchester. 
Over the two-year period the Group has now 
raised over £84,000 for Shelter.

Additionally, during the enforced lockdown 
period, a small number of employees 
organised a virtual run from the Group’s 
northernmost site (in Inverness) to the 
southernmost site (in Plymouth). The 
event proved so popular that the run was 
extended to a third leg from Plymouth to the 
Nightingale hospital in London. Over 300 
runners completed 1,639 kilometers over a 
14-day period raising £10,595 that was shared 
between Shelter and the NHS. The event was 
notable not just for the money raised but the 
interest and motivation shown by staff from all 
corners of the Revolution Bars Group family 
during the lockdown period.

The Group also has a programme designed 
to promote other charitable activity within  
its workforce. The scheme, called “You raise 
it, we match it”, rewards funds raised by staff 
for other charities and matches what they 
have raised.

Environment
The Group endeavours to conduct its 
business in a way that is sympathetic to the 
environment. Where possible, glassware 
and bottles are recycled, as is cardboard 
packaging. All new sites and major 
refurbishment projects include fitting energy-
efficient lighting and other control devices 
in order to minimise energy consumption. 
Smart meters have been fitted throughout 
our estate to allow monitoring hourly energy 
consumption on a daily basis in order  

to highlight unusual consumption spikes 
and to be able to benchmark individual 
site performance. The Group’s appointed 
energy consultant, Energise, facilitates the 
production of a suite of reports enabling bars 
to identify energy wastage; these reports 
are monitored both locally and centrally. 
The reporting is very useful for evaluating 
the impact of new energy saving initiatives, 
including investments in new technology  
and more efficient equipment.

Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting 
(SECR) disclosure
Our SECR disclosure presents our carbon 
footprint across Scopes 1, 2 and 3, together 
with an appropriate intensity metric and 
our total energy use. The reporting of 
greenhouse gas emissions is for the period  
1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020. All of the 
Group’s operations are based in the UK,  
and therefore all of the below figures purely 
relate to the UK.

Emission Type

kWh (Scope 1 & 2 Only)

CO2e tonnes (Location Based)

Current Year
(2019–20)

Previous Year
(2018–19)

Year on Year 
Variance

Current Year
(2019–20)

Previous Year
(2018–19)

Year on Year 
Variance

Scope 1: Operation of Facilities

–

–

Scope 1: Combustion

TOTAL Scope 1

8,453,731 

9,565,734 

8,453,731

9,565,734

Scope 2: Purchased Energy

19,219,442

28,780,206 

TOTAL Scope 2

19,219,442

28,780,206 

Scope 3: Indirect Energy use

TOTAL Scope 3

Total

–

–

–

–

27,673,173 

38,345,940 

-27.8%

–

-11.6%

-11.6%

-33.2%

-33.2%

–

–

–

1,580 

1,580

4,912 

4,912 

31,364 

31,364 

37,856 

–

1,787 

1,787

8,841 

8,841 

–

–

–

-11.6%

-11.6%

-44.4%

-44.4%

–

–

10,628 

+256.2%

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

29

Greenhouse gas emissions intensity ratio:

Total Footprint (Scope 1, Scope 2  
and Scope 3) - CO2e tonnes

Current Year
(2019–20)

Previous Year
(2018–19)

Year on Year 
Variance

Turnover (£m)

Intensity Ratio (tCO2e/£100,000)

110.1 m

34.383

151.4 m

-27.3%

7.020

+389.8%

Intensity Ratio Trend Review

Intensity Ratio

Difference

Variance %

Emission Type

Scope 1: Operation of Facilities

Scope 1: Combustion

TOTAL Scope 1

Scope 2: Purchased Energy

TOTAL Scope 2

Scope 3: Indirect Energy use

TOTAL Scope 3

Total

Current Year 
(2019–20)

Previous Year 
(2018–19)

(2017–18)

34.38

+27.36

+389.8%

7.02

-1.53

-17.9%

8.55

n/a

n/a

CO2e tonnes (Dual Reporting Methodology)

Location 
Based

Current Year
(2019-20)

Variance

–

1,580 

1,580 

4,912 

4,912 

31,364 

31,364 

37,856 

–

1,580 

1,580 

537 

537 

31,364 

31,364 

33,481 

–

0%

0%

-89.1%

-89.1%

0%

–

-11.6%

The Dual Reporting Methodology shows data 
from the same financial period, calculated 
using different conversion factors. The 
location-based emissions are calculated using 
the UK average electricity carbon factor and 
the market-based emissions are calculated 
based on the specific electricity carbon 
factors of the Group’s electricity suppliers.

This table therefore demonstrates the 
reduction in the Group’s overall footprint 
achieved by purchasing renewable energy; 
by purchasing renewable energy our carbon 
emissions associated with electricity are 
approximately 89.1% lower than they would 
have been if they remained on a standard, 
non-renewable electricity tariff. 

Scope and methodology: 
•   Our methodology has been based on the 
principals of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, 
taking account of the 2015 amendment 
which sets out a “dual reporting” 
methodology for the reporting of Scope 
2 emissions. In the “Total Footprint” 
summary above, purchased electricity  
is reported on a location-based method. 

•   We have reported on all the measured 
emissions sources required under The 
Companies Act 2006 (Strategic Report  
and Directors’ Report) Regulations 2013 
and The Companies (Directors’ Report) 
and Limited Liability Partnerships (Energy 
and Carbon Report) Regulations 2018 
except where stated. 

•   This Streamlined Energy and Carbon 

Report has been compiled by our energy 
and net zero carbon partner, Energise 
Limited. This report includes emissions 
under Scope 1 and 2, except where stated, 
and includes emissions from Scope 
3 sources relating to business travel, 
purchased goods and services, capital 
goods, employee commuting, fuel- and 
energy-related activities, water and waste. 

•   Conversion factors for UK electricity 

(location-based methodology), gas and 
other emissions are those published  
by the Department for Environment,  
Food and Rural Affairs for 2019–20. 

•   Conversion factors for UK electricity 
(market-based methodology) are  
published on the fuel mix disclosures  
on each supplier’s website. 

•   The significant increase in emissions this 

year is the result of the inclusion of several 
Scope 3 emission sources that have 
previously not been included within the 
scope of reporting. 

•   Emissions in relation to fugitive  

emissions are excluded from the scope 
of reporting due to lack of quality data 
records in this area. 

Case Study

Zero Heroes

We’ve put Zero Heroes into  
all of our bars – a member  
of management tasked with 
driving sustainability into their 
bar. We offer monthly Group 
webinars partnered with our 
core suppliers on matters  
close to our hearts, like  
Energy Reduction via our 
energy suppliers, and  
Recycling training with Biffa.

These great ideas are shared on the 
Bars’ Hero Boards so the whole team can 
get involved. It really can be as simple  
as remembering to turn a light off!

like-for-like reductions 
across energy/water saving 
programme since 2017

19%

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements30 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

OPERATING RESPONSIBLY

for our stakeholders continued

Environment continued
Energy efficiency action
In the period covered by the report, we  
have continued the rollout of LED lighting  
in the front of house areas of our bars.  
We also began appointing bar champions 
(Zero Heroes) for energy efficiency and 
carbon reduction and ran trials of energy 
efficient equipment ahead of a potential  
full portfolio rollout.

The appointment of Zero Heroes will allow us 
to reduce consumption from the operational 
use of our bars whilst the equipment trials 
will source alternative improved efficiency 
solutions compared to our existing equipment 
stock to produce a lower carbon impact as  
we move forward.

In April 2020, we moved all our direct 
electricity supplies to a zero-carbon supplier 
whose power is from biomass generation. 
These supplies are backed by Renewable 
Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGOs). 
Electricity supplies that are part of landlord 
services arrangements remain with their 
existing suppliers.

Work has been conducted to widen the 
reporting of our carbon impact by including 
emissions from relevant GHG Scope 3 
categories. This more detailed report will 
be used as a baseline to measure our future 
Pathway to Net Zero.

Anti-bribery and  
corruption policy
The Group has in place an anti-bribery and 
corruption policy that is approved annually 
by the Board and communicated through 
all heads of department to their teams. 
The policy requires transparency and the 
maintenance of an entertainment register 
that is regularly reviewed by the Board.  
Key suppliers have also been made aware  
of the policy.

Anti-slavery policy  
and human rights
The Group has in place an anti-slavery 
policy that has been approved by the Board. 
Suppliers are required to acknowledge the 
Group’s policy and their obligation to adhere 
to it as part of any contractual arrangements.

The Group does not have a formal human 
rights policy, but it is committed to conducting 
business with integrity and fairness.

Case Study

Net Zero 
Carbon

We want to be the first bar 
group to achieve Net Zero 
carbon emissions. We want 
to work with suppliers who 
care about this as much as us, 
which is why we ask our major 
contractors to partner with  
us on sustainable workflows, 
such as taking back cardboard 
for recycling after a delivery,  
or using our waste oil to fuel 
their vehicles.

We are always trying new things in our 
quest for Carbon Neutral: recycling zones 
behind our bars, focussed reduction 
on Out of Hours Energy, and ongoing 
energy efficiency trials including new 
cellar cooling equipment.

Announcing  
plans to become 
carbon neutral

On behalf of the Board

Mike Foster 
Company Secretary

16 December 2020

Revolution Brighton

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

31

C
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quality
food offerings

 
 
 
 
32 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

Revolution Southend

live
musicians

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

33

C
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34  Board of Directors

36  Senior Management

37  Governance: Chairman’s Introduction

38  Corporate Governance Report

42  Board Activity

44  Nomination Committee Report

46  Audit Committee Report

50  Directors’ Remuneration Report

58  Directors’ Report

63  Directors’ Responsibility Statement

musicians

 
 
 
 
34 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

BOARD
of Directors

The Directors of the Company who were in office during the year  
and up to the date of signing the financial statements were:

Keith Edelman 

Non-Executive  
Chairman

William Tuffy

Independent 
Non-Executive 
Director

Rob Pitcher 

Chief Executive 
Officer

Mike Foster 

Chief Financial 
Officer

Jemima Bird 

Senior Independent  
Non-Executive 
Director

Principal skills and experience

Leisure

Retail Marketing Operational People

Finance

Keith Edelman 
Non-Executive Chairman

Rob Pitcher 
Chief Executive Officer

Mike Foster 
Chief Financial Officer

Jemima Bird 
Senior Non-Executive Director

William Tuffy 
Non-Executive Director

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

Earlier in 2020, Mike advised the  
Board that he intended to retire as  
a Director but he agreed to remain  
with the Company to help guide the 
Group through the many challenges 
caused by COVID-19 and to ensure  
that his successor was in place and 
could benefit from a comprehensive 
handover before formally tendering  
his resignation. As announced on  
13 November 2020, Mike will step  
down from the Board at the conclusion 
of the Annual General Meeting on  
22 December 2020, at which time 
Danielle Davies will be appointed  
as Chief Financial Officer.

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

35

Key

length of service

gender analysis

Audit Committee

Remuneration Committee

Nomination Committee

Chair

Executive/non-
executive analysis

0–2 years
2–4 years
4+ years

Male
Female

Executive
Non-Executive

Keith Edelman 
Non-Executive Chairman

Rob Pitcher 
Chief Executive Officer

Mike Foster 
Chief Financial Officer

Jemima Bird 
Senior Independent  
Non-Executive Director

William Tuffy
Independent  
Non-Executive Director

Date appointed 
to Board
16 February 2015

Date appointed  
to Board
25 June 2018

Date appointed  
to Board
2 June 2017

Date appointed  
to Board
19 December 2016

Date appointed  
to Board
26 November 2018

Relevant past  
experience
Mike is a Chartered 
Accountant with extensive 
corporate finance and 
hands-on financial and 
commercial management 
experience gained in senior 
positions at large multi-site 
retail and leisure businesses, 
including over 25 years 
at major pub and bar 
companies. Most recently, 
he was Chief Financial 
Officer of iNTERTAIN Ltd 
from 2009 until December 
2016 when that company 
was sold to Stonegate Pub 
Company Limited. Prior to 
that, he was Chief Financial 
Officer of Regent Inns plc 
from 2005 and performed 
senior finance roles at 
Spirit Group (formerly with 
Scottish & Newcastle Retail), 
Esporta plc and First Leisure 
Corporation plc.

Relevant past 
experience
Jemima is a marketer 
with more than 20 years’ 
experience working with 
many of the UK’s leading 
high street brands, most 
recently leading the 
rebrand for the Co-op 
Food business. She formed 
Hello Finch, a brand and 
marketing consultancy, 
in 2013. Between 2008 
and 2015, Jemima held 
executive board positions  
at Moss Bros plc, Tragus and 
Musgrave Retail Partners. 

Other appointments
Jemima is a Director of Hello 
Finch Limited and a Board 
Trustee for the Football 
Foundation, the UK’s largest 
sports charity.

Relevant past 
experience
William Tuffy is a 
Chartered and Certified 
Accountant with over 
35 years’ experience 
in senior general and 
financial management 
roles in retail, FMCG and 
property investment and 
management. He has 
also been involved with 
business transformation 
and turnaround projects 
in companies ranging 
from large multi-nationals 
to mid-sized businesses 
and start-ups. He has held 
non-executive positions, 
including four years at 
Beale plc, during which 
time he was initially senior 
independent Director 
and then Non-Executive 
Chairman. Whilst at Beale 
plc, William also served 
as chair of both audit and 
remuneration committees.

Other appointments
William is also a Director  
of Miromore Limited.

Relevant past  
experience
Keith has served on the 
boards of public companies 
for over 30 years across  
a wide range of businesses 
and markets, with extensive 
experience in the retail and 
consumer sectors. Keith’s 
previous executive roles 
include being Managing 
Director of Arsenal 
Holdings plc from 2000 to 
2008 and Chief Executive 
Officer of Storehouse plc 
(encompassing BHS and 
Mothercare) from 1993 
to 1999. Keith has a BSc 
in management studies 
from the University of 
Manchester (Institute of 
Science and Technology). 

Relevant past 
experience
Rob has over 25 years’ 
experience within the 
hospitality sector, most 
recently as Divisional 
Director of Restaurants 
at Mitchells & Butlers 
responsible for the 
Harvester, Toby Carvery 
and Stonehouse brands. 
Prior to joining M&B,  
Rob held senior positions 
at many other leading 
hospitality companies, 
including Stonegate,  
Laurel Pub Company,  
Spirit Group, and Scottish  
& Newcastle Retail.

Other appointments
Keith is currently Non-
Executive Chairman of 
Pennpetro Energy PLC,  
a Non-Executive Director  
of Headlam Group Plc,  
a Non-Executive Director 
of Altitude Group plc, and 
a Non-Executive Director 
(and Chairman of the Audit 
Committee) of the London 
Legacy Development 
Corporation. He is also  
a Non-Executive Director 
of both JE Beale PLC and 
Beale Limited, having 
been appointed to these 
companies in December 
2019 and both being put 
into administration in 
January 2020. He is also 
a Director of Jewellery 
Quarter Bullion Limited.

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements 
 
 
 
 
 
36 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

SENIOR

Management

In addition to the Executive Directors, the following 
senior managers are considered to have the relevant 
expertise and experience to support the strategic 
development of the Group’s brands and day-to-day 
direction and decision-making of the business.

Beth Anderson 
People Director

Andy Dyson 
Business Development Director

Alex Young 
Interim Sales and Marketing Director

Beth joined the business in 2012 with  
a strong operational background before 
moving into the People Development Team 
in 2014. Beth has held several roles within the 
People Development team including Human 
Resources Business Partner for the Southern 
region and subsequently National Talent 
Development Manager. She was promoted  
to Head of People in the summer of 2019  
and has recently been further promoted  
to People Director.

Since graduating from university, Beth has 
studied for CIPD qualifications, attaining 
Level 5 CIPD in Learning and Development, 
and completed her Level 7 CIPD qualification 
in Human Resource Management earlier  
this year.

Andy joined the business in 1998,  
having graduated from Leeds University 
where he studied Civil Engineering (BEng 
(Hons)). He has performed several operational 
roles within the Group, including Bar General 
Manager, Area Manager and Operations 
Director – Revolution North. Andy has recently 
been promoted to Business Development 
Director and his many responsibilities are 
primarily associated with ensuring process 
efficiency for those services that cross both 
brands and ensuring that the many and varied 
workstreams driving change and innovation, 
including the potential development of a third 
brand, get the required focus.

Alex joined as maternity cover for the Head 
of Marketing role in December 2018, taking 
on the Interim Sales & Marketing Director 
role in January 2020 covering the remit of 
the sales, marketing and food teams. A CIM 
qualified marketeer, Alex began her career 
working in software and logistics, expanding 
to include business development when she 
moved into the festivals and events industry.

Clinton Ghent 
Brand Operations Director  
– Revolución De Cuba

Mark Walter 
Brand Operations Director  
– Revolution

Clinton joined the business in 2008  
as a General Manager after beginning his 
career with Fat Cat Café Bars. He has been 
responsible for the development and delivery 
of the Revolución de Cuba brand since 
its inception in 2011 and has overseen the 
opening of 19 Revolución de Cuba bars.

Mark joined the business, as Operations 
Director – Revolution South, in September 
2018 from Mitchells & Butlers where he  
had been a Regional Operations Manager  
for three years, responsible for 125 destination 
venues. Mark has spent his career in 
hospitality running late-night venues,  
pubs and bars and prior to joining Mitchells  
& Butlers, Mark was an Area Manager for 
Stonegate Pub Company, Town and City 
and Laurel. He recently took responsibility 
for the day-to-day operations of the entire 
Revolution branded estate.

The business address of each senior manager is: 21 Old Street, Ashton-under-Lyne, Tameside, OL6 6LA

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

37

GOVERNANCE
Chairman's introduction
This is the 
Company’s  
sixth Governance  
Report.

The Board recognises the importance of, and is committed to, high standards of corporate 
governance, and all Directors are fully aware of their duties and responsibilities under the UK 
Corporate Governance Code 2018 (the “Code”) that became effective for the first time in the 
current reporting period, the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules (“DTRs”) and the 
Listing Rules. The Company was a premium listed business throughout the reporting period 
and therefore has sought to comply fully with the Code. The Company delisted and was 
admitted to the AIM section of the Exchange, effective 27 July 2020, and notwithstanding 
the delisting to AIM, the Company is committed to continuing the high standard of corporate 
governance that has guided its management since the Company’s listing. 

Compliance with the code
The Board considers that the Group has 
complied with the requirements of the Code 
throughout the reporting period but notes 
that it has not included a viability statement 
in its Governance schedule given the 
extensive disclosures on going concern that 
are set out in the Director’s Report and in 
note 1 of the financial statements and further 
references in the Financial Review. 

The Group continues to implement a robust 
governance structure to ensure compliance 
with the Code. Key elements include:

•  the Board comprises a majority of 

independent Non-Executive Directors,  
of which there are three, including myself 
as Non-Executive Chairman (deemed 
independent on appointment), and two 
Executive Directors;

•  each Non-Executive Director has a proven 
track record in business at a high level  
and has good retail and leisure sector skills 
and experience that are highly relevant;

•  the Board and its sub-committees 

are structured in accordance with the 
requirements for a listed company 
with both the Audit and Remuneration 
Committees fully comprising Non-
Executive Directors. The Non-Executive 
Directors provide critical challenge and 
support to those areas of the Group that 
they believe are of particular importance; 

•  regular review of new developments 

in corporate governance best practice 
and consideration of how to apply them 
appropriately. The Board is regularly 
updated on corporate governance 
developments by the Company Secretary 
and when new or updated sections of the 
Code are released, it is normal practice  
to arrange for the Group’s corporate lawyer 
to present formally at a Board meeting  
and lead a discussion; and

•  an increased focus on increasing the level 
of the Board’s engagement and direction 
in corporate culture and workforce 
engagement, risk management and 
sustainability in acknowledgement of the 
extended responsibilities introduced by 
the UK Corporate Governance Code 2018.

There have been no changes to the 
composition of the Board or any of its  
sub-committees during the year.

Each Director was selected on the basis 
of having the appropriate level of public 
company, commercial and market sector 
skills required to drive the Group forward. 
The Board takes appropriate advice on 
governance matters from external advisers, 
including its lawyers and a specialist 
remuneration consultant.

The remuneration of Directors is set out in 
the Remuneration Report, which starts on 
page 50 and includes a link to the Company’s 
website where the remuneration policy for 
both Executive Directors and Non-Executive 
Directors is detailed.

The Group has the principles of transparency 
and openness at the heart of its culture and 
is committed to achieving high standards 
of corporate governance. The Board firmly 
believes that its corporate governance 
structures and robust processes will help drive 
a more efficient and competitive business 
performance and enable strong relationships 
with all stakeholders.

Keith Edelman 
Chairman

16 December 2020

Revolution Bars Group plc Board:

Chairman:

Keith Edelman

Chief  
Executive Officer:

Chief  
Financial Officer:

Senior Independent  
Non-Executive Director:

Independent  
Non-Executive Director:

Rob Pitcher

Mike Foster

Jemima Bird

William Tuffy

Audit Committee:

Remuneration Committee:

Nomination Committee:

Chair: William Tuffy

Jemima Bird 
Keith Edelman 

Chair: Jemima Bird

Keith Edelman 
William Tuffy 

Chair: Keith Edelman

Jemima Bird 
Rob Pitcher 
William Tuffy

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements 
38 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Report

Overview

This report sets out the Group’s 
governance structure and how  
it complies with the UK Corporate 
Governance Code 2018 (the 
“Code”), published by the Financial 
Reporting Council in July 2018, 
and also includes items required 
by the Disclosure Guidance and 
Transparency Rules (“DTRs”).  
The Code is available on the 
Financial Reporting Council 
website at www.frc.org.uk. 

Board Composition

Executive

Non-Executive

The Code has at its heart an updated set of principles that  
emphasise the value of good corporate governance to long-term 
sustainable success. These principles are:

D    

E   

 In order for the Company to meet 
its responsibilities to shareholders 
and stakeholders, the Board should 
ensure effective engagement with, 
and encourage participation from, 
these parties. 

  The Board should ensure that 
workforce policies and practices are 
consistent with the company’s values 
and support its long-term sustainable 
success. The workforce should be 
able to raise any matters of concern.

A  

B    

C   

 A successful company is led by  
an effective and entrepreneurial 
board, whose role is to promote  
the long-term sustainable success  
of the company, generating value  
for shareholders and contributing  
to wider society. 

 The Board should establish the 
Company’s purpose, values and 
strategy, and satisfy itself that  
these and its culture are aligned.  
All Directors must act with integrity, 
lead by example, and promote  
the desired culture. 

 The Board should ensure that the 
necessary resources are in place for 
the Company to meet its objectives 
and measure performance against 
them. The Board should also establish 
a framework of prudent and effective 
controls, which enable risk to be 
assessed and managed. 

The disclosures in this report relate to our responsibilities for preparing the Annual Report 
and Accounts, including compliance with the Code to the extent required, our report on the 
effectiveness of the Group’s risk management and internal control systems and the functioning 
of our Committees, and where appropriate we have referenced how the Board and Company 
has adapted its approach and adopted new workstreams to specifically address the principles 
of the Code.

The Directors consider that the Group has complied with those provisions of the Code 
applicable to a company of its size. The Board is committed to the highest standards  
of corporate governance.

Compliance with the Code:  
Board composition
The Board comprises a Non-Executive 
Chairman, two Executive Directors and two 
other Non-Executive Directors and therefore 
has a majority of Non-Executive positions.

All Board members are widely experienced 
in large retail businesses, including the 
Executive Directors who are both very 
experienced and well-respected operators 
in the licensed retail sector. The Board also 
has an excellent mix of skills and functional 
disciplines. Details of the Board members 
and their backgrounds are given on pages  
34 to 35. 

Jemima Bird is the “senior” independent 
Director and leads meetings of Non-

Executive Directors, appraises the 
Chairman’s performance and provides  
a sounding board for the Chairman and  
is available as an intermediary to the  
other Directors when necessary. 

Jemima Bird is the designated Non-Executive 
Director in respect of workforce engagement 
and has regular meetings with the Group’s 
People Director to discuss all relevant matters.

Jemima Bird has also been and is available 
to shareholders if they have any concerns. 
Jemima can be contacted by shareholders 
through the normal channels of Chairman, 
Chief Executive Officer (‘CEO’) or Chief 
Financial Officer (‘CFO’) where their  
issues have failed to be resolved or for  
which contact with any other office holder  
is inappropriate.

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

39

C
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Compliance with the Code: 
Performance evaluation
During the reporting period, the Board 
undertook a formal evaluation of its own 
performance using individual questionnaires 
based on the FRC Guidance on Board 
Effectiveness that were reviewed and 
summarised back to the Non-Executive 
Chairman and then shared with the Board.  
The review covered all aspects of the way 
in which the Board operates, including its 
Committees, and the contribution of each 
Director, including the Chairman. The review 
enabled the Board to gain valuable shared 
insight into its operation including ways  
to improve its composition, processes  
and relationships. The principal actions 
arising were:

•  the appointment of a designated  

Non-Executive Director to engage with  
all members of the workforce so they  
may raise any matters of concern;

•  to implement a succession plan by 

identifying key roles and people with  
the right skills to facilitate the transition  
of leadership positions in a successful  
and timely manner;

•  to raise awareness amongst both team 

members and suppliers of the Company’s 
Whistleblowing policy;

•  to support a sustainable business 

strategy that has a positive impact on 
social, economic and environmental 
considerations; and 

•  to ensure that Board papers are distributed 
in a timely manner so that the Board has 
sufficient time to consider their content  
in order to make informed decisions. 

The Chairman confirmed to shareholders 
in the Notice of the 2019 Annual General 
Meeting (‘AGM’) that he and the Board 
believe that the performance of each 
Director, both Executive and Non-Executive, 
and the Board Committees continue to  
be effective and demonstrate commitment  
to their relevant responsibilities.

Board governance
The Board is appointed by shareholders,  
who are the owners of the Group. The 
Board’s principal responsibility is to act  
in the best interests of all shareholders  
within the legal framework of the Companies 
Act 2006. It is also collectively responsible 
to shareholders for the long-term success 
of the Group and it agrees the strategic 
direction and governance structure that 
will help achieve this long-term success 
and deliver shareholder value. The Board 
oversees those matters that it regards as 
critical to the success of the Group including 
corporate and brand strategies, accounting 
policies and maintaining a sound system of 
internal control, risk management, monitoring 

the performance of senior management and 
ratifying all senior appointments, establishing 
the remuneration and reward framework for 
the entire workforce to ensure that this is 
consistent with the Group’s cultural values 
and will result in a full engagement. 

The Board’s main responsibilities are 
included in a schedule of matters reserved  
for the Board, as set out below:

•  agreeing the Group’s strategy  

and objectives;

•  changing the funding structure and  

capital of the Group;

•  approving changes to the Group’s bank 

lending facilities; 

•  approving the annual budget;

•  approving the Annual Report and Accounts, 

and interim financial statements;

•  approving the Group’s dividend policy  

and declaration of dividends;

•  approving the Group’s treasury policy;

•  reviewing the effectiveness of the Board;

•  reviewing the effectiveness of risk 

management processes and the Group’s 
internal control systems;

•  approving significant expenditure 

commitments and material transactions  
and contracts;

•  ensuring dialogue with the Group’s  
major shareholders takes place on  
a regular basis;

•  appointing and removing Directors  
and other members of the senior 
management team;

•  determining the remuneration policy 

and adjustments to the remuneration for 
Executive and Non-Executive Directors 
and the senior management team;

•  approval of the Group’s bonus and 
incentive arrangements at all levels;

•  reviewing the Group’s overall corporate 

governance arrangements;

•  delegating authority to the CEO;

•  setting annual objectives for the business 
in line with the current Group strategy; 

•  monitoring performance of the Group’s 
objectives through Board reports,  
which include updates from the CEO,  
the CFO and other functional heads  
of key departments; and

•  considering and continually updating a 

rolling agenda of items that includes any 
current issues or matters as they arise.

The Board has an ongoing process for 
identifying, evaluating and managing the 
principal risks facing the Group, including 
those that would threaten its business model, 
future performance, solvency or liquidity. 
This process has been in place throughout 

the year under review and up to the date of 
approval of the Annual Report and Accounts. 
The principal risks are regularly reviewed 
by the Board. A description of these risks 
together with an assessment of how they  
are being managed or mitigated is included  
on pages 18 to 19.

Effective operation and improvement of 
the Group’s risk management and internal 
control systems has remained a key focus 
for the Board during the reporting period. 
The strengthening of the finance team 
during 2018 and 2019 through recruitment 
and a focus on training and development, 
and improvements in financial reporting and 
forecasting capabilities have served the 
business well during 2020 and particularly 
during the COVID challenges. The speed  
and efficiency with which additional debt 
facilities, the equity fundraise and the 
admission to AIM took place was testament  
to having a high-performing team in place. 

The Risk Committee formed in 2018,  
meets quarterly, and continues to improve  
the management of risk across all areas 
of the business and to hold individuals 
to account. The Committee’s terms of 
reference centre around Health and Safety 
and minimising cash losses but extend to 
the identification and management of any 
business risk. In the lead in to, during and 
post the government enforced closure 
of pubs and restaurants, the Committee 
members were focused on the health and 
safety aspects of COVID to ensure that when 
trading was allowed to recommence, the 
Group could provide a safe environment for 
staff and customers. All Board Committees 
play an essential role in supporting the 
Board to implement its strategy and provide 
focused oversight of key aspects of the 
business. Minutes and action points arising 
from all Committee meetings are circulated 
to all Directors and reviewed at Board 
meetings. The full terms of reference for 
each Committee are available on the Group’s 
website, www.revolutionbarsgroup.com.

Board balance and independence
The Code recommends that a group outside 
the FTSE 350 (such as the Group) should 
have at least two independent Non-Executive 
Directors, being individuals determined by 
the Board to be independent in character 
and judgement and free from relationships 
or circumstances which may affect, or could 
appear to affect, the Directors’ judgement. 
It also recommends that a non-FTSE 350 
group’s remuneration and audit committees 
should comprise at least two independent 
Non-Executive Directors, and that its 
nomination committee should comprise 
a majority of independent Non-Executive 
Directors. The Group has complied fully  
with these recommendations throughout  
the reporting period. 

Strategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements 
40 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Report continued

Chairman and  
Chief Executive Officer
The Group has established a clear division 
between the respective responsibilities  
of the Non-Executive Chairman of the Board  
and the CEO. The Non-Executive Chairman  
is Keith Edelman and he is responsible  
for the effective operation, leadership  
and governance of the Board, leading the 
Board’s discussions and its decision-making. 
The Chairman promotes a culture of 
openness and debate by facilitating the 
effective contribution of Non-Executive 

Directors and ensuring constructive  
relations between Executive and Non-
Executive Directors. The CEO is Rob Pitcher, 
who, through delegation from the Board,  
is responsible for leading the Group’s 
business organisation and performance and 
the day-to-day management of the Group.

This separation of responsibilities between 
the Chairman and the CEO, coupled with the 
schedule of matters reserved for the Board, 
ensures that no individual has unfettered 
powers of decision-making.

Non-Executive Directors  
and independence
The independence of each Non-Executive 
Director was considered at the time of their 
appointment. The Group’s Non-Executive 
Directors provide a broad range of skills and 
experience to the Board which assists both in 
their roles in formulating the Group’s strategy 
and in providing constructive challenge to the 
Executive Directors. The Group considers that 
each Non-Executive Director continues to be 
independent for the purposes of the Code.

Board meetings
The Board’s intention is to meet at least  
eight times per year for structured Board 
meetings covering all aspects of the 
business. The operating restrictions imposed 
by COVID from March 2020 made physical 
meetings impossible but many Board calls 
and virtual meetings using video software 
such as Zoom and Teams were used in 
order to hold meetings in the conventional 
way. These meetings were organised and 
managed in exactly the same way as a 
physical meeting with an agenda and papers 
distributed in advance, the meeting chaired 

in the same way and minutes and action 
points arising from the meeting prepared 
and approved in due course. Meeting papers 
include business reports and updates 
from the CEO and the CFO. Members of 
the Group’s senior management team are 
also invited to present at Board meetings 
on a regular basis, as appropriate, so that 
Non-Executive Directors keep abreast of 
developments in the Group.

Post the enforced closure of the Group’s 
trading operations in March 2020 and given 
the complexities and necessary speed 

associated with organising increased debt 
facilities, the equity fundraise, and delist 
and admission to AIM, the Board met on 
considerably more occasions than would 
be considered normal. During the 52 weeks 
to 27 June 2020 there were 29 Board calls 
or meetings. The table below splits these 
meetings between conventional physical 
meetings and virtual meetings. 

The attendance record of each of the 
Directors at full Board and the sub-
committees of the Board is set out below: 

Number of physical meetings

Number of virtual meetings

Board

Audit Remuneration

Nomination

Board

Audit Remuneration

Nomination

Keith Edelman

Rob Pitcher

Mike Foster

Jemima Bird

William Tuffy

9

9

8

8

7

2

2

2

2

2

3

2

2

3

2

2

2

1

2

2

Keith Edelman

Rob Pitcher

Mike Foster

Jemima Bird

William Tuffy

20

20

20

16

18

1

1

1

–

1

3

3

3

3

3

–

–

–

–

–

Appointment and tenure
The Board believes that all Directors are 
effective, are committed to their roles and 
have sufficient time available to perform their 
duties. As reported on page 34, Mike Foster 
will retire from the Board after the AGM to 
be held on 22 December 2020 and Danielle 
Davies will be appointed as CFO. Accordingly, 
all members of the Board other than Mike 
Foster will be offering themselves for election 
at the Group’s AGM. All Directors have service 
agreements or letters of appointment and  
the details of the terms of their engagement 
are set out in the Directors’ Remuneration 
Report. The service agreements and letters  
of appointment are available for inspection  
at the Group’s registered office during normal 
business hours.

No other contract with the Company  
or any subsidiary undertaking of the 
Company in which any Director was  
materially interested subsisted during  
or at the end of the financial period.

Evaluation and effectiveness
Evaluations of the performance of the Board, 
its Committees, individual Directors and the 
Chairman have taken place during the 52 
weeks ended 29 June 2019. The conclusion 
from these evaluations is that the Board is 
operating effectively and in the best interests 
of shareholders. 

The Chairman met with the Non-Executive 
Directors on at least one occasion during the 
year without the Executive Directors present 
to discuss Board balance, the performance  

of each Executive Director, monitor the 
powers of individual Executive Directors  
and discuss other issues pertaining to  
the effective operation of the Board. 

Development
In line with the Code, the Group ensures  
that any new Directors joining the Board 
receive appropriate support and are given a 
comprehensive, formal and tailored induction 
programme organised through the Company 
Secretary, including the provision of 
background material on the Group, briefings 
with senior management and accompanied 
operational visits. Each Director’s individual 
experience and background will be taken into 
account in developing a programme tailored 
to their requirements. Any new Director  
will also be expected to meet with  

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

41

Annual General Meeting
The AGM of the Group will take place on 
22 December 2020. Due to the COVID-19 
restrictions, shareholders will be unable  
this year to attend the meeting in person but 
will be able to attend a virtual meeting and 
lodge questions in advance of the meeting. 
Shareholders will also be able to lodge their 
votes by proxy in advance of the AGM.  
The Notice of AGM was sent to shareholders 
on 27 November 2020 and sets out the 
business of the meeting and explanatory 
notes on all resolutions. Separate resolutions 
are proposed in respect of each substantive 
issue. The Chairman, the Chairman of each  
of the Committees and both Executive 
Directors will be present at the AGM and will 
provide answers to shareholders’ questions 
that have been lodged in advance through  
a facility provided on the Company’s website 
https://www.revolutionbarsgroup.com/
investors/shareholder-centre/frequently-
asked-questions/.

The Annual Report and Accounts, publication 
of which has been delayed by matters related 
to COVID-19, will be approved at a General 
Meeting to be held on 15 February 2021.

Remuneration Committee Report
The Remuneration Committee Report is set 
out on pages 50 to 57. The report describes 
how the remuneration policy is implemented 
and discloses the amounts paid to Directors 
during the 52 weeks ended 27 June 2020. 
The report includes a link to the Group’s 
corporate website where the remuneration 
policy for the Company’s Directors is set out.

Mike Foster 
Chief Financial Officer  
and Company Secretary

16 December 2020

major shareholders if required. Danielle  
Davies, who will be appointed as CFO  
when Mike Foster retires from the Board  
on 22 December 2020, joined the business  
in July 2020 to support the intense activity 
associated with the financial management  
of the business during the COVID period  
and has benefitted from a comprehensive 
induction programme in the six months prior 
to her appointment as CFO. Danielle has 
been able to work closely with Mike on the 
Annual Report and Accounts and is expected 
to meet the Company’s major institutional 
shareholders as part of the Executive 
Directors’ regular communication programme 
that follows the results announcement.

Directors’ conflicts of interest
Directors have a statutory duty to avoid 
situations in which they have or may have 
interests that conflict with those of the Group 
unless that conflict is preauthorised by the 
Board. This includes potential conflicts that 
may arise when a Director takes up a position 
with another company. The Company’s 
Articles of Association allow the Board to 
authorise such potential conflicts, and there 
is a procedure in place to deal with any actual 
or potential conflict of interest. The Board 
deals with each appointment on its individual 
merit and takes into consideration all the 
circumstances. All potential conflicts approved 
by the Board are recorded in a conflicts of 
interest register, which is reviewed by the 
Board on a regular basis to ensure that the 
procedure is working effectively. There were 
no potential conflicts during the period  
under review.

External directorships
The service agreements of the Executive 
Directors do not permit them to accept 
external commercial Non-Executive Director 
appointments. Where Non-Executive 
Directors have external directorships,  
the Board is comfortable that these do not 
impact on the time that the Non-Executive 
Director devotes to the Group and believes 
that such experience enhances the capability 
of the Board.

Information and support  
available to Directors
All Board directors have access to the 
Company Secretary and Assistant Company 
Secretary, who advise on governance matters. 
The Chairman and Company Secretary work 
together to ensure that Board papers are 
clear, accurate, delivered in a timely manner 
to Directors, and of sufficient quality to enable 
the Board to properly discharge its duties. 
Specific business-related presentations are 
given to the Board on a regular basis during 
the course of the year by members of senior 
management to keep the Board abreast of 
major initiatives and any significant challenges 

faced by the business and this allows the 
Board the opportunity to influence and 
challenge business strategy and potentially 
identify other related opportunities. As well  
as the support of the Company Secretary, 
there is a procedure in place for any Director 
to take independent professional advice at  
the Group’s expense in the furtherance of 
their duties, where considered necessary.

Shareholder engagement
Responsibility for shareholder relations  
rests with the Chairman, the CEO and the 
CFO. They ensure that there is effective 
communication with shareholders on matters 
such as governance and strategy, and  
they are responsible for ensuring that the 
Board understands the views of major 
shareholders. The Board aims to present  
a balanced and clear view of the Group  
in communications with shareholders and 
seeks to be transparent in describing how  
it views the Group’s market segment and  
the prospects for the business.

The Board communicates with shareholders in 
several ways. The full and half-year reporting 
is followed by presentations by the CEO and 
CFO to relevant market analysts and a series 
of meetings with institutional shareholders 
as well as hosting Group meetings for larger 
private investors who appreciate direct 
contact with the Executive Directors. At the 
same time, the Company’s joint brokers take 
the opportunity to arrange meetings with 
prospective shareholders to introduce them 
to the Group as an investment opportunity. 
Periodically, visits are arranged to business 
sites to give analysts and major shareholders 
first-hand experience of how the business 
operates. These visits and meetings are 
principally hosted by the CEO and the 
CFO, although other senior management 
are present from time to time. Any relevant 
material resulting from such meetings is 
uploaded to the Group’s website so that it 
is available to all shareholders. The Board 
receives regular updates at its meetings on 
the views of its shareholders as well as any 
material changes in shareholdings as advised 
by its brokers. A detailed list of shareholders is 
updated and circulated to the Board quarterly

The Group’s corporate website is also 
regularly updated with news and market 
information, including this Annual Report 
and Accounts, which sets out the Group’s 
strategy and performance together with  
its plans for future growth.

Auditor
Towards the end of the current year’s 
external audit, and therefore after the end 
of the reporting period, the Committee 
reviewed the effectiveness of the audit. 

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements42 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

BOARD

Activity

BUSINESS REVIEW AND STRATEGY
•  Reviewed the Group’s strategy and vision 

GOVERNANCE AND SHAREHOLDERS
•  Executive Director meetings with  

•  Received regular presentations  

from operating division directors and 
business function directors to consolidate 
understanding of trading performance, 
opportunities and challenges

•  Reviewed progress reports on major  
work streams and business plans  
in pursuance of strategy

•  Agreed Board agenda programme  

for the year.

FINANCIAL
•  Received regular financial performance 
updates from the Chief Financial Officer

•  Approved 2019 Annual Report and 

Accounts and Annual General Meeting 
(AGM) business 

•  Approved 2020 interim report and  

trading updates

•  Reviewed and approved 2020  

Forecast updates

•  Reviewed and approved three-year 

financial model update.

INTERNAL CONTROL  
AND RISK MANAGEMENT
•  Reviewed minutes of Risk  

Committee meetings

•  Received regular reports on litigation  
and regulatory matters including  
licensing updates and health and  
safety matters

•  Reviewed effectiveness of risk 

management and internal control systems

•  Approved updated Authorisation Policy

•  Reviewed all insurance arrangements 

ahead of June 2020 renewal.

individual institutional shareholders 
following publication of FY19 results  
and FY20 interims

•  Reviewed feedback from institutional 
shareholders following Executive  
Director meetings 

•  Review of shareholder register (quarterly)

•  Approved 2019 Modern Slavery Statement

•  Completed an internal review on 

Board effectiveness and implemented 
recommendations

•  Received regular updates on health  

and safety

•  Received updates on Corporate 

Governance developments and best 
practice, including remuneration matters, 
from corporate lawyers to ensure 
Directors’ knowledge is up to date

OTHER
•  Reviewed and approved changes to  
the Executive Management structure

•  Reviewed the Group’s IT strategy,  
including proposed changes to  
systems architecture, cyber-security 
protection, GDPR procedures, and 
organisational changes to encourage 
more proactive development to drive 
competitive advantage

•  Approved lease surrender deals on six 

loss-making venues and a renegotiation  
of a major deal due to complete shortly 
after the COVID-19 enforced closure

•  Reviewed and approved major supply 

contract proposals with major drink brands

•  Reviewed six-monthly Quality-of-Life 
Survey results undertaken across the 
entire workforce to better understand  
the levels of workforce engagement and 
any underlying issues requiring attention

•  Appointed finnCap as NOMAD in relation 

•  Top to bottom review of bonus incentives 

for employees at all levels to ensure 
improved balance and fairness between 
different groups of employees 

•  Reviewed and recommended grant  
of share options for certain senior 
employees to Remuneration Committee.

to the Company’s admission to AIM 
(admission took place on 27 July 2020, 
after the end of the reporting period)

•  Received briefing from NOMAD  

and corporate lawyer as to the listing  
and governance requirements associated  
with the Company’s listing on AIM

•  Reviewed the Company’s Articles of 

Association and proposed the adoption  
of hybrid general meetings (approved  
in General Meeting).

COVID-19
•  Reviewed and approved several market 
updates on trading and measures to 
improve liquidity and access to funding 

•  Approval of a two-staged increase  
in bank lending facilities, including  
a new £16.5 million CLBILS facility

•  Approval of the regulatory requirements 
associated with the delisting of the 
Company from the Main Market and  
its listing on AIM

•  Approval of shareholder circular in  

relation to a Placing and Placing and Open 
Offer to raise £15 million of new equity

•  Regular progress reviews of measures 

taken to minimise the Group’s cost base 
during the enforced closure period

•  Reviews of safety protocols for reopening  
to ensure that all reasonable measures 
were being taken in accordance with 
available guidance for the safe operation 
of venues for both staff and customers.

Revolución de Cuba Reading

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

43

C
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y
O
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Quality of life

Strategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements 
44 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOMINATION COMMITTEE

Report

Dear shareholder
I am pleased to introduce the report 
of the Nomination Committee for the 
52 weeks to 27 June 2020. 

Responsibilities
The Committee’s terms of reference  
can be found on the Group’s website  
and can be obtained from the Company 
Secretary. The responsibilities of the 
Committee, as covered in its terms of 
reference, include reviewing the Board 
composition, appointing new Directors, 
reappointment and re-election of existing 
Directors, succession planning taking into 
account the skills and expertise that will  
be needed on the Board in the future, 
reviewing the time requirement from 
Non-Executive Directors, determining 
membership of Board Committees and  
their modus operandi, and ensuring an 
objective evaluation of the performance  
of the Board and each Director takes  
place on a regular basis.

Composition
The Code recommends that a majority of 
members of the Nomination Committee 
should be independent Non-Executive 
Directors. The Committee is chaired by  
me as independent Non-Executive Chairman, 
and its other members are Jemima Bird and 
William Tuffy who are independent Non-
Executive Directors, and the Chief Executive 
officer (‘CEO’), Rob Pitcher. Accordingly, 
the Committee complies with the Code 
recommendation. By invitation, the meetings 
of the Committee may be attended by the 
Chief Financial Officer (‘CFO’) although this 
did not occur during the year under review. 

Meetings and attendance
During the 52 weeks ended 27 June 2020, 
the Nomination Committee met formally on 
two occasions with all members attending the 
meeting. A key item of business undertaken 
during the year was the recruitment of a 
Chief Financial Officer Designate following 
Mike Foster notifying the Board that he 
was planning to retire at a time convenient 
to the business. A thorough process was 
conducted by an Executive search agency 
and all members of the Board were involved 
in interviews and meetings before an 
appointment was confirmed. Danielle Davies 
joined the business as Chief Financial Officer 
Designate in July 2020 and has undergone 
an extensive induction programme working 
alongside Mike Foster and will be appointed 
as CFO when Mike Foster steps down at the 
conclusion of the AGM on 22 December 2020. 

The Committee also formally reviewed 
succession plans for all Board and senior 
management positions so that in the event 
of unforeseen events, there is a clear and 
agreed understanding of both the short-
term and long-term actions that would be 
implemented, and in certain cases other 
changes made to ensure that appropriate 
contingencies are in place and operational 
vulnerabilities minimised. 

The Committee will continue to meet formally 
at least once a year and at such other times 
as the Board or the Committee Chairman 
requires. The Committee has access to 
sufficient resources to carry out its duties, 
including the services of the Company 
Secretary. Independent external legal and 
professional advice is taken if the Committee 
believes it is necessary to do so, this typically 
being related to executive search matters  
and Board performance evaluation.

Election of Directors
On the recommendation of the Committee 
and in line with the Code, each of the 
Company’s serving Directors, other than 
Mike Foster, will stand for election at the 
forthcoming AGM and will subsequently offer 
themselves for re-election on an annual basis.

The biographical details of the Directors are 
set out on page 35. Following performance 
evaluations conducted during the year,  
the Committee is satisfied that the Directors 
who served during the 52 weeks ended 
27 June 2020 performed effectively and 
demonstrated commitment to their roles. 
Annual performance reviews will continue 
going forward.

We pride ourselves on being a diverse 
and inclusive business. All employees 
are welcomed and treated with respect, 
regardless of their background.”

Keith Edelman 
Chairman of the Nomination Committee

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

45

Employee Gender split 

Nomination committee executive/ 
non-executive analysis

Male

Female

Executive

Non-Executive

Diversity
We pride ourselves on being a diverse 
and inclusive business. All employees 
are welcomed and treated with respect, 
regardless of their background. We are 
committed to offering equal opportunities  
for colleagues to develop, progress  
and grow. 

The Committee supports the 
recommendations outlined in the Hampton-
Alexander Review “FTSE Women Leaders” 
and is aware of the need to increase the 
number of women on the Board and in other 
senior management positions. The Board 
strives to make appointments based on  
merit and against objective criteria to ensure 
the best individual is appointed for each  
role and that the appointee can add to or 
complement the existing range of skills and 
experience of the relevant team. However, 
the Board is also committed to equality and 
acknowledges that it must lead by example. 
Recent senior management appointments  
of Chief Financial Officer Designate, People 
Director, and Interim Marketing and Sales 
Director have all involved members of the 
Board in the appointment process and all 
appointees have been female. When Danielle 
Davies takes up her position as CFO, 40% 
(2019: 29%) of the positions at Board and 
senior management level will be female.  
This represents a significant step forward 
towards gender equality and the Board 
believes that appointing females to these  
key positions will help drive change 
throughout the Group. 

Our commitment to supporting equality 
and diversity has been demonstrated by 

being regularly represented at and actively 
participating in “Women in Hospitality, 
Travel and Leisure”, which is a forum for 
organisations in our industry sector to 
collaborate and work up tangible actions  
to improve diversity and inclusion across  
the sector. We have also provided support  
in the form of hosting facilities, including  
free food and drink, for Plan B mentoring 
events. Plan B mentoring is an initiative 
organised by a small group of female 
hospitality executives, to prepare senior 
women executives for Board level positions  
in our sector.

Of 2,968 employees, females represented 
approximately 45% of the workforce as at  
27 June 2020 (29 June 2019: 44%). The Group 
is committed to continuing to develop the 
potential of its female employees through 
its training programmes and its corporate 
development pipeline.

Diversity also encompasses background, 
ethnicity and disability. The Board is fully 
committed to the principles of equality  
and diversity throughout the business  
and recognises that there is more to achieve  
in this area. During the year, we introduced 
our Diversity and Inclusion strategy, focused 
solely on driving the right behaviours and 
actions across every part of the business.  
We have invested significant training 
resource to ensure that every employee 
understands and is fully engaged with  
the principles. Every employee has  
been required to undertake an online  
training module on equality and diversity. 
The training module concludes with a short 
test and the training does not complete  
until a pass has been achieved.

The Board acknowledges the recent protests 
against racism and understands that it needs 
to listen more closely to both our teams 
and our guests as part of our own ongoing 
education in these matters. We know that 
tackling inequality begins by understanding  
it, recognising it, and then calling it out.  
We are committed to listening more intently  
to our teams’ views and providing a safe 
place for them to share their ideas, thoughts, 
and feedback. This will better inform us, aid 
our understanding of the wider issues and 
ensure that both as a business and as a team 
we learn and move forward in the right way. 

Gender Pay Gap
Due to the disruption caused by the enforced 
closure of the business during COVID-19,  
and in accordance with the extension  
granted by the GEO and EHRC, the Group 
does not anticipate publishing its gender  
pay report until early 2021. The latest report 
can be downloaded from our corporate 
website at www.revolutionbarsgroup.com.

I hope to be able to take any questions  
from shareholders on the work of the 
Nomination Committee at the General 
Meeting on 15 February 2021 to approve  
the Annual Report and Accounts.

Keith Edelman 
Chairman of the Nomination Committee

16 December 2020

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements 
46 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

AUDIT COMMITTEE

Report

Dear shareholder
I am pleased to introduce the report 
of the Audit Committee for the  
52 weeks ended 27 June 2020.

The Code recommends that all members  
of the Committee be Non-Executive 
Directors, independent in character and 
judgement and free from any relationship or 
circumstance which may, could or would be 
likely to, or appear to, affect their judgement 
and that at least one such member has 
recent and relevant financial experience. 
Accordingly, the Committee comprises all 
three independent Non-Executive Directors 
including me as Committee Chairman, 
considered by the Board to have recent  
and relevant financial experience due to my 
previous experience as an Audit Committee 
Chair in another publicly listed company,  
in other senior financial roles, and my FCA 
and FCCA qualifications.

I have over 35 years’ experience in senior 
general and financial management roles in 
Retail, FMCG and property investment and 
management and have been involved with 
business transformation and turnaround 
projects in companies ranging from large 
multi-nationals to mid-sized businesses  
and start-ups. 

I have also held Non-Executive positions, 
including four years at Beale plc, during 
which I was initially senior independent 
Director and then Non-Executive Chairman. 
Whilst at Beale plc, I served as chair of both 
audit and remuneration committees. I have 
solid experience in retail and many other 
complementary sectors and am therefore 
suitably experienced to lead the Committee.

Regular Committee meetings are also 
normally attended by the Chief Financial 
Officer and our external auditor, PwC.  
The Chief Financial Officer, who is also  
the Company Secretary, acts as secretary  
to the Committee. Other members of 
management, particularly senior financial 
managers, may be invited to attend 
depending on the matters under discussion.

The Committee meets at least twice a year  
at the appropriate times in the reporting  
and audit cycle and seeks also to ensure  
that twice per annum there is an opportunity 
for meeting time with the external auditor 
without members of management present. 
The Committee was set up by the Board  
to assist it with its responsibilities in respect 
of financial reporting, including reviewing 
annual and half-year results, external 
auditing, internal controls, and advising on 
the independence and appointment of the 
external auditor. The Committee routinely 
reviews the impact of any upcoming changes 
in accounting treatment as a result of new 
or modified IFRS that are likely to materially 
impact the Group and also reviews as a matter 
of course any matters considered by the 
external auditor to be of significant audit risk.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (“PwC”)  
was appointed as the Group’s external 
auditor on 29 January 2018; the period  
under review represents their third year  
of audit. The Committee is satisfied that  
PwC has undertaken its responsibilities  
as the Group’s external auditor to a high 
standard and therefore the Committee will  
be recommending that PwC be reappointed 
as auditor at the General Meeting. The PwC 
audit partner responsible for the Group is 
Randal Casson.

During the year, the Directors continued  
to assess the following key areas:

•  Board governance, including the 
Committee and the procedure for 
assessing the Group’s key risks;

•  management accounting processes  

to ensure that high quality information  
is provided to the Board;

•  external financial reporting procedures 
and audit arrangements and reporting 
standards, with a particular focus in the 
current year on the impact and disclosures 
relating to IFRS 16;

•  complex transactions such as the 

arrangements to surrender and regear 
a number of leases including deferred 
consideration and a subsequent 
renegotiation of the consideration 
following the government enforced  
closure of venues, and the accounting  
for a number of unique circumstances, 
including reliefs provided by stakeholders 
as a result of COVID-19;

•  information systems; and

The Committee routinely reviews  
the impact of any upcoming changes  
in accounting treatment as a result  
of new or modified IFRS that are likely  
to materially impact the Group.”

William Tuffy 
Chair of the Audit Committee

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

47

•  budgeting and forecasting procedures  

and controls.

The Directors recognise the need to maintain 
robust financial reporting procedures, review 
them on a continuing basis and adapt them 
to changing circumstances. Their review 
forms part of the Committee’s agenda going 
forward together with its wider role and 
responsibilities, which are set out in more 
detail in this report.

I hope that I will be able to meet with 
shareholders at the General Meeting  
on 15 February 2021, at which the Annual  
Report and financial statements will be 
approved, to answer any questions on  
the work of the Audit Committee.

Assessing effectiveness  
of external audit process
Whilst the Committee does not rely  
solely on the work of the external auditor,  
it regards the breadth and quality of the  
work performed by the external auditor  
as contributing significantly to several of  
the Committee’s objectives, particularly 
regarding assurance relating to the accuracy 
and reliability of its external reporting  
and for reviewing objectively the Group’s  
systems and internal controls. For that 
reason, planning meetings are held with  
the external auditor to review their proposed 
work programmes and any recommendations 
made by the external auditor are reviewed  
in depth, as are their findings from their 
review of the interim and year end accounts. 
The Committee meets to discuss the 
performance of the external auditor and  
to consider priority areas for future work.

For the auditor to be fully effective, they  
must be totally independent from the 
Company. To that end, the Committee 
intends to ensure that no other work is 
performed by the external auditor so that 
their independence is not compromised.  
New EU legislation on permitted non-audit 
services came into effect from 17 June 2016 
which introduced a permitted non-audit 
services fee cap of 70% of the average audit 
fee over a consecutive three-year period.  
This cap came into effect for the Group in  
the financial period ended 27 June 2020. 
During the year, the value of non-audit 
services provided by the external auditor 
amounted to £0.02 million (2019: £0.02 
million). The non-audit services in the  
period under review related only to an  
interim review; whilst this is classified as 
non-audit work, the Committee believes  
that it is incidental to the role as auditor and  
is supportive to performing its role as auditor. 

Role and responsibilities
The Committee’s terms of reference can  
be found on the Group’s website or may  
be obtained from the Company Secretary.

The primary function of the Audit  
Committee is to assist the Board in fulfilling 
its responsibilities to protect the interests of 
shareholders as to the integrity of financial 
reporting, audit, risk management and 
internal controls. In doing so the Committee 
shall act in a way which would be most likely  
to promote the success of the Company for 
the benefit of its members as a whole and  
in so doing have regard (amongst other 
matters) to: 

•  the likely long-term consequences  

of any decision; 

•  the impact of the Company’s operations  
on the community and the environment; 

•  the desirability of the Company maintaining 
a reputation for high standards of business 
conduct; and

•  any other matters required to be 

considered in accordance with section  
172 of the Companies Act 2006.

External audit 

•  Audit tender process: The Committee 
oversees the exercise of undertaking  
a tender for external audit services  
as required. The last such tender was  
in 2018. 

•  Appointment, reappointment and 
dismissal of auditor: Taking into  
account the obligations noted above,  
the Committee considers and makes 
recommendations to the Board, to be  
put to the shareholders for approval at  
the AGM, regarding the appointment and 
reappointment or dismissal of the external 
auditor. The Committee oversees the 
selection process of new auditors and 
ensures that all firms participating in the 
tender process are given access to such 
information and individuals as may be 
appropriate. If an auditor resigns the 
Committee investigates the circumstances 
and decides whether any action is required. 

•  Remuneration of auditor: The Committee 
approves the remuneration and terms  
of engagement, including an engagement 
letter, ensuring that the level of fees is 
appropriate to enable an effective and 
high-quality audit to be conducted.  
The Committee reviews the audit fees 
annually and also considers any other  
fees proposed in respect of non-audit 
activities, particularly in relation to the 
impact this may have on independence, 
taking into account the relevant regulations 
and ethical guidance on the subject. 

•  Independence of auditor: The Committee, 
at least annually, reviews and satisfies itself 
with the independence and objectivity  
of the external auditor, in consideration  
of relevant UK professional and regulatory 
guidelines. The Committee satisfies itself 
that there are no relationships such as 

family employment or financial investment, 
or other business arrangements between 
the Group and the auditor, other than in 
the ordinary course of business and also 
monitors the auditor’s compliance with 
relevant ethical and professional guidance 
on the rotation of audit partners, the level 
of fees paid by the Company compared  
to the overall fee income of the firm, office, 
partner and other related requirements. 

•  Audit effectiveness: The Committee 

reviews the effectiveness of the external 
audit process, taking account of relevant UK 
professional and regulatory requirements. 

•  Employment of former employees  

of auditors: The Committee recommends 
to the Board a policy on the employment 
of former employees of the auditors and 
monitors implementation of this policy. 

•  Audit qualifications: The Committee 
annually assesses the qualifications  
of the auditors, their expertise and 
resources, as well as the effectiveness  
of the audit process.

•  Co-ordination with internal audit:  
The Committee seeks to ensure 
coordination of internal audit activities 
alongside the external audit. 

•  Audit planning: The Committee meets 

regularly with the auditors including at the 
planning stage for the year end, where the 
scope of the audit and the annual audit 
plan are considered in relation to areas of 
high risk based on business developments 
and performance in the year, and post the 
detailed audit work and prior to finalisation 
of the financial statements. The Committee 
reviews the findings of the audit and 
discusses any major issues arising during 
the audit, any relevant accounting and audit 
judgements, the levels of errors identified 
during the audit and the effectiveness of  
the audit. The Committee also discusses any 
matters the auditor wishes to raise (in the 
absence of management, if appropriate).  
The Committee ensures that any 
representation letters, management  
letters and responses from management 
are reviewed and acted upon. 

Financial statements 

•  Integrity of financial statements:  

The Committee monitors the integrity  
of the financial statements by a process of 
reviewing and challenging, as appropriate: 

- 

- 

 the consistency of or changes to 
accounting practices and policies  
across the Group; 

 the methods used to account for 
significant or unusual transactions  
where different approaches may  
give materially different outcomes; 

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements 
 
48 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

AUDIT COMMITTEE

Report continued

Financial statements continued

- 

 whether the Group has followed 
appropriate accounting standards 
and made appropriate estimates and 
judgements, and considering the views  
of the external auditor; and

- 

 the clarity of disclosure in the Company’s 
financial statements and the corporate 
governance statement, 

and reports to the Board if it is not  
satisfied with any aspect of the proposed 
financial statements. 

•  Significant issues and judgements:  

The Committee reviews and may report 
to the Board for ratification of significant 
financial reporting issues and critical 
judgements contained in the financial 
statements, particularly if the auditors have 
expressed any uncertainty or concerns. 

•  Other statements containing financial 

information: The Committee reviews other 
statements containing financial information 
where a review prior to Board approval is 
practicable and consistent with any prompt 
reporting requirements under any law or 
regulation including the AIM Regulations. 

•  Annual Report and Accounts: The 

Committee reviews the content of the 
Annual Report and Accounts and advises 
the Board on whether, taken as a whole, 
it is fair, balanced and understandable 
and provides the information necessary 
for shareholders to assess the Company’s 
performance, business model and strategy, 
and whether it informs the Board’s 
statement in the Annual Report on these 
matters as required under the Code.

Other matters 

•  Corporate Governance: The Committee 
gives due consideration to laws and 
regulations, the provisions of the UK 
Corporate Governance Code and the 
requirements of the AIM Regulations and 
any other applicable rules, as appropriate.

•  Whistleblowing: The Committee reviews 
the Group’s procedures for handling 
allegations from whistleblowers and 
ensures that these arrangements allow 
for proportionate and independent 
investigation of such matters and 
appropriate follow up. The Committee 
reviews the Company’s procedures for 
detecting fraud and the systems and 
controls for the prevention of bribery  
and receives reports of non-compliance. 

•  Training: The Committee is provided with 
appropriate and timely training, both in  
the form of an induction programme for  
new members and on an ongoing basis  
for all members. 

•  S172 CA2006: The Committee assists 
the Board in relation to preparing the 

statement required to be published 
annually describing how the Directors have 
had regard to the matters set out in section 
172 of the Companies Act 2006.

•  Performance review: The Committee 
arranges for periodic reviews of its own 
performance, and, at least annually, 
reviews its constitution and terms of 
reference, to ensure that it is operating at 
maximum effectiveness and recommends 
any changes that it considers necessary  
to the Board for approval.

Meetings and attendance
During the 52 weeks ended 27 June 2020, 
the Audit Committee met formally on three 
occasions (two physical and one virtual), 
with all members attending the two physical 
meetings and Jemima Bird unable to attend 
the virtual meeting. At two of the meetings, 
the Committee had access to the external 
auditor without management present. 

Work performed by the Committee during  
the year has included:

•  reviewing the Annual Report and  

Accounts for 2019 and recommending  
to the Board its adoption as fair, balanced 
and understandable. In fulfilling this task, 
the Committee reviewed the process 
undertaken to produce the Annual Report 
and Accounts 2019, which included  
internal verification processes and  
content approval procedures;

•  reviewing the Group’s accounting  

policies and critical judgements and 
sources of estimation and uncertainty; 

•  reviewing the designation of certain items 
of income and expenditure as Exceptional;

•  reviewing compliance with and explaining 
any exceptions from the UK Corporate 
Governance Code;

•  reviewing the independence and 

objectivity of PwC as external auditor, 
together with its effectiveness, following 
the 2019 audit and recommending its 
appointment to shareholders at the  
AGM in November 2019;

•  reviewing the transitional rules for the 

implementation of IFRS 16, its impact on  
the presentation of the financial statements 
and the adoption of pro forma disclosures  
in order to show IAS 17 comparatives in  
the FY20 reporting; 

•  receiving the external auditor’s report 

to the Committee in respect of the FY20 
interim audit review;

•  reviewing and approving the external audit 
plan for the 52 weeks ended 27 June 2020;

•  receiving the external auditor’s reports 
to the Committee and acting on any 
recommendations therein; and

•  considering the risk assessment, mitigation 
actions and assurance activities produced 
by management.

Internal audit
The Group does not have an internal audit 
function and to date has considered that 
the key risks to the business are covered 
by a combination of resources including its 
compliance department, stock-takers and 
area managers.

The Group’s compliance department  
is responsible for managing many of the 
principal risks facing the business concerning 
alcohol licensing and health and safety. Their 
work is supported by external consultants 
and as part of these arrangements annual 
contracts are in place to provide at least 
two audit visits per annum to every trading 
venue by fully qualified health and safety 
advisers. Additionally, the Group’s compliance 
department monitors and acts on any matters 
relating to cash and stock losses.

For most of the period under review, the 
Group employed four stock-takers who check 
stocks and other compliance matters such  
as cash controls on a risk assessed basis. 
Each bar’s stock is counted on average 
between six and eight times per annum. 
Stock-take results are reviewed by both 
operational and compliance management 
immediately the results become available.

An important element of the area manager’s 
role is to perform spot checks on cash, stocks, 
licensing and health and safety matters, 
as part of their regular site visits. The area 
manager assessments are used, amongst 
other things, for performance assessing 
general managers; poor scores relating to 
these matters and brand standards reduce 
the bonus earnings potential of a bar’s 
management team. 

Risk Committee
To strengthen and complement the Audit 
function, a Risk Committee is chaired by 
the Chief Financial Officer and comprises 
several members of the senior management 
team including the Heads of Compliance, 
Property, Operations, Food, IT and People. 
The purpose of the Committee is:

•  to identify, mitigate and prevent risk  

as far as possible;

•  to protect the financial, physical and 
reputational image of the business;

•  to ensure that the Group fulfils its legal  

and statutory obligations; and

•  to ensure visibility and transparency  

over controls.

The Committee’s terms of reference are 
available from the Company Secretary and 

 
 
Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

49

can be found on the Company’s website  
at www.revolutionbarsgroup.com.

During the period, the Committee was only 
able to hold two of its quarterly meetings with 
all members or their deputies attending those 
meetings. Post the government enforced 
closure of venues in March 2020, a key focus 
for the business was preparing for being 
able to reopen and operate in a safe manner 
for all staff and customers and this was a 
key agenda item at all senior management 
team meetings rendering the quarterly Risk 
Committee meetings during this period 
unnecessary. The key activities of the 
Committee during the period have been:

•  to monitor the audits carried out by the 
external consultants and to ensure any 
critical issues identified have been rectified 
in a timely function;

•  to monitor health and safety standards  

in bars including compliance certification, 
reviews of updated risk assessments, and 
compliance with all matters concerning 
food safety;

•  to review serious incidents involving  
staff or customers to ensure that all  
lessons are learned and that any necessary 
improvements to controls and procedures 
to prevent a recurrence are acted upon;

•  to ensure the Company adheres strictly 
to the licensing objectives to protect all 
premises’ licenses;

•  to ensure that all changes in relevant 
legislation and policies are identified  
and acted upon in a timely manner; and

•  to review insurance policies and coverage.

Significant accounting matters
In reviewing the financial statements  
with management and the external auditor,  
the Committee has discussed and debated 
the critical accounting judgements and  
key sources of estimation uncertainty  
as set out in note 1 to the consolidated 
financial statements. 

As a result of its review, the Committee  
has identified the following issues that 
require particular judgement or have 
significant impact on the interpretation of  
the Annual Report and Accounts for 2020:

•  Accrued rebates from suppliers:  

Rebates are usually invoiced on a monthly  
or quarterly basis based on supplied 
volumes and whilst these can usually be 
quickly assessed post-period, judgements 
are sometimes required as to whether 
longer-term contractual thresholds will be 
met. Good records are maintained in this 
area to monitor volumes on a contract by 
contract basis and reviewed monthly by 
senior finance management, thus minimising 
the degree of judgement required.  

There is further complexity this year 
because of the suspension of trade in  
the last 14 weeks of the reporting period  
as a result of the enforced closure of  
bars. All major supplier contracts have 
been extended or terms modified in  
order to ensure that commitments to 
contractual volumes can be maintained. 
Where relevant, the Committee is satisfied 
that appropriate judgements have  
been made.

•  Carrying value of fixed assets: The Group 
keeps the carrying value of its fixed assets 
under review. Formal procedures are used 
in each external reporting period to assess 
the appropriateness of the balance sheet 
asset carrying values. Due to the adoption 
of IFRS 16 in FY20, right-of-use assets have 
been recognised in respect of leasehold 
properties, substantially increasing 
reported tangible asset values and 
necessitating more extensive and rigorous 
impairment testing. Also, the ongoing and 
frequently changing operating restrictions 
and rules and availability of government 
support has caused significant difficulty in 
assessing the near-term and medium-term 
trading outlook. Impairment calculations 
are based upon assumptions that were 
considered reasonable as at the balance 
sheet date. However, given the delay to 
publishing the financial statements and 
that trading backdrop has subsequently 
proved to be worse than was generally 
expected, additional disclosures are given 
in note 1 to the financial statements to 
provide an understanding of the charges 
that would have resulted had the current 
less favourable outlook been apparent  
at the balance sheet date. The Committee 
has considered and approved the 
assumptions regarding trading outlook  
at both the balance sheet date and  
at the date of signing the accounts,  
as well as scrutinised all resultant 
impairment charges. The Committee has 
also approved a dilapidations provision  
to recognise that amounts may be payable 
on the expiration of lease terms if the 
Group is unable or unwilling to extend  
the lease on agreeable terms.

•  Capitalisation of property, plant and 

equipment: The Committee has reviewed 
capitalisation policies, in particular the 
capitalisation of internal costs in relation 
to property development and IT systems 
development and is satisfied that its  
policies and the amounts capitalised  
are appropriate.

•  Exceptional items: Exceptional items  
on a pre-tax basis of £21.9 million  
(2019: £7.1 million) represent a material  
item in the profit and loss account.  
The charge in the reporting period 
comprises a gain on disposal from 

surrender of leases, impairment of property, 
plant and equipment and right-of-use 
assets, and costs involved with the delist to 
AIM (see note 3 to the consolidated financial 
statements). The Committee considered the 
appropriateness of presenting these items 
as exceptional.

•  Post balance sheet event: Since the 

end of the reporting period, a number 
of agreements have been made with 
landlords relating to waiving rent that was 
accrued as at the end of the FY20 period 
and/or regearing leases by extending the 
lease term in return for short-term rent 
relief. Also, the Group’s wholly owned 
subsidiary entity, Revolution Bars Limited, 
undertook a CVA that was approved by 
creditors on 13 November 2020, resulting 
in certain rental liabilities being waived 
and the Group exiting five leasehold 
properties. These matters are disclosed  
in note 27 of the financial statements;  
the Committee has carefully considered 
and approved these disclosures.

•  Going concern: The Committee recognises 
that with the degree of uncertainty in the 
trading outlook and the ever changing 
position of both the UK government 
and the devolved administrations, and 
notwithstanding that the business has 
a level of liquidity that under normal 
circumstances would be more than 
adequate to allow going concern sign-
off of the financial statements, it is right 
to reference material uncertainty when 
considering going concern statements. 
Detailed descriptions are given with regard 
to the Board’s assumptions on its base 
case forecast scenario as well as a severe 
but plausible downside forecast scenario 
so that users of the accounts are able to 
understand the trading backdrops that 
would likely require a further injection 
of liquidity over and above that which is 
currently committed. The Committee has 
carefully studied the assumptions relating 
to both sets of projections and believes 
that they are sensible and appropriate  
to the circumstances.

The Committee reviewed reports  
presented by PwC detailing its key audit 
findings in relation to the above matters.

William Tuffy 
Chair of the Audit Committee

16 December 2020

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements50 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

DIRECTORS’ REMUNERATION

Report

Dear shareholder
I am pleased to present, on behalf of 
the Board, the Directors’ Remuneration 
Report of the Remuneration Committee.

Annual  
Statement 

Following the Company’s switch to AIM, the Company is not  
required to apply the full Listing Rules of the Financial Conduct  
Authority or the requirements under SI 2008/410 Schedule 8 and  
hence is not required to present a report on remuneration in accordance 
with those rules. However, the Board considers it appropriate for  
the Company to provide shareholders with information in respect  
of executive remuneration that follows the “spirit” of the Regulations  
given previous disclosures before the Company switched to AIM.

As I write, the Committee is continuing to deal with the impacts  
of COVID-19 (‘COVID’) on remuneration at Revolution. We have  
faced significant challenges in respect of COVID and these are  
certainly unprecedented times for all of our stakeholders. As such,  
the Committee:

•  agreed a reduction in Board salaries/

fees by 50%, as well as implementation of 
20% salary reductions across other senior 
employees remaining in work, with effect 
from 1 April 2020. Details of the current 
reductions in place are set out in the 
Annual Report on Remuneration;

•  postponed the introduction of the FY21 
annual bonus until at least the end of 
calendar year 2020, at which point 
consideration will be given as to whether  
it may be appropriate to operate a bonus  
for the second half of the FY21 financial 
year; and

•  determined that no annual bonuses would 
be awarded to the Executive Directors for 
the FY20 accounting period;

•  carried out a review of long-term incentive 
provision at the Company, the conclusions 
of which are set out below.

This has been a year like no other in 
the Group’s history, and one that has 
stretched the senior management team 
to new limits. Rarely does such good 
underlying business progress and high 
personal performance go without reward.”

Jemima Bird 
Chair of the Remuneration Committee

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

51

Performance and reward in relation 
to the 52 weeks ended 27 June 2020
Whilst the impact of COVID has severely 
impacted financial performance and will 
continue to do so for the foreseeable future, 
there had been a pleasing improvement in 
the underlying performance of the business  
in the first half year and indeed right up 
until the onset of COVID. Adjusted EBITDA 
in the first half stepped forward by 10.6% to 
£7.6 million (IAS 17) and improvements were 
achieved in many of the strategic measures 
including like-for-like sales, customer 
feedback scores, health & safety audits and 
employee net promoter scores. There was 
strong evidence that the turnaround strategy 
put in place by the new management team 
was bearing fruit and indeed the performance 
improvement was accelerating. This excellent 
progress has of course been suspended 
and the priorities of the senior team shifted 
completely to ensuring the survival of the 
business through careful cash management, 
engaging with all stakeholders including 
suppliers and landlords to elicit support, 
ensuring that the Group was able to take 
maximum advantage of the many forms of 
government support, and improving cash 
liquidity through agreeing a substantial 
increase in debt funding facility and an equity 
fundraise. At the same time, operational 
priorities focused on how the business could 
trade safely and profitably when reopening 
was possible.

This has been a year like no other in the 
Group’s history, and one that has stretched  
the senior management team to new limits. 
Rarely does such good underlying business 
progress and high personal performances  
go without reward. However, the management 
team, working closely with the Committee 
throughout this difficult period, agreed 
significant salary reductions to support the 
business and to show solidarity with many 
other stakeholders who have provided 
support through this challenging period, 
and concluded that it was not appropriate 
to accept annual bonus awards for the 
FY20 financial period irrespective of any 
performance targets that were met.

Remuneration policy changes
Following a comprehensive review of the 
current Remuneration Policy, the Committee 
wishes to make changes to the Policy and 
the way that it is implemented, with the main 
proposal being a switch from awards granted 
under a Performance Share Plan (“PSP”) to 
granting Restricted Share Awards (“RSAs”). 
The proposed switch from PSPs to RSAs  
is being suggested because it:

•  reflects the difficulty in setting robust 

meaningful long-term targets at Revolution 
as a result of the uncertainty surrounding 
the impact of COVID on the Company  
and the leisure sector more widely;

•  reflects the need to continue to motivate 

the senior executive team, which the Board 
believes has worked tirelessly to protect 
the Group’s ongoing viability (as covered 
extensively in our RNS announcements 
including the recent successful Company 
Voluntary Arrangement) and which the 
Board believes is the right team to take  
the Company forwards;

•  better aligns to the short- and long-term 
objectives to deliver our recovery plan 
and therefore a recovery in the share 
price. The RSA structure, with enhanced 
shareholding guidelines (see below) will 
ensure that management and shareholder 
interests are more closely aligned; and

•  will simplify remuneration arrangements 

significantly, degear them and will  
increase transparency.

In addition to the above, the Remuneration 
Committee is extremely conscious of the 
political and societal influences to reduce  
and significantly degear executive pay levels.

The Policy changes being proposed are  
as follows:

•  PSP awards will be replaced by RSAs.  
The ability to grant PSP awards, up 
to 200% of salary (300% of salary in 
exceptional circumstances), will therefore 
be removed from the Policy. Following the 
2020 AGM, and then annually thereafter, 
Executive Directors may receive RSAs: 

-   of up to 100% of salary. This represents  

a 50% reduction to the normal PSP award 
limit (200% of salary), and no exceptional 

limit will operate. However, it should  
be noted that initial award levels will be 
materially lower than this (see below);

-   which will normally vest after three  

years from grant, subject to: (i) continued 
employment; (ii) satisfactory personal 
performance during the relevant vesting 
periods; and (iii) a positive assessment 
of performance against an underpin  
(see below); and

-   which, once vested, may not be sold 
until at least five years from the grant 
date (other than to pay relevant taxes).

•    Underpin: For RSAs granted to Executive 
Directors to vest, the Committee must 
be satisfied that Revolution’s underlying 
performance and delivery against its 
strategy and recovery plans are sufficient 
to justify the level of vesting having 
regard to such factors as the Committee 
considers to be appropriate in the round 
(including revenue, earnings and share 
price performance) and the shareholder 
experience more generally (including  
the risk of windfall gains). Full disclosure 
of the Committee’s assessment of the 
underpin in respect of a vesting event 
will be set out in the relevant Directors’ 
Remuneration Report;

•    Conventional best practice share plan 

provisions regarding dividend equivalents, 
leaver and change of control arrangements 
will operate. Going forward, a 10% in  
ten-year dilution limit will apply;

•  The shareholding guidelines will be 

increased from 100% to 200% of salary 
given that the RSA structure will enable  
the Executive Directors to build a 
shareholding in the Company, further 
reinforcing alignment with shareholders;

•  Malus and clawback provisions will be 

enhanced (corporate failure and insolvency 
triggers will be added).

Given the above, in addition to amending the 
Remuneration Policy, approval will be sought 
to amend the rules of the existing PSP to 
enable Executive Directors to receive RSAs 
as detailed above. Full details in respect of 
the above can be found in the 2020 Notice 
of AGM found at: www.revolutionbarsgroup.
com/investors/shareholder-centre/agm/.

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements 
 
 
52 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

Revolución de Cuba Manchester

DIRECTORS’ REMUNERATION

Report continued

Remuneration policy  
changes continued
Implementation of the policy in FY21

In respect of operating the Remuneration 
Policy in FY21:

•  The base salaries of the Executive Director 
(and Non-Executive Director fees) were 
reduced to 50% of normal levels from  
29 March 2020, subsequently increased  
to 80% of normal levels from 1 August 
2020 and returned to 100% of normal 
levels from 1 October 2020. They were 
again reduced to 75% of normal levels 
from 8 November 2020 in light of the latest 
national restrictions introduced by the  
UK Government from 5 November 2020.

•  No changes will be made to benefits or 
pension provisions although new Board 
appointments will receive workforce 
aligned pension provision.

•  There is to be no annual bonus scheme for 
at least the first half year because it is not 
possible to set sensible targets whilst so 
much uncertainty prevails around trading 
potential due to both the impact of COVID 
and the ongoing government imposed 
operating restrictions. The Committee 
intends to undertake a further review 
in January 2021 and may implement 
a bonus scheme on a pro rata basis if 
market conditions have improved and the 
Committee believes it is possible to set 
credible targets and objectives, and that 
operating the bonus scheme is appropriate 
taking account of all other factors.

•  Shareholding guidelines will be increased 

to 200% of salary.

Committee activities
The Committee met six times during the  
year (three physical and three virtual) with  
full attendance save for one meeting at  
which William Tuffy was unable to attend.  
The Committee’s main activities were to:

•  determine the Chairman’s fee and the 

framework and policy for the remuneration 
of the Executive Directors and other 
members of the Executive Committee and 
ensure that they remained appropriate  
in light of COVID;

•  advise on the design of, and to  

determine and agree, the total individual 
remuneration package of each of the 
Executive Directors and other members 
of the Executive Committee, giving due 
regard to any relevant legal requirements, 
the provisions and recommendations set 
out in the prevailing Code and the AIM 
Rules and associated guidance;

•  consider and approve the design of, 
and targets for, annual and long-term 
performance-related pay schemes 
operated for the Executive Directors 
and other members of the Executive 
Committee, the total annual payments 
made under such schemes and provide 
oversight and guidance in relation to other 
Group-wide incentive proposals to ensure 
that these are aligned to performance,  
the Group’s core values and the Board’s  
risk appetite;

•  Following the 2020 AGM (and subject 
to shareholders approving the relevant 
resolutions), the Committee intends  
to grant RSAs which will: 

•  oversee remuneration and benefit 

structures and policies throughout the 
Group’s business and to give advice  
on any major changes; and

-   be set at no more than 30% of salary  
for Executive Directors. Subsequent 
annual awards are expected to be at 
similar award levels although may be 
increased in line with a recovery in the 
Company’s share price (e.g. to 50% 
of salary) and to the extent that share 
usage is considered appropriate; and

-   vest after three years from the grant 

date, subject to continued employment, 
satisfactory individual performance and 
a positive assessment of performance 
against the underpin (see Policy section 
above). No shares can be disposed of 
by Executive Directors until at least 
five years from grant, other than those 
required to settle any taxes directly 
related to the vesting of those shares.

•  No changes will be made to the outstanding 
PSP/share awards (all of which are expected 
to lapse).

•  consider the impact on remuneration 

practices and the Remuneration Policy  
of the switch to AIM.

In addition, the Committee has considered 
how the Policy and practices are consistent 
with the six factors set out in Provision 40  
of the new UK Corporate Governance Code:

•  Clarity: Our Policy is understood by  

our senior executive team and has been 
clearly articulated to our shareholders and 
representative bodies (both on an ongoing 
basis and when changes are proposed).

•  Simplicity: The Committee is mindful of the 
need to avoid overly complex remuneration 
structures which can be misunderstood and 
deliver unintended outcomes. Therefore,  
a key objective of the Committee is to 
ensure that our executive remuneration 
policies and practices are straightforward  
to communicate and operate and the 
current approach will be reviewed in 
advance of the 2021 AGM.

•  Risk: Our Policy has been designed to 
ensure that inappropriate risk-taking is 
discouraged and will not be rewarded  
via: (i) the balanced use of annual and  
long-term pay, which employs a blend  
of financial, non-financial and shareholder 
return targets; (ii) the significant role played 
by equity in our incentive plans; and (iii) 
malus/clawback provisions.

•  Predictability: Our incentive plans are 

subject to individual caps and our share 
plans are also subject to market standard 
dilution limits.

•  Proportionality: There is a clear link 

between individual awards, delivery of 
strategy and our long-term performance 
and incentive/“at-risk” pay, together with 
the structure of the Executive Board 
directors’ service contracts, ensures  
that poor performance is not rewarded.

•  Alignment to culture: Our executive pay 
policies are fully aligned to Revolution’s 
culture through the use of metrics in our 
annual incentive plans that measure how 
we perform against our KPIs.

The Committee’s terms of reference are 
available from the Company Secretary and 
can be found on the Company’s website  
at www.revolutionbarsgroup.com.

Shareholder feedback
The Committee consulted with its major 
shareholders and the main shareholder 
representatives in respect of the new 
Remuneration Policy which will be  
submitted to shareholders for approval  
at the 2020 AGM. That said, the Committee 
welcomes any feedback on this report  
and the proposed Remuneration Policy  
and its implementation in general.

On behalf of the Board, I would like to  
thank shareholders for their continued 
support, and I look forward to your approval 
of our updated Remuneration Policy at the 
2020 AGM.

Jemima Bird 
Chair of the Remuneration Committee

16 December 2020

 
 
Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

53

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54 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

DIRECTORS’ REMUNERATION

Report continued

Directors’ Remuneration Policy

As detailed in the Annual Statement, following a comprehensive 
review of the existing Directors’ Remuneration Policy (as can be 
found at https://www.revolutionbarsgroup.com/media/1100/annual-
report-2018.pdf) which was approved by shareholders at the 2018 
Annual General Meeting and noting the Company’s recent switch  
to AIM, an updated Directors’ Remuneration Policy is proposed  
to take effect from the 2020 Annual General Meeting. 

Annual Report on Remuneration
Composition of the Remuneration Committee (unaudited)
The Committee currently consists of Jemima Bird (Committee Chair), 
Keith Edelman and William Tuffy. None of the Committee has any 
personal financial interest (other than as a shareholder), conflicts  
of interest from cross-directorships, or day-to-day involvement in  
the running of the business. 

The Chief Executive Officer (‘CEO’) and Chief Financial Officer 
(‘CFO’) are invited to attend meetings, although are not present when 
matters affecting their own remuneration are discussed. The Company 
Secretary or their nominee acts as secretary to the Committee.

As the Company’s shares now trade on AIM, shareholder approval  
for the new Policy by way of a binding vote in General Meeting is  
not required (in contrast to when the Company’s shares were traded  
on the main market of the London Stock Exchange). Nevertheless,  
the Board and its Remuneration Committee considers that it is 
appropriate for the Company’s shareholders to be provided an advisory 
vote regarding the updated policy, details of which can be found at  
www.revolutionbarsgroup.com/investors/shareholder-centre/agm/.

The Committee receives independent remuneration advice from  
FIT Remuneration Consultants LLP (FIT) on aspects of senior 
executive remuneration. FIT is a member of the Remuneration 
Consultants Group and is a signatory to its code of conduct. FIT 
has no connection with Revolution Bars Group plc other than in 
the provision of advice on executive remuneration. The terms of 
engagement are available from the Company Secretary on request. 

Implementation of the remuneration policy in the 53 weeks ending 3 July 2021 (unaudited)
Base annual salary

Current Executive Director salary levels are as follows:

Role

Chief Executive Officer

Chief Financial Officer

Director

From 1 April 2020*

From 1 April 2019

% Increase

Rob Pitcher

Mike Foster

£350,000

£204,000

£350,000

£204,000

0%

0%

* 

 Salaries shown from 1 April 2020 are the contractual salaries applicable. As a result of the government enforced closure of the Group’s trading venues, the Directors agreed to defer the 
normal annual salary review and furthermore agreed a temporary 50% salary reduction from 29 March 2020. Subsequently, following the commencement of reopening trading venues 
in July 2020, the salary reduction changed to 80% of normal levels from 1 August 2020 and returned to contractual levels from 1 October 2020. However, in light of the latest national 
restrictions introduced by the UK Government from 5 November 2020, salaries were reduced to 75% of normal levels from 8 November 2020 and these reductions continue to apply. 

Annual bonus

Trading conditions since the enforced lockdown of the Group’s bars 
on 20 March 2020 and the ongoing restrictions severely impacting 
operations, despite being able to reopen from 4 July 2020, has meant 
that it has been impossible to set realistic trading performance targets 
for FY21. The priorities for the Directors as the bars reopen are to 
operate safely with both staff and customer health at the forefront of  
all decision-making, and to focus on cash management and liquidity  
to ensure the business remains a going concern.  

The FY20 financial period was significantly compromised by COVID 
and clearly FY21 will be also and, given that backdrop, the Committee 
has determined that it is not appropriate to operate a bonus scheme 
for the remainder of the 2020 calendar year at least. The Committee 
intends to undertake a further review in January 2021 to decide 
whether a bonus scheme may be appropriate for the second half  
of the FY21 reporting period; should that be possible it would operate 
on a pro rata basis.

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

55

Share awards

Due to the devastating impact of COVID on the Company’s financial 
performance and share price and a long recovery period ahead, there 
is negligible prospect of any of the outstanding share awards vesting. 
The Committee also recognises that the recent Placing and Placing 
and Open Offer, significantly increasing the number of shares in issue 
from 50 million to 125 million, necessitated shares being issued at a 
substantial discount and significantly broadened the shareholder base. 
Aligning incentivisation plans with the interests of shareholders remains 
a priority and therefore the Committee intends to grant Restricted 
Share Awards to Executive Directors. As such, following the 2020 AGM 
(and subject to shareholders approving the relevant resolutions), the 
Committee intends to grant RSAs which will:

•  be set at no more than 30% of salary for Executive Directors. 

Subsequent annual awards are expected to be at similar levels 
although the award levels may be increased in line with a recovery  
in the Company’s share price (e.g. to 50% of salary) and to the 
extent that share usage is considered appropriate; and

•  vest after three years from the grant date, subject to continued 
employment, satisfactory individual performance and a positive 
assessment of performance against the underpin (see Policy 
section above). No shares can be sold by Executive Directors until  
at least five years from grant, other than those required to settle  
any taxes directly related to the vesting of the shares.

No changes will be made to the outstanding PSP/share awards  
(all of which are expected to lapse); and Shareholding guidelines  
will be increased to 200% of salary.

Non-Executive Directors’ fees and incentives
There will be no increases in Non-Executive Director’s fees for FY21. Non-Executive Directors agreed to the same temporary reductions  
in fees as for Executive Directors’ salaries (as noted above) from the same dates.

Directors’ remuneration for the 52 weeks ended 27 June 2020 (audited)

Fees/ Salary 
£’000

Taxable 
benefits1  
£’000

Pension2 
£’000

Annual  
Bonus  
£’000

Long-term 
incentives 
£’000 

Total  
£’000

Executive Directors

Rob Pitcher

Mike Foster

Non-Executive Directors

Keith Edelman

Jemima Bird

William Tuffy3

Former Directors

Mark McQuater4

Michael Shallow5

Aggregate emoluments 

2020

2019

2020

2019

2020

2019

2020

2019

2020

2019

2019

2019

2020

2019

310

350

180

201

80

90

31

33

31

20

145

17

632

856

17

16

20

18

–

–

–

–

–

–

3

–

37

37

42

44

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

42

44

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

369

410

200

219

80

90

31

33

31

20

148

17

711

937

1 

Taxable benefits comprise medical insurance policies and car allowances.

2  A pension provision/salary supplement of 15% of salary was provided to Rob Pitcher. No pension provision was provided to Mike Foster.

3  William Tuffy was appointed to the Board effective 26 November 2018. 

4 

 Mark McQuater stepped down from the Board on 17 October 2017 and ceased employment on 2 February 2018; he received his normal pay and benefits  
for part of the 2019 reporting period to the end of his garden leave in line with his contractual arrangements (as reported last year).

5  Michael Shallow resigned from the Board effective 26 November 2018.

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements56 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

DIRECTORS’ REMUNERATION

Report continued

Annual Report on Remuneration continued
Annual bonus (unaudited)
For the 52 weeks ended 27 June 2020, an annual bonus plan was operated for the Executive Directors with 70% of the full potential bonus 
based on EBITDA performance and 30% based on strategic targets. The targets and performance against the financial metrics were as follows:

Financial Objectives

Adjusted EBITDA (£’000)

Strategic Targets

-  Like-for-like sales growth

-  Customer feedback

-  Health & Safety audits

-  Employee net promoter scores

Target

Stretch

Performance 
outcome

Weighting

Outcome (% of 
max bonus)

Annual Bonus

12,500

14,375

2.0%

745

83.5%

33.0%

8.0%

790

88.0%

40.0%

85

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

70.0%

7.5%

7.5%

7.5%

7.5%

100.0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

Business performance prior to the government-imposed lockdown of restaurants, pubs and bars in March 2020 was close to target  
against all measures (all measures were just below target other than customer feedback scores, which were on target) and all measures  
were on improving trends. The cessation of trade for the last 14 weeks of the reporting period substantially impacted adjusted EBITDA  
and there was no basis for continuing to track the strategic measures. The Committee acknowledged that progress had been made in the  
year on many of the measures but, recognising the devastating impact of COVID on business performance and its adverse implications  
for all stakeholders, that additional funding had been provided to the business through an equity raise and a government-backed bank  
debt facility, and that a very significant proportion of the Group’s employees were in receipt of government furlough pay, the Committee 
decided that award of any bonus was clearly not appropriate.

PSP awards vesting in FY20 (audited)
No PSP awards held by Executive Directors vested in respect of performance to 27 June 2020.

PSP awards granted in FY20 (audited)
The following PSP award was issued to an Executive Director in the year to 27 June 2020:

Executive

Type of award

Rob Pitcher PSP award

Exercise Price 
(p)

Number 
of awards 
granted

Basis  

of award

Percentage 
which vests at 
threshold

Face  
value

Performance 
period end

0.1

531,269 100% of salary

£350,000

25%

June 2022

This award is subject to stretching performance conditions, which are tested over a three-year performance period from July 2019  
to June 2022, and will vest in October 2022 to the extent these conditions are satisfied:

FY22 EPS (70% of awards)

TSR (30% of awards)*

< 7 pence

7 pence

7 pence to 11.5 pence

0%

25%

Pro-rata between  
25% and 100%

11.5 pence

100%

*  Measured against a peer group of the FTSE Restaurant & Bars subsector.

< Median

Median

Between median  
and median +10% p.a.

Median + 10% p.a.

0%

25%

Pro-rata between  
25% and 100%

100%

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

57

Outstanding executive share awards (audited) 

Executive Director

Scheme

Grant date

Exercise 
price (p)

No. of  
shares at  

29 June 2019

Granted 
during  
the year 
Number

Vested 
during 
the year 
Number

Lapsed 
during 
the year 
Number

No. of  
shares at  
27 June 2020

Vesting  
date

Rob Pitcher

Total

Mike Foster

 Total

PSP*

CSOP

PSP

PSP*

CSOP

18.10.18

18.10.18

23.10.19

14.11.17

14.11.17

0.1

114.5

0.1

0.1

162.0

585,154

26,200

–

611,354

240,000

18,518

258,518

–

–

531,269

531,269

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

585,154

18.10.21

26,200

18.10.21

531,269 23.10.22

1,142,623

240,000

14.11.20

18,518

14.11.20

 258,518

* 

 PSP awards with associated CSOP awards attached (any awards which vest and which are exercised under the CSOP are directly offset by a reduction  
in vesting under the PSP of equivalent value).

Payments made for loss of office and payments to past Directors (audited)
No payments have been for loss of office in the reporting period. 

Directors’ interests and shareholding guidelines (unaudited)
The following table shows Directors’ interests in the Company

Director

Rob Pitcher

Mike Foster

Keith Edelman

William Tuffy

Jemima Bird

Beneficially 
owned at  

Outstanding LTIP 
awards

27 June 2020
Number

150,000

–

45,000

10,000

7,500

Number

1,142,623

258,518

–

– 

–

Outstanding  
share awards 
under all 
employees  
share plans
Number

–

–

–

–

–

Total interest  

in shares

Number

1,292,623

258,518

45,000

10,000

7,500

Shareholding  
as a % of base 
salary at  
27 June 2020

36.0%

0%

n/a

n/a

n/a

Executive Directors are expected to hold an investment of at least 100% of base salary in Company shares. 50% of any awards which  
vest under the Company’s LTIPs (net of any taxes due) must be retained until the requirement has been met. The table above shows  
Directors’ interests in shares and the percentage of the guideline currently met as at 27 June 2020.

The shareholding counting towards the measurement of the guideline is based on legally owned shares. The percentage of guideline  
met is based on the annual base salary and the higher of the acquisition cost of the shareholding or its current market value. Once an  
Executive Director meets the required holding, the Executive Director is only required to purchase additional shares equivalent to the  
value of any increase in base salary. 

Approval

This report was approved by the Remuneration Committee and signed on its behalf by:

Jemima Bird 
Chair of the Remuneration Committee

16 December 2020

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements 
 
 
 
 
58 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

DIRECTORS’

Report

The Directors present their annual report 
and the audited consolidated financial 
statements of the Company and Group 
for the 52 weeks ended 27 June 2020.

introduction 

This Directors’ Report includes additional information required to  
be disclosed under the Companies Act 2006, the Code, the DTRs and 
the Listing Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority. Certain information 
required to be included in the Directors’ Report is included in other 
sections of this annual report as follows:

•  the Strategic Report on pages 2 to 31  

•  the Corporate Governance Statement  

sets out a review of the Group’s business 
during the 52 weeks ended 27 June  
2020 and the financial position of the 
Group at the end of that period to enable 
shareholders to assess how the Directors 
have performed their duty under section 
172 of the Companies Act. The Strategic 
Report also describes the principal  
risks and uncertainties facing the Group, 
provides a fair review of the Group’s 
business at the end of the financial  
year and an indication of likely future 
developments in the business;

on pages 38 to 41; and

•  related party transactions as set  

out in note 25 to the consolidated  
financial statements.

This Directors’ Report together with the 
Strategic Report set out on pages 2 to 31 
represents the “Management Report”  
for the purpose of compliance with the  
DTR 4.1.5R.

Results and dividend
The Group’s results for the year are 
shown in the statement of comprehensive 
income on page 74. The Directors are not 
recommending a final dividend in respect  
of the 52 weeks ended 27 June 2020 (2019: 
nil pence per share issued). There was no 
interim dividend during the period (2019: nil 
pence per share), and thus the total dividend 
for the 52 weeks ended 29 June 2020 is nil 
pence per share (2019: nil pence per share). 

Share capital and related matters
The Company has only one class of share 
and the rights attached to each share are 
identical. Details of the rights and obligations 
attaching to the shares are set out in the 
Company’s Articles of Association, which are 
available from the Company Secretary and 
can also be found on the Company’s website  
www.revolutionbarsgroup.com under investor 
relations and shareholder information. 

Fundraising of £15.0 million completed  
on the 27 July 2020 immediately after  
the Enlarged Share Capital began trading 
on AIM.”

Mike Foster
Company Secretary

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

59

The Ordinary Shares are listed on the official 
list and are traded on AIM as at the date of  
this report, following the Company’s delisting 
from the Main Market London Stock Exchange 
to AIM effective 27 July 2020. The Company 
may refuse to register any transfer of a share 
which is not a fully paid share. At a General 
Meeting of the Company, every member has 
one vote on a show of hands, and on a poll 
one vote for each share held. Details of the 
voting procedure, including deadlines for 
exercising voting rights, are set out in the 
Notice of Annual General Meeting 2020.  
As at 27 June 2020, the issued share capital  
of the Company was 50,029,159 Ordinary 
Shares of £0.001 each. Details of the share 
capital as at 27 June 2020 are shown in note 
20 to the consolidated financial statements.

On the 5 June 2020, the Group announced  
its intention to raise gross proceeds of up  
to £15.0 million by way of a Firm Placing and  
a Placing and Open Offer at 20 pence per 
New Ordinary Share, as well as to admit  

Substantial shareholdings

to trading on AIM. The fundraising of  
£15.0 million completed on the 27 July 2020 
immediately after the Enlarged Share Capital 
began trading on AIM. As of that date,  
the total number of Ordinary Shares 
with voting rights in the Company was 
125,046,654.

other than in relation to certain restrictions 
imposed from time to time by laws and 
regulations (for example, insider trading laws). 
Pursuant to the Listing Rules, Directors and 
certain officers and employees of the Group 
require the approval of the Company to deal  
in the Ordinary Shares of the Company.

Powers of the Directors
The Directors may exercise all powers  
on behalf of the Group including, subject  
to obtaining the required authority from the 
shareholders in General Meeting, the power 
to authorise the issue of new shares and  
the purchase of the Company’s shares. 
During the year, the Directors have not 
exercised any of the powers to purchase 
shares in the Company.

Restrictions on transfer
There are no general restrictions on the 
transfer of Ordinary Shares in the Company 

The Company has in place certain share 
incentive plans; details of these can be found 
on page 55. As at the financial period end 
on 27 June 2020 and up to the date of this 
report, 1,116,423 share options have been 
granted to the Company’s Chief Executive 
Officer, Rob Pitcher and 240,000 share 
options have been granted to the Company’s 
Chief Financial Officer, Mike Foster. During 
the reporting period, no options vested 
or were exercised, 40,721 options lapsed, 
421,752 options were forfeit and 916,269 
further options were granted.

As at 21 April 2020 (the last available data prior to the Firm Placing and Placing and Open Offer) and 7 December 2020, the Company  
had been notified, in accordance with the DTRs, of the following interests representing 3% or more of the voting rights in the issued share 
capital of the Company:

As at 21 April 2020

As at 7 December 2020

Total holding  

% of total  

Total holding  

% of total  

of shares

voting rights

of shares

voting rights

Artemis Investment Management

10,511,232

21.01

18,309,231

Mr Mark Ward

Hargreaves Lansdown, stockbrokers (EO)

IG Markets, stockbrokers (EO)

A J Williams

Eldose Babu

River and Mercantile Asset Management

Interactive Investor (EO)

GLG Partners CfD

Bank of Singapore (PB)

Cibra Ltd

Legal & General Investment Management

AXA Framlington Investment Managers

Credit Suisse stocklending account

Barclays Smart Investor (EO)

Goldman Sachs International

HSBC James Capel as principal

Chelverton Asset Management

Deltic Group

–

3,107,650

3,519,242

2,876,919

–

–

1,679,854

2,230,825

–

–

4,588,000

2,960,219

2,230,676

1,853,650

1,705,637

1,545,979

1,500,000

1,500,000

–

6.21

7.03

5.75

–

–

3.36

4.46

–

–

9.17

5.92

4.46

3.71

3.41

3.09

3.00

3.00

12,557,944

9,938,794

8,141,656

6,853,070

6,600,000

5,700,000

4,707,479

4,612,533

4,487,812

3,930,000

–

–

–

2,961,726

1,494,089

589,842

3,250,000

2,400,000

14.64

10.04

7.95

6.51

5.48

5.28

4.56

3.76

3.69

3.59

3.14

–

–

–

2.37

1.19

0.47

2.60

1.92

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements60 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

DIRECTORS’

Report continued

Directors
The Directors of the Company and  
their biographies are set out on page 35. 
Their interests in the Ordinary Shares of 
the Company are shown in the Directors’ 
Remuneration Report on page 57.

Appointment and removal  
of Directors
Directors may be appointed by ordinary 
resolution of the Company or by the Board. 
All Directors will stand for re-election on an 
annual basis in line with the recommendations 
of the Code. In addition to any powers of 
removal conferred by the Companies Act 
2006, the Company may by special resolution 
remove any Director before the expiration  
of his period of office.

Directors’ indemnities  
and insurance
The Articles of Association of the Company 
permit it to indemnify the Directors of the 
Company against liabilities arising from  
or in connection with the execution of their 
duties or powers to the extent permitted  
by law.  

The Group had directors’ and officers’ 
indemnity insurance in place throughout the 
year. Subsequent to the end of the reporting 
period, the Group entered into a qualifying 
third-party indemnity (the terms of which 
are in accordance with the Companies Act 
2006) with each of the Directors. Neither the 
indemnity nor insurance provides cover in  
the event that a Director or officer is proved  
to have acted fraudulently.

Transactions with related parties
Details of the transactions entered into by 
the Group with parties who are related to 
it are set out in note 25 to the consolidated 
financial statements. There were no material 
transactions with related parties during the 
52 weeks ended 27 June 2020. 

Change of control
The provisions of the Group’s share incentive 
plans may cause options and awards granted 
to employees under such plans to vest on a 
change of ownership of the Group. The Group 
does not have agreements with any Director 
that would provide compensation for loss of 
office or employment resulting directly from  
a change of its ownership.

Amendment to the Company’s 
Articles of Association
The Company may alter its Articles of 
Association by special resolution passed  
at a General Meeting of shareholders.

Political donations
The Group has not made in the past,  
nor does it intend to make in the future,  
any political donations.

Going concern
Going concern
The directors have adopted the going 
concern basis in preparing these financial 
statements after careful assessment of 
identified principal risks and, in particular, 
the possible adverse impact on financial 
performance, specifically on revenue and 
cash flows of restrictions imposed by the  
UK Government and the devolved authorities 
in response to COVID. The going concern 
status of the Company is intrinsically linked  
to that of the Group.

Liquidity
At the end of the reporting period, the Group 
had net bank debt of £22.0 million relative  
to a £30.0 million Revolving Credit Facility 
(‘RCF’) although terms were agreed with the 
Group’s lending bank, NatWest, to increase 
the total debt facilities to £37.5 million by 
utilising the Coronavirus Large Business 
Interruption Loan Scheme (‘CLBILS’) loan of 
£16.5 million and using the proceeds of this 
loan to partially pay down the RCF and to 
reduce the RCF commitment to £21.0 million. 
The CLBILS loan, which is a three-year term 
loan amortising at £1.0 million per annum in 
equal monthly repayments, was drawn down 
shortly after the period end on 6 July 2020.

On 27 July 2020, the Company completed 
an equity fundraising of £15.0 million, the net 

proceeds of which were fully received  
by 3 August 2020 and used to repay  
the remaining outstanding balance of the 
RCF. At that date of repayment, the Group 
had CLBILS of £16.5m but £26.1 million of 
liquidity by way of cash at bank of £5.1 million 
and an undrawn committed RCF of £21.0 
million. When the total debt facilities were 
increased to £37.5 million, it was agreed 
that, contingent on a successful equity 
fundraising, the debt facilities would be 
reduced by £7.5 million on 31 March 2021,  
this amount to be applied pro rata to the  
RCF and CLBILS. However, this reduction  
in facilities together with a previously agreed 
£1.0m reduction in the RCF at the end of  
June 2020 were amended by NatWest on  
16 December 2020 in favour of an alternative 
amortisation profile of the facilities as follows:

Facility

Commitment Expiry

Amortisation

RCF

£21.0m 30 June 2022

CLBILS

£16.1m 5 July 2023

£1.6 million on 30 September 2021  
and £1.0 million on 30 June 2022

£0.4 million on 30 September 2021  
and £1.0 million per annum in equal  
monthly instalments

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

61

In accordance with these arrangements 
and subject to compliance with financial 
covenants, the Group will have committed 
funding facilities available during the going 
concern assessment period as follows:

December 2020

March 2021

June 2021

September 2021

December 2021

March 2022

£37.1 million

£36.8 million

£36.6 million

£34.3 million

£34.1 million

£33.8 million

Current Net bank debt and available liquidity
At the date of these financial statements  
the Group’s net bank debt was approximately 
£19.5 million, and therefore the Group  
has available liquidity of £17.6 million.

Covenants
The facilities are subject to one financial 
covenant only, which is that the Group  
is required to maintain minimum liquidity 
headroom between its net bank debt and  
the committed facilities on a six-month look 
forward basis. The required headroom under 
the covenant varies on a monthly basis,  
as it is set in conjunction with the modelling  
of a severe but plausible downside scenario 
(see below for further details), between  
£10.0 million at its highest at the end of 
December 2020 and £1.3 million at its lowest 
at the end of March 2021. The effect of the 
covenant is that the base case is within the 
covenant requirement, whereas the severe 
but plausible downside case is only slightly 
above the covenant level (i.e. has only very 
limited headroom over the covenant level) 
over the 2021 calendar period. Cash flow 
forecasts are updated daily and submitted  
to NatWest weekly and should two successive 
weekly forecasts show a breach of the 
minimum liquidity headroom, then the  
Group would need to consult with NatWest.  
If a solution to the breach cannot be agreed, 
for example by the granting of a waiver, or  
an amendment to the facilities then the bank 
could require the Group to take various 
actions that may determine the Group’s future.

The Group has remained in close contact with 
NatWest since it became clear in late February 
that the COVID-19 pandemic (‘COVID’) could 
potentially have a significantly adverse effect 
on the Group’s trading performance and 
cash generation. NatWest have been very 
supportive of the Group throughout this 
period providing support by amending debt 
facilities as required in April 2020 and in 
May 2020 and most recently for this going 
concern assessment period. NatWest also 
consented to the necessary facility waivers 
and adjustments to the covenant to allow 
the Company Voluntary Arrangement (‘CVA’) 

undertaken by the Group’s wholly owned 
subsidiary entity, Revolution Bars Limited,  
in November 2020 to proceed. 

Significant judgements and base case
The financing arrangements referred to in 
this going concern section are expected to 
provide a sufficient platform for the business 
to meet the trading uncertainty that lies ahead 
as the COVID immunisation programme is 
rolled out and the UK economy recovers from 
the devastation caused by COVID. During 
the last nine months, the Group’s sales have 
been severely impacted by the operating 
restrictions imposed by the UK Government 
and the devolved authorities; half of that 
period being subject to a forced closure of 
all bars, and significant operating restrictions 
operating for the other half, including 10pm 
curfews (latterly moved to 11pm), reduced 
capacities, limited party sizes, table service 
only, and a banning of alcohol sales other than 
with a substantial meal. It is not clear what 
level of trade may be possible in the coming 
months although the UK Government has 
stated its intention to complete the COVID 
vaccination programme by Easter 2021,  
by which time it would seem reasonable  
to expect that all restrictions imposed since 
March 2020 will be significantly reduced.  
If that is indeed the case, then sales from April 
2021 are likely to be influenced by the level  
of pent up demand and consumer confidence 
surrounding both the economy and health 
and safety. The directors believe that based 
on the Group’s sales levels being better 
than anticipated following the reopening of 
venues in July 2020 and through to the end 
of September 2020 before the 10pm curfew 
was introduced, and the Group’s target young 
adult customer groups being least affected 
by COVID, that consumer confidence and 
demand for the Group’s product should not 
be a significant issue and it is reasonable to 
expect a return to historic trading levels once 
the COVID vaccination programme has been 
successfully delivered. However, the directors 
also acknowledge that the Group’s sales 
remain vulnerable to factors that are entirely 
beyond its control, such as: (i) the degree  
of operating restrictions that remain in force 
when the current arrangements are reviewed 
and whilst the vaccination programme is being 
rolled-out and how quickly such restrictions 
may be lifted once that roll-out has been 
completed; (ii) a reliable supply of the vaccine; 
(iii) the take up of the vaccination programme; 
and (iv) that the vaccine works as expected.

The level of sales that the Group generates 
drives EBITDA and cash generation, which 
in turn impacts the level of liquidity required 
and compliance with the covenant test.

In reaching their assessment that the financing 
arrangements are expected to be sufficient 
for the business, the directors have reviewed 

a base case forecast scenario which 
assumes that the operational arrangements 
currently in force from 2 December remain 
in force until the end of March 2021 (Easter). 
Currently, the Group is trading only 33 of its 
bars: 1 in tier 1 and 32 in tier 2 locations, and 
therefore forecasts sales in the January 2021 
to March 2021 quarter are expected to be  
at 16% of their historical pre-COVID levels. 
From April 2021 to June 2021, all 67 of the 
Group’s bars are expected to be trading  
but with some operating restrictions still  
in force with sales forecast at an average 
75% of their historical level before improving 
to 90% in July 2021 and August 2021 as all 
remaining restrictions are expected to be 
lifted with consumer confidence expected 
to increasingly return, with sales returning to 
normal historical levels for the remainder of 
2021. Hence the Group’s base case forecast 
scenario is for sales in calendar year 2021 to 
be at 73% of the levels achieved in the last 
12 months pre-COVID. Operating margins in 
the early months of 2021 are forecast to be 
consistent with those achieved during the 
period of trading under severe operating 
restrictions in recent months but then slowly 
improving to pre-COVID levels over the 
remainder of 2021. The Group expects to 
continue to qualify for support from the UK 
Government through relief from business 
rates, a reduction in VAT from non-alcohol 
sales, and access to flexible furlough under 
the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme 
through to the end of March 2021. £1.75 
million of capital expenditure has been 
forecast for the 12 months to June 2021 
including £0.5m to undertake three bar 
refurbishments between April 2021 and  
June 2021.

Under the base case forecast, there is no 
forecast breach of the banking covenant. 
The forecast average amount of headroom 
for net bank debt relative to the minimum 
liquidity covenant between December 2020 
and December 2022 is £4.5 million with the 
lowest point of £2.5 million in March 2021.

Severe but plausible downside scenario
The directors have also reviewed a severe  
but plausible downside scenario which 
assumes that the business is subject to  
an enforced lockdown (zero sales) until the 
end of March 2021 (Easter) with sales return 
at 60% of the normal historical pre-COVID 
levels between April 2021 and June 2021, 
after which trading is similar to the base  
case forecast for the remainder of 2021,  
as detailed above. Other assumptions 
regarding operating margins and support  
from the UK Government are also similar  
to the base case forecast scenario but  
the capital expenditure forecast for the  
12 months to June 2021 is £0.5 million lower.

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements62 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

DIRECTORS’

Report continued

Going concern continued
Under the severe but plausible downside 
scenario, net bank debt is approximately 
£2.5 million greater than under the base case 
forecast scenario. This adverse movement 
is relatively small because there is marginal 
EBITDA benefit in the base case from trading 
only one bar under tier 1 and 32 bars under 
tier 2 of the UK Government operating 
restrictions where alcohol sales are only 
permitted with a substantial meal. The severe 
but plausible downside scenario shows no 
forecast breach of the banking covenant but, 
as would be expected, the forecast average 
amount of net bank debt headroom relative 
to the minimum liquidity covenant between 
December 2020 and December 2021 is lower 
at £1.8 million with the lowest point of £1.2 
million in March 2021.

The directors believe that there should be no 
further downside to the severe but plausible 
downside scenario for the period to the end  
of March 2021 given that no trade is forecast 
for this period, and that a sales forecast at 60% 
of historical pre-COVID levels for April 2021 to 
June 2021 is prudent relative to the same bars 
year-on-year sales performances achieved 
when bars were reopened between July 2020 
and September 2020 prior to the introduction 
of the 10pm curfew and tier restrictions.  
If there is any residual risk not accounted for  
in the severe but plausible downside scenario, 
it is that if there is a significant problem with 
the vaccine efficacy or roll-out, that results 
in a delay to the reopening of bars in March 
2021 or that severe ongoing restrictions 
continue whilst such a problem is resolved. 
Whilst there are currently no indications that 
this may be the case, the directors note the 
unprecedented scale and challenge of the 
vaccination roll-out is such that there can  
be no certainty that it will run completely  
to plan. However, the directors also believe 
that if severe operating restrictions remain  
in place after March 2021 the financial effects 
could potentially be mitigated wholly or 
partially by a number of factors that are not 
reflected in the severe but plausible downside 
scenario, but which are not all wholly within 
the control of the directors, including some 
trading pre March 2021, a further extension 
of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme 
beyond March 2021 may be made, further  
rent mitigation if discussions with a number  
of landlords conclude favourably, receipt 
of local authority grants as these are made 
available but which have not been included  
in the Group’s forecasts, and any extension  
to business rates relief beyond April 2021.

The low level of liquidity headroom relative 
to the minimum liquidity covenant and the 
material uncertainty caused by COVID 
coupled with forecasting difficulties as a result 
of constantly changing operating restrictions 
means that the Group cannot be assured 

that it will not breach the minimum liquidity 
covenant. A breach of covenant would 
require the bank to grant a waiver or for the 
Company to renegotiate its banking facilities 
or raise funds from other sources, none of 
which is entirely within the Group’s control. 
A breach of the covenant would also result 
in the reclassification of £24.5 million of non-
current borrowings to current borrowings  
as at the date of the consolidation statement 
of financial position. The directors have 
assessed, however, that given a strong 
underlying business, particularly post 
lease surrenders of under-performing bars 
and the CVA undertaken during 2020, the 
Group’s existing relationships with its main 
creditors, its success in recent years in 
obtaining covenant waivers and renegotiating 
its banking facilities and a recent equity 
fundraising, that a request for a waiver of 
a covenant breach or renegotiation of the 
banking facilities would be successful.

Going concern statement
The severe disruption to the Group’s trade 
during the last nine months caused by COVID 
and the resultant and frequently changing 
operating restrictions imposed by the UK 
Government and the devolved authorities 
indicates the existence of a material uncertainty 
which may cast significant doubt over the 
ability of the Group and Company to continue 
as a going concern. This uncertainty exists 
because of the unpredictability of the nature, 
extent and duration of COVID, the vaccination 
programme, and the imposed operating 
restrictions in the calendar year 2021 and 
how this will impact the Group’s operational 
performance and in particular the level of 
sales and EBITDA generated that will in turn 
determine the Group’s covenant compliance.

Notwithstanding the material uncertainty, 
after due consideration the Directors have 
a reasonable expectation that the Company 
and the Group have sufficient resources to 
continue in operational existence for the 
period of 12 months from the date of approval 
of these financial statements. Accordingly, the 
financial statements continue to be prepared 
on the going concern basis. The financial 
statements do not contain the adjustments that 
would arise if the Group (and the Company) 
were unable to continue as a going concern.

Disabled employees
Applications for employment by disabled 
persons are always fully considered, bearing 
in mind the aptitudes of the applicant 
concerned. In the event of members of staff 
becoming disabled every effort is made to 
ensure that their employment with the Group 
continues and that appropriate training is 
arranged. It is the policy of the Group that the 
training, career development and promotion 
of disabled persons should, as far as possible, 
be identical to that of other employees.

Employee consultation
The Group places considerable value on 
the involvement of its employees and has 
continued to keep them informed on matters 
affecting them as employees and on the 
various factors affecting the performance 
of the Group. This is achieved through 
formal and informal meetings, newsletters 
distributed by email and virtual briefings using 
Teams software. Employee representatives 
are consulted regularly on a wide range of 
matters affecting their current and future 
interests. In addition, certain employees 
receive an annual bonus related to the overall 
profitability of the Group.

Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting (“AGM”) of the 
Company will take place on 22 December 
2020. The Notice of Annual General Meeting 
is set out in the explanatory circular (which 
was sent to shareholders on 27 November 
2020). A further General Meeting will take 
place on 15 February 2021 to approve the 
Annual Report and financial statements.

Financial risk management, 
objectives and policies
The Group is exposed to certain financial  
risks, including interest rate risk, liquidity risk 
and credit risk. Information regarding such 
financial risks is detailed in note 22 on page 
102. The Group’s risk management policies 
and procedures and principal risks and 
mitigations can be found on pages 18 to 19.

Independent auditors and 
disclosure of information to auditor
The Directors who held office at the date  
of approval of this Directors’ Report confirm 
that, so far as they are each aware, there is 
no relevant audit information of which the 
Company’s auditors are unaware, and each 
Director has taken all the steps that he ought 
to have taken as Director to make himself 
aware of any relevant audit information and 
to establish that the Company’s auditors are 
aware of that information.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (“PwC”) have 
expressed their willingness to be reappointed 
as auditor of the Company. In accordance  
with section 489 of the Companies Act 2006,  
a resolution for the reappointment of PwC  
as independent auditors of the Company  
is to be proposed at the forthcoming General 
Meeting on 15 February 2021.

By order of the Board

Mike Foster 
Company Secretary

16 December 2020

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

63

DIRECTORS’ RESPONSIBILITY

Statement

The directors are responsible 
for preparing the Annual Report 
and the financial statements in 
accordance with applicable law  
and regulation. 

Directors’ confirmations
The directors consider that  
the annual report and accounts, 
taken as a whole, is fair, balanced 
and understandable and provides 
the information necessary for 
shareholders to assess the group 
and company’s position and 
performance, business model  
and strategy.

The directors are also responsible for 
safeguarding the assets of the group and 
company and hence for taking reasonable 
steps for the prevention and detection  
of fraud and other irregularities.

The directors are responsible for keeping 
adequate accounting records that are 
sufficient to show and explain the group 
and company’s transactions and disclose 
with reasonable accuracy at any time the 
financial position of the group and company 
and enable them to ensure that the financial 
statements and the Directors’ Remuneration 
Report comply with the Companies Act 
2006 and, as regards the group financial 
statements, Article 4 of the IAS Regulation.

The directors are responsible for the 
maintenance and integrity of the company’s 
website. Legislation in the United Kingdom 
governing the preparation and dissemination 
of financial statements may differ from 
legislation in other jurisdictions.

Company law requires the directors  
to prepare financial statements for each 
financial year. Under that law the directors 
have prepared the group financial statements 
in accordance with International Financial 
Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted 
by the European Union and company 
financial statements in accordance with 
International Financial Reporting Standards 
(IFRSs) as adopted by the European Union. 
Under company law the directors must not 
approve the financial statements unless they 
are satisfied that they give a true and fair 
view of the state of affairs of the group and 
company and of the profit or loss of the group 
and company for that period. In preparing 
the financial statements, the directors are 
required to:

•  select suitable accounting policies  
and then apply them consistently;

•  state whether applicable IFRSs as adopted 
by the European Union have been followed 
for the group financial statements and 
IFRSs as adopted by the European Union 
have been followed for the company 
financial statements, subject to any material 
departures disclosed and explained  
in the financial statements;

•  make judgements and accounting 
estimates that are reasonable and  
prudent; and

•  prepare the financial statements on 
the going concern basis unless it is 
inappropriate to presume that the group 
and company will continue in business.

Each of the directors, whose names and 
functions are listed in Board of Directors 
confirm that, to the best of their knowledge:

•  the company financial statements, which 
have been prepared in accordance with 
IFRSs as adopted by the European Union, 
give a true and fair view of the assets, 
liabilities, financial position and result  
of the company;

•  the group financial statements, which  

have been prepared in accordance with 
IFRSs as adopted by the European Union, 
give a true and fair view of the assets, 
liabilities, financial position and loss  
of the group; and

•  the Directors’ Report includes a fair review 
of the development and performance of 
the business and the position of the group 
and company, together with a description 
of the principal risks and uncertainties  
that it faces. 

In the case of each director in office at the 
date the Directors’ Report is approved:

•  so far as the director is aware, there is 
no relevant audit information of which 
the group and company’s auditors are 
unaware; and

•  they have taken all the steps that they 

ought to have taken as a director in order 
to make themselves aware of any relevant 
audit information and to establish that the 
group and company’s auditors are aware 
of that information.

Rob Pitcher 
Chief Executive Officer

Mike Foster 
Chief Financial Officer

16 December 2020

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements64

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

talented
entertainment

Revolution Deansgate Locks

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

65

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 66 

Independent Auditors’ Report

 74 

 Consolidated Statement of Profit or Loss 
and Other Comprehensive Income

 75 

 Consolidated Statement of Financial Position

 76  

 Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity

 77 

 Consolidated Statement of Cash Flow

 78 

 Notes to the Consolidated Financial Information

 112 

 Company Statement of Financial Position

 113 

 Company Statement of Changes in Equity

 114 

 Company Statement of Cash Flow

 115 

 Notes to the Company Financial Information

 118 

 Glossary

 119  Corporate Information

 
 
 
 
66 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT TO THE 
MEMBERS OF REVOLUTION BARS GROUP PLC

Report on the audit of the financial statements
Opinion
In our opinion, Revolution Bars Group plc’s group financial statements and company financial statements (the “financial statements”):

•  give a true and fair view of the state of the group’s and of the company’s affairs as at 27 June 2020 and of the group’s loss and the  

group’s and the company’s cash flows for the 52 week period (the “period”) then ended;

•  have been properly prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the European Union  

and, as regards the company’s financial statements, as applied in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006; and

•  have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 and, as regards the group financial statements,  

Article 4 of the IAS Regulation.

We have audited the financial statements, included within the Annual Report and Accounts (the “Annual Report”), which comprise:  
the Consolidated and Company statements of financial position as at 27 June 2020; the Consolidated statement of profit or loss and  
other comprehensive income, the Consolidated and Company statements of cash flow, and the Consolidated and Company statements  
of changes in equity for the 52 week period then ended; and the notes to the financial statements, which include a description of the  
significant accounting policies.

Our opinion is consistent with our reporting to the Audit Committee.

Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (“ISAs (UK)”) and applicable law. Our responsibilities  
under ISAs (UK) are further described in the Auditors’ responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report.  
We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Independence

We remained independent of the group in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial  
statements in the UK, which includes the FRC’s Ethical Standard, as applicable to listed public interest entities, and we have fulfilled  
our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements.

To the best of our knowledge and belief, we declare that non-audit services prohibited by the FRC’s Ethical Standard were not provided  
to the group or the company.

Other than those disclosed in note 4 to the financial statements, we have provided no non-audit services to the group or the company  
in the period from 30 June 2019 to 27 June 2020.

Material uncertainty related to going concern - Group and Company
In forming our opinion on the financial statements, which is not modified, we have considered the adequacy of the disclosure made  
in note 1 to the financial statements concerning the Group’s and Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. 

The Directors have a reasonable expectation that the Group has sufficient resources to continue in operational existence for the period  
of 12 months from the date of approval of these financial statements. The severe disruption to the Group’s trade during the last nine months, 
caused by COVID-19, has significantly impacted the Group’s performance and financial position. There is unpredictability in the nature, extent  
and duration of COVID-19 and the level of operating restrictions that may be imposed during calendar year 2021. It is uncertain how this  
will impact the Group’s operational performance, and in particular the level of sales and EBITDA generated, that will all in turn determine  
the Group’s ability to comply with the covenant in its banking facilities. In addition, the going concern status of the Company is intrinsically 
linked to that of the Group.

These conditions, along with the other matters explained in note 1 to the financial statements, indicate the existence of a material  
uncertainty which may cast significant doubt about the Group’s and Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. The group financial 
statements do not include the adjustments that would result if the Group and Company were unable to continue as a going concern. 

In concluding that a material uncertainty related to going concern exists, we performed the following procedures:

•  we obtained management’s forecasts and information, which included the expected impact of COVID-19;

•  we evaluated and assessed the process by which the Group’s future cash flow forecasts were prepared;

•  we assessed and challenged management as to the reasonableness of the key assumptions in the going concern model, including the 
forecast sales assumptions over the next 12 months and how quickly the Group were forecasting to return to pre COVID-19 sales levels;

•  we obtained the terms of the Group’s financing facility and the covenant in place in relation to this facility, and determined that the Group 

cash flow forecasts show compliance with all covenant conditions for at least 12 months from the date of the approval of financial statements;

•  we agreed the opening position of the Group’s cash flow forecasts to the November 2020 management accounts. We also agreed  

the gross debt and cash per the November 2020 management accounts to the Group’s bank statements; and

•  we evaluated the appropriateness of the severe but plausible cash flow forecast used in management’s determination of the going  
concern basis of preparation, which included an assessment of any key assumptions underpinning the cash flows throughout the  
going concern period. 

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

67

Our audit approach

Overview

Materiality

•  Overall group materiality: £258,000 (2019: £260,000), based on 2.5% of 4-year average  

adjusted EBITDA.

•  Overall company materiality: £155,000 (2019: £208,000), based on 1% of total assets,  

capped at 60% of the overall materiality for the Group.

Audit Scope

•  Full scope audit of three trading entities within the Group, which together comprise 100 per cent 
of revenue and 93 per cent of adjusted EBITDA. The remaining entities were not included within  
group scope, however statutory audits of these entities are performed

•  Material uncertainty related to going concern - Group and Company

Key audit  
matters

• 

• 

Impairment of property, plant and equipment and right-of-use asset - Group

Impairment of investments - Company

•  Recognition of supplier rebates - Group

• 

Impact of Covid-19 - Group

The scope of our audit

As part of designing our audit, we determined materiality and assessed the risks of material misstatement in the financial statements. 

Capability of the audit in detecting irregularities, including fraud

Based on our understanding of the Group and industry, we identified that the principal risks of non-compliance with laws and regulations 
related to the Companies Act 2006, the Listing Rules and UK tax legislation, and we considered the extent to which non-compliance might  
have a material effect on the financial statements. We also considered those laws and regulations that have a direct impact on the preparation 
of the financial statements such as the Companies Act 2006, and we considered the extent to which non-compliance might have a material 
effect on the financial statements. We evaluated management’s incentives and opportunities for fraudulent manipulation of the financial 
statements (including the risk of override of controls) and determined that the principal risks were related to posting inappropriate journal 
entries to increase revenue or reduce expenditure, and management bias in accounting estimates. The group engagement team shared this  
risk assessment with the component auditors so that they could include appropriate audit procedures in response to such risks in their work. 
Audit procedures performed by the group engagement team and/or component auditors included:

•  discussions with management including consideration of known or suspected instances of non-compliance with laws and regulation  

and fraud;

•  challenging assumptions and judgements made by management in their significant accounting estimates, in particular in relation  

to recoverability of property, plant and equipment and onerous lease provisioning (see related key audit matter below); and

• 

identifying and testing journal entries, in particular any journal entries posted with unusual account combinations.

There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures described above and the further removed non-compliance with laws and  
regulations is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely we would become aware of it.  
Also, the risk of not detecting a material misstatement due to fraud is higher than the risk of not detecting one resulting from error,  
as fraud may involve deliberate concealment by, for example, forgery or intentional misrepresentations, or through collusion.

Key audit matters

Key audit matters are those matters that, in the auditors’ professional judgement, were of most significance in the audit of the financial 
statements of the current period and include the most significant assessed risks of material misstatement (whether or not due to fraud)  
identified by the auditors, including those which had the greatest effect on: the overall audit strategy; the allocation of resources in the  
audit; and directing the efforts of the engagement team. These matters, and any comments we make on the results of our procedures  
thereon, were addressed in the context of our audit of the financial statements as a whole, and in forming our opinion thereon, and we  
do not provide a separate opinion on these matters. In addition to going concern, described in the Material uncertainty related to going  
concern section above, we determined the matters described below to be the key audit matters to be communicated in our report.  
This is not a complete list of all risks identified by our audit. 

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements68 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT TO THE 
MEMBERS OF REVOLUTION BARS GROUP PLC  
CONTINUED

Our audit approach continued

Key audit matter

How our audit addressed the key audit matter

Impairment of property, plant and equipment and right-of-use asset - Group

Refer to page 49 of the Audit Committee Report and notes 1  
and 10 of the Notes to the Consolidated financial information.

 To review the impairment assessment performed by the Directors’ 
based on a value in use model, we performed the following:

The property, plant and equipment balance of £41,220k and  
right-of-use asset balance of £70,689k has been tested for 
impairment during the period. Testing has been performed  
at a cash generating unit level, which has been assessed as  
an individual bar.

The impairment tests performed, which are based on a value  
in use calculation, identified an impairment charge of £34,486k,  
of which £14,920k relates to property, plant and equipment  
and £19,566k relates to right-of-use assets, which has been 
recognised as an exceptional item during the period. 

We focused on this area as the assessment of impairment of 
property, plant and equipment and right of use assets requires  
the use of estimates in the value in use calculation, including future 
forecast cash flows, a discount rate and long-term growth rate.  
In addition, the classification of items as exceptional also requires  
the use of judgement.

Impairment of investments - Company

Refer to notes 1 and 5 of Notes to the Company financial information.

The company holds an investment balance on the Statement  
of financial position of £29,650k. This investment is in the  
trading subsidiaries of the Group. Management have performed  
both a fair value less costs to sell exercise, and a value-in-use 
assessment, to calculate the recoverable amount of the investment.  
The recoverable amount supports the carrying value of the 
investment and therefore management concluded that no  
impairment is required.

•   we evaluated and assessed the process by which the Group’s 

future cash flow forecasts were prepared;

•   we assessed the reasonableness of the forecast cash flows, 
including assessing the revenue and costs included in those 
forecasts, based on our understanding of the Group;

•   we tested the Directors’ historical budgeting accuracy by 

evaluating whether previous budgets had been achieved.  
Where budgets had not been achieved, we understood  
the reasons why;

•   we tested the Directors’ key assumptions for long-term growth 
rates outside the budget period, by comparing them to forecast 
inflation rates in the UK;

•   we considered the discount rate by forming our own  

independent expectation of what we would consider to be  
an appropriate range; and

•   we considered whether the charge recognised in respect 

of impairment should be recognised as an exceptional item, 
and, given the magnitude of the charge, concurred that the 
presentation was appropriate.

To review the impairment assessment performed by the Directors’, 
based on value in use and fair value less cost to sell models,  
we performed the following:

•  we evaluated and assessed the process by which the Group’s 

future cash flow forecasts were prepared;

•  we assessed the reasonableness of the forecast cash flows,  

based on our understanding of the Group;

•  we tested the Directors’ key assumptions for long-term growth 
rates outside the budget period, by comparing them to forecast 
inflation rates in the UK; 

•  we considered the discount rate by forming our own independent 

expectation of what we would consider to be an appropriate  
range; and

•  we assessed management’s fair value less costs to sell  

calculation, based on the recent level of the market capitalisation  
of the Group and premiums typically associated with control.

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

69

Key audit matter

How our audit addressed the key audit matter

Recognition of supplier rebates - Group

Refer to page 49 of the Audit Committee Report and note 1  
of the Notes to the Consolidated financial information.

To test supplier rebates, we performed the following for a sample  
of suppliers:

The Group receives rebates from certain key suppliers.  
The terms of the rebates vary by supplier but largely relate to  
listing or marketing fees, or volume-based rebates on purchases  
made throughout the financial period, with the value being 
determined by the level of spend. Amounts recognised as  
a reduction from costs in the consolidated statement of profit  
or loss and other comprehensive income, and amounts  
recognised as a receivable in the consolidated statement  
of financial position, are material to the financial statements. 

We focused on this area because the amount of supplier rebates 
income in respect of the period is determined by the terms for  
each supplier, which are negotiated separately and, as a result,  
differ from one another. This means that the calculation of the  
rebates recognised in the consolidated statement of profit or loss  
and other comprehensive income, and as a receivable at the  
period end, is inherently more prone to error. We also focused  
on the existence and accuracy of the supplier rebate income,  
and the valuation of period-end receivable, due to the risk  
of potential under or overstatement given the manual nature  
of the process.

Impact of Covid-19 - Group and Company

•  we recalculated the rebate income recognised within the 

consolidated statement of profit and loss and other comprehensive 
income in the period, and receivable as at 27 June 2020;

•  we compared purchases recorded in the period, and the 

contractual rebate arrangements agreed with each supplier,  
to the Directors’ calculation of the rebate income;

•  we compared the receivable recognised at the prior period end  

to the amounts paid in the period ended 27 June 2020 in respect 
of those receivables;

•  we tested whether rebate arrangements recognised as income  

in the period ended 27 June 2020, had been accounted for in the 
right period; and

•  we agreed amounts paid by suppliers post 27 June 2020  

to source documentation to check amounts were recoverable.

Refer to page 60 of the Directors’ Report and note 1 of the  
Notes to the Consolidated financial information.

In response to the key areas identified as being significantly 
impacted by Covid-19, we performed the following procedures:

Similar to most businesses in the hospitality sector, Covid-19  
has had a significant adverse impact on the performance of 
the Group following the enforced closures in March 2020 and 
subsequent restrictions on re-openings. The key areas of the 
financial statements most impacted by the increased uncertainty  
are detailed below:

i)   

ii)   

iii)  

 The Directors have considered the appropriateness  
of the going concern basis of preparation in the Group’s  
financial statements;

 The recoverability of supplier rebates has been considered  
in light of the increased uncertainty over supplier liquidity  
and the ability of the Group to collect amounts due; and

 Impairment of £34,486k have been recorded against  
the carrying value of property, plant and equipment  
and right-of-use assets as explained in the previous  
key audit matter.

i)   

ii)  

iii)  

 Our work and conclusions in respect of going concern are 
set out in the “material uncertainty related to going concern” 
section above;

 Refer to the third key audit matter above for details of  
how we considered the recoverability of receivables; and

 Refer to the first key audit matter above for details  
of how we considered the impact of Covid-19 in our  
impairment procedures.

We assessed whether the nature and extent of the disclosure  
made by management was sufficiently complete to articulate the 
impact of the pandemic on the business and its sector, supported  
by the information available to date.

How we tailored the audit scope

We tailored the scope of our audit to ensure that we performed enough work to be able to give an opinion on the financial statements  
as a whole, taking into account the structure of the group and the company, the accounting processes and controls, and the industry  
in which they operate.

The Group includes six statutory entities, four of which are included within scope to support the Group audit opinion. All components  
are managed by the same finance team and operate entirely within the UK. Full scope audits were performed on three trading entities  
within the Group, which together comprise 100 per cent of revenue and 93 per cent of adjusted EBITDA. The remaining entities were  
not included within group scope, however statutory audits of these entities are performed.

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements70 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT TO THE 
MEMBERS OF REVOLUTION BARS GROUP PLC  
CONTINUED

Our audit approach continued 
Materiality

The scope of our audit was influenced by our application of materiality. We set certain quantitative thresholds for materiality.  
These, together with qualitative considerations, helped us to determine the scope of our audit and the nature, timing and extent  
of our audit procedures on the individual financial statement line items and disclosures and in evaluating the effect of misstatements,  
both individually and in aggregate on the financial statements as a whole. 

Based on our professional judgement, we determined materiality for the financial statements as a whole as follows:

Overall materiality

£258,000 (2019: £260,000).

£155,000 (2019: £208,000).

Group financial statements

Company financial statements

How we determined it

2.5% of 4-year average Adjusted EBITDA.

Rationale for benchmark applied

Adjusted EBITDA is the key measure used  
both internally by the Board and, we believe, 
through reading Directors’ presentations 
to analysts, externally by shareholders in 
evaluating the performance of the Group.  
This measure excludes finance expense,  
tax, depreciation, exceptional items,  
(credits)/ charges from long term incentive  
plans and bar opening costs.

1% of total assets, capped at 60% of the  
overall materiality for the Group.

Total assets is considered to be appropriate  
as it is not a profit oriented Company.  
The Company holds investments in 
subsidiaries and therefore total assets  
is deemed a generally accepted auditing 
benchmark. This has been capped at 60%  
of overall materiality for the Group.

For each component in the scope of our group audit, we allocated a materiality that is less than our overall group materiality.  
The range of materiality allocated across components was between £155,000 and £237,000.

We agreed with the Audit Committee that we would report to them misstatements identified during our audit above £13,000  
(Group audit) (2019: £13,000) and £7,750 (Company audit) (2019: £10,000) as well as misstatements below those amounts that,  
in our view, warranted reporting for qualitative reasons.

Going concern

In accordance with ISAs (UK) we report as follows:

Reporting obligation

Outcome

We are required to report if we have anything material to add  
or draw attention to in respect of the directors’ statement in the 
financial statements about whether the directors considered it 
appropriate to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in 
preparing the financial statements and the directors’ identification  
of any material uncertainties to the group’s and the company’s  
ability to continue as a going concern over a period of at least twelve 
months from the date of approval of the financial statements.

We are required to report if the directors’ statement relating  
to Going Concern in accordance with Listing Rule 9.8.6R(3)  
is materially inconsistent with our knowledge obtained in  
the audit.

We have nothing material to add or to draw attention to other  
than the material uncertainty we have described in the material 
uncertainty related to going concern section above.

However, because not all future events or conditions can be  
predicted, this statement is not a guarantee as to the group’s  
and company’s ability to continue as a going concern. 

We have nothing to report.

 
Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

71

Reporting on other information 
The other information comprises all of the information in the Annual Report other than the financial statements and our auditors’  
report thereon. The directors are responsible for the other information. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the  
other information and, accordingly, we do not express an audit opinion or, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in this report,  
any form of assurance thereon. 

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider  
whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit, or otherwise 
appears to be materially misstated. If we identify an apparent material inconsistency or material misstatement, we are required to perform 
procedures to conclude whether there is a material misstatement of the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other  
information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information,  
we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report based on these responsibilities.

With respect to the Strategic Report and Directors’ Report, we also considered whether the disclosures required by the UK Companies  
Act 2006 have been included. 

Based on the responsibilities described above and our work undertaken in the course of the audit, the Companies Act 2006 (CA06),  
ISAs (UK) and the Listing Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) require us also to report certain opinions and matters  
as described below (required by ISAs (UK) unless otherwise stated).

Strategic Report and Directors’ Report

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit, the information given in the Strategic Report and  
Directors’ Report for the period ended 27 June 2020 is consistent with the financial statements and has been prepared in  
accordance with applicable legal requirements. (CA06)

In light of the knowledge and understanding of the group and company and their environment obtained in the course of the  
audit, we did not identify any material misstatements in the Strategic Report and Directors’ Report. (CA06)

The directors’ assessment of the prospects of the group and of the principal risks that would threaten the solvency or liquidity of the group

We have nothing material to add or draw attention to regarding:

•   The directors’ confirmation on page 18 of the Annual Report that they have carried out a robust assessment of the principal  
risks facing the group, including those that would threaten its business model, future performance, solvency or liquidity.

•   The disclosures in the Annual Report that describe those risks and explain how they are being managed or mitigated.

•   The directors’ explanation on page 60 of the Annual Report as to how they have assessed the prospects of the group, over  

what period they have done so and why they consider that period to be appropriate, and their statement as to whether they have  
a reasonable expectation that the group will be able to continue in operation and meet its liabilities as they fall due over the period  
of their assessment, including any related disclosures drawing attention to any necessary qualifications or assumptions.

We have nothing to report having performed a review of the directors’ statement that they have carried out a robust assessment  
of the principal risks facing the group and statement in relation to the longer-term viability of the group. Our review was substantially  
less in scope than an audit and only consisted of making inquiries and considering the directors’ process supporting their statements;  
checking that the statements are in alignment with the relevant provisions of the UK Corporate Governance Code (the “Code”);  
and considering whether the statements are consistent with the knowledge and understanding of the group and company and  
their environment obtained in the course of the audit. (Listing Rules)

Other Code Provisions

We have nothing to report in respect of our responsibility to report when: 

•   The statement given by the directors, on page 63, that they consider the Annual Report taken as a whole to be fair, balanced  
and understandable, and provides the information necessary for the members to assess the group’s and company’s position  
and performance, business model and strategy is materially inconsistent with our knowledge of the group and company obtained  
in the course of performing our audit.

•   The section of the Annual Report on page 47 describing the work of the Audit Committee does not appropriately address matters 

communicated by us to the Audit Committee.

•   The directors’ statement relating to the company’s compliance with the Code does not properly disclose a departure from  

a relevant provision of the Code specified, under the Listing Rules, for review by the auditors.

Directors’ Remuneration

In our opinion, the part of the Directors’ Remuneration Report to be audited has been properly prepared in accordance with the  
Companies Act 2006. (CA06)

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements 
72

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT TO THE 
MEMBERS OF REVOLUTION BARS GROUP PLC  
CONTINUED

Responsibilities for the financial statements and the audit
Responsibilities of the directors for the financial statements

As explained more fully in the Statement of Directors’ responsibilities in respect of the Annual Report and the financial statements,  
the directors are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the applicable framework and for being  
satisfied that they give a true and fair view. The directors are also responsible for such internal control as they determine is necessary  
to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the directors are responsible for assessing the group’s and the company’s ability to continue  
as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless  
the directors either intend to liquidate the group or the company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditors’ responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, 
whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditors’ report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, 
but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. 
Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be  
expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements. 

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the FRC’s website at:  
www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditors’ report.

Use of this report

This report, including the opinions, has been prepared for and only for the company’s members as a body in accordance with Chapter 3  
of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 and for no other purpose. We do not, in giving these opinions, accept or assume responsibility for  
any other purpose or to any other person to whom this report is shown or into whose hands it may come save where expressly agreed  
by our prior consent in writing.

Other required reporting
Companies Act 2006 exception reporting
Under the Companies Act 2006 we are required to report to you if, in our opinion:

•  we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or

•  adequate accounting records have not been kept by the company, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received  

from branches not visited by us; or

•  certain disclosures of directors’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or

• 

the company financial statements and the part of the Directors’ Remuneration Report to be audited are not in agreement  
with the accounting records and returns. 

We have no exceptions to report arising from this responsibility. 

Appointment
Following the recommendation of the audit committee, we were appointed by the directors on 22 January 2018 to audit the  
financial statements for the period ended 30 June 2018 and subsequent financial periods. The period of total uninterrupted  
engagement is 3 years, covering the periods ended 30 June 2018 to 27 June 2020.

Randal Casson (Senior Statutory Auditor) 
for and on behalf of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP 
Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditors 
Manchester

16 December 2020 

Revolution Durham

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

73

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74

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF PROFIT OR 
LOSS AND OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
FOR THE 52 WEEKS ENDED 27 JUNE 2020

Revenue

Cost of sales

Gross profit

Operating expenses:

– operating expenses, excluding exceptional items

– exceptional items

Total operating expenses

Operating loss

Finance expense

Exceptional finance income

Loss before taxation

Income tax

Loss and total comprehensive expense for the period

Loss per share:

– basic and diluted (pence)

Dividend declared per share (pence)

Non-GAAP measures

Revenue

Operating loss

Exceptional items

Charge/(credit) arising from long-term incentive plans

Bar opening costs

Adjusted operating (loss)/profit

Finance expense

Adjusted (loss)/profit before tax

Depreciation

Amortisation

Finance expense

Adjusted EBITDA

Note

2

2

3

2 

4

7

7

8

9

3

52 weeks ended
27 June 2020
IFRS 16
£’000

52 weeks ended
29 June 2019
IAS 17
£’000

110,074

(26,571)

83,503

(88,388)

(27,770)

(116,158)

(32,655)

(4,934)

5,869

(31,720)

(3,461)

(35,181)

(70.3)

–

110,074

(32,655)

27,770

42

–

(4,843)

(4,934)

(9,777)

14,612

1

4,934

9,770

151,404

(36,643)

114,761

(112,350)

(7,127)

(119,477)

(4,716)

(858)

–

(5,574)

352

(5,222)

(10.4)

–

151,404

(4,716)

7,127

(64)

1,484

3,831

(858)

2,973

7,230

–

858

11,061

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

75

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT  
OF FINANCIAL POSITION
AT 27 JUNE 2020

Assets

Non-current assets

Right-of-use assets

Property, plant and equipment

Intangible assets

Current assets

Inventories

Trade and other receivables

Tax receivable

Cash and cash equivalents

Total assets

Liabilities

Current liabilities

Trade and other payables

Lease liabilities

Provisions

Net current liabilities

Non-current liabilities

Lease liabilities

Interest-bearing loans and borrowings

Deferred tax liability

Provisions 

Rent-free creditor

Total liabilities

Net (liabilities)/assets

Equity attributable to equity holders of the parent

Share capital

Merger reserve

(Accumulated losses)/Retained earnings

Total equity

27 June 2020
IFRS 16
£’000

29 June 2019
IAS 17
£’000

Note

10

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

16

18

19

17

20

70,689

41,222

20

111,931

3,593

3,429

50

2,502

9,574

121,505

(15,795)

(10,203)

–

(25,998)

(16,424)

(102,960)

(24,500)

–

(1,019)

–

(128,479)

(154,477)

(32,972)

50

11,645

(44,667)

(32,972)

–

59,325

9

59,334

4,086

12,276

51

2,627

19,040

78,374

(24,901)

–

(1,269)

(26,170)

(7,130)

–

(17,500)

(413)

(9,687)

(3,184)

(30,784)

(56,954)

21,420

50

11,645

9,725

21,420

These financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors on 16 December 2020 and signed on its behalf by

Mike Foster
Director

Registered number: 08838504

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
76 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT  
OF CHANGES IN EQUITY
FOR THE 52 WEEKS ENDED 27 JUNE 2020

At 1 July 2018 

Loss and total comprehensive expense for the period

Credit arising from long-term incentive plans

Dividends paid

At 29 June 2019 as originally presented

Impact of change in accounting policy (note 26)

Tax impact of change in accounting policy

At 29 June 2019 after adjustment

Loss and total comprehensive expense for the period

Charge arising from long-term incentive plans (note 21)

At 27 June 2020

Reserves

Merger
reserve
£’000

11,645

–

–

–

11,645

–

–

11,645

–

–

Retained earnings/
(Accumulated 
losses)
£’000

16,665

(5,222)

(68)

(1,650)

9,725

(23,127)

3,874

(9,528)

(35,181)

42

11,645

(44,667)

Total
 equity
£’000

28,360

(5,222)

(68)

(1,650)

21,420

(23,127)

3,874

2,167

(35,181)

42

(32,972)

Share 
capital
£’000

50

–

–

–

50

–

–

50

–

–

50

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

77

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT  
OF CASH FLOW
FOR THE 52 WEEKS ENDED 27 JUNE 2020

Cash flow from operating activities

Loss before tax from operations

Adjustments for:

Net finance expense

Exceptional finance income

Depreciation of property, plant and equipment

Depreciation of right-of-use assets

Impairment of property, plant and equipment

Impairment of right-of-use assets

Lease modification

Working Capital and Other movements

Net cash flow generated from operating activities

Cash flow from investing activities

Purchase of intangible assets

Purchase of property, plant and equipment

Net cash flow used in investing activities

Cash flow from financing activities

Equity dividends paid

Interest paid

Lease surrender premiums paid

Principal element of lease payments

Interest element of lease payments

Repayment of borrowings

Drawdown of borrowings

Net cash outflow generated from financing activities

Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents

Opening cash and cash equivalents

Closing cash and cash equivalents

52 weeks ended
27 June 2020
IFRS 16
£’000

52 weeks ended
29 June 2019
IAS 17
£’000

Note

(31,720)

(5,574)

7 

7

10 

10

3

3

3

24

11

10

23

7 

7

16

16

14

4,934

(5,869)

7,397

7,215

8,727

19,566

(897)

(2,883)

6,470

(12)

(4,213)

(4,225)

–

(599)

(1,369)

(3,067)

(4,335)

(12,000)

19,000

(2,370)

(125)

2,627

 2,502

858

–

7,230

–

5,215

–

–

2,857

10,586

(9)

(11,575)

(11,584)

(1,650)

(750)

–

–

–

(12,000)

14,000

(400)

(1,398)

4,025

2,627

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
78 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL INFORMATION
FOR THE 52 WEEKS ENDED 27 JUNE 2020

1. General information
Corporate information

The consolidated financial statements of Revolution Bars Group plc for the 52 weeks ended 27 June 2020 were authorised for issue  
by the Board of Directors on 16 December 2020. Revolution Bars Group plc is a public limited company incorporated and domiciled in the  
UK under the Companies Act 2006 and is registered in England and Wales. The Company is limited by shares on the London Stock Exchange. 
After the end of the reporting period and effective from 27 July 2020, the Company delisted from the premium segment of the Main Market  
and its shares were admitted to the AIM sub-market.

The registered number of the Group is 08838504 and its registered office is 21 Old Street, Ashton-under-Lyne, Tameside, England, OL6 6LA.

Statement of compliance

The Group’s financial statements have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) as adopted  
by the EU, as they apply to the financial statements of the Group for the 52 weeks ended 27 June 2020 (prior period 52 weeks ended  
29 June 2019), and in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006.

Basis of preparation

The accounting period runs to the Saturday falling nearest to 30 June each year and therefore normally comprises a 52-week period but 
with a 53-week period arising approximately at five-year intervals. The period ended 27 June 2020 was a 52-week period; the period ended 
29 June 2019 was also a 52-week period. The period end 3 July 2021 will be a 53-week period. The consolidated financial statements have 
been prepared under the historical cost convention in accordance with those parts of the Companies Act 2006 applicable to companies 
reporting under IFRS. References to 2020 or FY20 relate to the 52-week period ended 27 June 2020 and references to 2019 or FY19 relate 
to the 52-week period ended 29 June 2019 unless otherwise stated. The consolidated financial statements are presented in Pounds Sterling 
with values rounded to the nearest thousand, except where otherwise indicated. These policies have been applied consistently unless 
otherwise stated.

Basis of consolidation

The consolidated financial statements incorporate the financial statements of Revolution Bars Group plc and its subsidiaries. The financial 
statements of subsidiaries are prepared for the same reporting period as the Parent Company with adjustments made to their financial 
statements to bring their accounting policies in line with those used by the Group.

The financial results of subsidiaries are included in the consolidated financial information from the date that control commences until the date 
that control ceases. The consolidated financial information presents the results of the companies within the same group. Intra-group balances 
and transactions, and any unrealised income and expenses arising from intra-group transactions, are eliminated in preparing the consolidated 
financial information. Unrealised losses are eliminated in the same way as unrealised gains, but only to the extent that there is no evidence 
of impairment.

Judgements made by the Directors in the application of these accounting policies that have a significant effect on the financial statements  
and estimates with a significant risk of material adjustment in the next period are discussed below.

Going concern

Going concern
The directors have adopted the going concern basis in preparing these financial statements after careful assessment of identified principal  
risks and, in particular, the possible adverse impact on financial performance, specifically on revenue and cash flows of restrictions imposed  
by the UK Government and the devolved authorities in response to COVID. The going concern status of the Company is intrinsically linked  
to that of the Group.

Liquidity
At the end of the reporting period, the Group had net bank debt of £22.0 million relative to a £30.0 million Revolving Credit Facility (‘RCF’) 
although terms were agreed with the Group’s lending bank, NatWest, to increase the total debt facilities to £37.5 million by utilising the 
Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (‘CLBILS’) loan of £16.5 million and using the proceeds of this loan to partially pay  
down the RCF and to reduce the RCF commitment to £21.0 million. The CLBILS loan, which is a three-year term loan amortising at £1.0 million  
per annum in equal monthly repayments, was drawn down shortly after the period end on 6 July 2020.

On 27 July 2020, the Company completed an equity fundraising of £15.0 million, the net proceeds of which were fully received by 3 August 
2020 and used to repay the remaining outstanding balance of the RCF. At that date of repayment, the Group had CLBILS of £16.5m but 
£26.1 million of liquidity by way of cash at bank of £5.1 million and an undrawn committed RCF of £21.0 million. When the total debt facilities  
were increased to £37.5 million, it was agreed that, contingent on a successful equity fundraising, the debt facilities would be reduced by 
£7.5 million on 31 March 2021, this amount to be applied pro rata to the RCF and CLBILS. However, this reduction in facilities together with 
a previously agreed £1.0m reduction in the RCF at the end of June 2020 were amended by NatWest on 16 December 2020 in favour of an 
alternative amortisation profile of the facilities as follows:

Facility

Commitment

Expiry

Amortisation

RCF

CLBILS

£21.0m

£16.1m

30 June 2022 

£1.6 million on 30 September 2021 and £1.0 million on 30 June 2022

5 July 2023

£0.4 million on 30 September 2021 and £1.0 million per annum in equal monthly instalments

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

79

In accordance with these arrangements and subject to compliance with financial covenants, the Group will have committed funding  
facilities available during the going concern assessment period as follows:

December 2020

March 2021

June 2021

September 2021

December 2021

March 2022

£37.1 million

£36.8 million

£36.6 million

£34.3 million

£34.1 million

£33.8 million

Current Net bank debt and available liquidity
At the date of these financial statements the Group’s net bank debt was approximately £19.5 million, and therefore the Group has available 
liquidity of £17.6 million.

Covenants
The facilities are subject to one financial covenant only, which is that the Group is required to maintain minimum liquidity headroom between  
its net bank debt and the committed facilities on a six-month look forward basis. The required headroom under the covenant varies on  
a monthly basis, as it is set in conjunction with the modelling of a severe but plausible downside scenario (see below for further details), 
between £10.0 million at its highest at the end of December 2020 and £1.3 million at its lowest at the end of March 2021. The effect of the 
covenant is that the base case is within the covenant requirement, whereas the severe but plausible downside case is only slightly above the 
covenant level (i.e. has only very limited headroom over the covenant level) over the 2021 calendar period. Cash flow forecasts are updated 
daily and submitted to NatWest weekly and should two successive weekly forecasts show a breach of the minimum liquidity headroom, then 
the Group would need to consult with NatWest. If a solution to the breach cannot be agreed, for example by the granting of a waiver, or an 
amendment to the facilities then the bank could require the Group to take various actions that may determine the Group’s future.

The Group has remained in close contact with NatWest since it became clear in late February that the COVID-19 pandemic (‘COVID’) could 
potentially have a significantly adverse effect on the Group’s trading performance and cash generation. NatWest have been very supportive  
of the Group throughout this period providing support by amending debt facilities as required in April 2020 and in May 2020 and most recently  
for this going concern assessment period. NatWest also consented to the necessary facility waivers and adjustments to the covenant to  
allow the Company Voluntary Arrangement (‘CVA’) undertaken by the Group’s wholly owned subsidiary entity, Revolution Bars Limited,  
in November 2020 to proceed. 

Significant judgements and base case
The financing arrangements referred to in this going concern section are expected to provide a sufficient platform for the business to meet  
the trading uncertainty that lies ahead as the COVID immunisation programme is rolled out and the UK economy recovers from the devastation 
caused by COVID. During the last nine months, the Group’s sales have been severely impacted by the operating restrictions imposed by the  
UK Government and the devolved authorities; half of that period being subject to a forced closure of all bars, and significant operating 
restrictions operating for the other half, including 10pm curfews (latterly moved to 11pm), reduced capacities, limited party sizes, table service 
only, and a banning of alcohol sales other than with a substantial meal. It is not clear what level of trade may be possible in the coming months 
although the UK Government has stated its intention to complete the COVID vaccination programme by Easter 2021, by which time it would 
seem reasonable to expect that all restrictions imposed since March 2020 will be significantly reduced. If that is indeed the case, then sales 
from April 2021 are likely to be influenced by the level of pent up demand and consumer confidence surrounding both the economy and health  
and safety. The directors believe that based on the Group’s sales levels being better than anticipated following the reopening of venues in  
July 2020 and through to the end of September 2020 before the 10pm curfew was introduced, and the Group’s target young adult customer 
groups being least affected by COVID, that consumer confidence and demand for the Group’s product should not be a significant issue and  
it is reasonable to expect a return to historic trading levels once the COVID vaccination programme has been successfully delivered.  
However, the directors also acknowledge that the Group’s sales remain vulnerable to factors that are entirely beyond its control, such as:  
(i) the degree of operating restrictions that remain in force when the current arrangements are reviewed and whilst the vaccination programme  
is being rolled-out and how quickly such restrictions may be lifted once that roll-out has been completed; (ii) a reliable supply of the vaccine;  
(iii) the take up of the vaccination programme; and (iv) that the vaccine works as expected.

The level of sales that the Group generates drives EBITDA and cash generation, which in turn impacts the level of liquidity required and 
compliance with the covenant test.

In reaching their assessment that the financing arrangements are expected to be sufficient for the business, the directors have reviewed  
a base case forecast scenario which assumes that the operational arrangements currently in force from 2 December remain in force until  
the end of March 2021 (Easter). Currently, the Group is trading only 33 of its bars: 1 in tier 1 and 32 in tier 2 locations, and therefore forecasts 
sales in the January 2021 to March 2021 quarter are expected to be at 16% of their historical pre-COVID levels. From April 2021 to June 2021,  
all 67 of the Group’s bars are expected to be trading but with some operating restrictions still in force with sales forecast at an average 75%  
of their historical level before improving to 90% in July 2021 and August 2021 as all remaining restrictions are expected to be lifted with 
consumer confidence expected to increasingly return, with sales returning to normal historical levels for the remainder of 2021. Hence the 
Group’s base case forecast scenario is for sales in calendar year 2021 to be at 73% of the levels achieved in the last 12 months pre-COVID. 
Operating margins in the early months of 2021 are forecast to be consistent with those achieved during the period of trading under severe 
operating restrictions in recent months but then slowly improving to pre-COVID levels over the remainder of 2021. The Group expects to 
continue to qualify for support from the UK Government through relief from business rates, a reduction in VAT from non-alcohol sales, and 
access to flexible furlough under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme through to the end of March 2021. £1.75 million of capital expenditure  
has been forecast for the 12 months to June 2021 including £0.5m to undertake three bar refurbishments between April 2021 and June 2021.

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements80 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL INFORMATION CONTINUED
FOR THE 52 WEEKS ENDED 27 JUNE 2020

1. General information continued
Under the base case forecast, there is no forecast breach of the banking covenant. The forecast average amount of headroom for net  
bank debt relative to the minimum liquidity covenant between December 2020 and December 2022 is £4.5 million with the lowest point  
of £2.5 million in March 2021.

Severe but plausible downside scenario
The directors have also reviewed a severe but plausible downside scenario which assumes that the business is subject to an  
enforced lockdown (zero sales) until the end of March 2021 (Easter) with sales return at 60% of the normal historical pre-COVID levels  
between April 2021 and June 2021, after which trading is similar to the base case forecast for the remainder of 2021, as detailed above.  
Other assumptions regarding operating margins and support from the UK Government are also similar to the base case forecast scenario  
but the capital expenditure forecast for the 12 months to June 2021 is £0.5 million lower.

Under the severe but plausible downside scenario, net bank debt is approximately £2.5 million greater than under the base case forecast 
scenario. This adverse movement is relatively small because there is marginal EBITDA benefit in the base case from trading only one bar  
under tier 1 and 32 bars under tier 2 of the UK Government operating restrictions where alcohol sales are only permitted with a substantial  
meal. The severe but plausible downside scenario shows no forecast breach of the banking covenant but, as would be expected, the forecast 
average amount of net bank debt headroom relative to the minimum liquidity covenant between December 2020 and December 2021 is  
lower at £1.8 million with the lowest point of £1.2 million in March 2021.

The directors believe that there should be no further downside to the severe but plausible downside scenario for the period to the end  
of March 2021 given that no trade is forecast for this period, and that a sales forecast at 60% of historical pre-COVID levels for April 2021  
to June 2021 is prudent relative to the same bars year-on-year sales performances achieved when bars were reopened between July 2020  
and September 2020 prior to the introduction of the 10pm curfew and tier restrictions. If there is any residual risk not accounted for in the  
severe but plausible downside scenario, it is that if there is a significant problem with the vaccine efficacy or roll-out, that results in a delay  
to the reopening of bars in March 2021 or that severe ongoing restrictions continue whilst such a problem is resolved. Whilst there are currently  
no indications that this may be the case, the directors note the unprecedented scale and challenge of the vaccination roll-out is such that  
there can be no certainty that it will run completely to plan. However, the directors also believe that if severe operating restrictions remain  
in place after March 2021 the financial effects could potentially be mitigated wholly or partially by a number of factors that are not reflected  
in the severe but plausible downside scenario, but which are not all wholly within the control of the directors, including some trading pre  
March 2021, a further extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme beyond March 2021 may be made, further rent mitigation if 
discussions with a number of landlords conclude favourably, receipt of local authority grants as these are made available but which have  
not been included in the Group’s forecasts, and any extension to business rates relief beyond April 2021.

The low level of liquidity headroom relative to the minimum liquidity covenant and the material uncertainty caused by COVID coupled with 
forecasting difficulties as a result of constantly changing operating restrictions means that the Group cannot be assured that it will not breach 
the minimum liquidity covenant. A breach of covenant would require the bank to grant a waiver or for the Company to renegotiate its banking 
facilities or raise funds from other sources, none of which is entirely within the Group’s control. A breach of the covenant would also result in 
the reclassification of £24.5 million of non-current borrowings to current borrowings as at the date of the consolidation statement of financial 
position. The directors have assessed, however, that given a strong underlying business, particularly post lease surrenders of under-performing 
bars and the CVA undertaken during 2020, the Group’s existing relationships with its main creditors, its success in recent years in obtaining 
covenant waivers and renegotiating its banking facilities and a recent equity fundraising, that a request for a waiver of a covenant breach or 
renegotiation of the banking facilities would be successful.

Going concern statement
The severe disruption to the Group’s trade during the last nine months caused by COVID and the resultant and frequently changing operating 
restrictions imposed by the UK Government and the devolved authorities indicates the existence of a material uncertainty which may 
cast significant doubt over the ability of the Group and Company to continue as a going concern. This uncertainty exists because of the 
unpredictability of the nature, extent and duration of COVID, the vaccination programme, and the imposed operating restrictions in the calendar 
year 2021 and how this will impact the Group’s operational performance and in particular the level of sales and EBITDA generated that will  
in turn determine the Group’s covenant compliance.

Notwithstanding the material uncertainty, after due consideration the Directors have a reasonable expectation that the Company and the 
Group have sufficient resources to continue in operational existence for the period of 12 months from the date of approval of these financial 
statements. Accordingly, the financial statements continue to be prepared on the going concern basis. The financial statements do not  
contain the adjustments that would arise if the Group (and the Company) were unable to continue as a going concern.

(a) Accounting policies

Revenue recognition
Revenue is the fair value of goods and services sold to third parties as part of the Group’s trading activities, net of discounts.  
Revenue primarily arises from the sale of food and beverage in the Group’s trading outlet and is recognised at the point of delivery  
to the customer.

Revenue from the sale of discount cards is recognised consistent with customers’ usage of the cards.

Expenses
Cost of sales
Cost of sales principally comprises the purchase cost of drinks and food sold.

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

81

Supplier rebates
Supplier rebates are recognised as a deduction from cost of sales on an accruals basis using the contractual terms and volumes supplied  
up to the statement of financial position date for each relevant supplier contract. Where rebates are conditional on long-term minimum  
volumes, management judgement is applied as to the achievement of those volumes. Accrued rebates receivable as at the date of the 
statement of financial position are included within trade and other receivables. Where listing fees received are conditional on a contractual  
term, the amounts are recognised over that term.

Financing income and expenses
•  Financing expenses comprise interest payable on borrowings and other finance charges.

• 

Interest income and interest payable are recognised in the consolidated statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income  
on an accruals basis, using the effective interest method.

Taxation
Tax on the profit or loss for the period comprises current and deferred tax. Tax is recognised in the consolidated statement of profit  
or loss and other comprehensive income except to the extent that it relates to items recognised directly in equity, in which case the tax  
is also recognised directly in equity.

Current tax is the expected tax payable or credit receivable on the taxable income or loss for the period using tax rates enacted  
or substantively enacted at the statement of financial position date, and any adjustment to tax payable in respect of previous periods.

Deferred tax is provided on temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes  
and the amounts used for taxation purposes. The following temporary differences are not provided for: the initial recognition of goodwill;  
the initial recognition of assets or liabilities that affect neither accounting nor taxable profit other than in a business combination; and  
differences relating to investments in subsidiaries to the extent they will probably not reverse in the foreseeable future. The amount of  
deferred tax provided is based on the expected manner of realisation or settlement of the carrying amount of assets and liabilities using  
tax rates enacted or substantively enacted at the statement of financial position date.

A deferred tax asset is recognised only to the extent that it is probable that future taxable profits will be available against which temporary 
differences can be utilised.

Operating segments
An operating segment is a component of the Group that engages in business activities from which it may earn revenues and incur expenses, 
including revenues and expenses that relate to transactions with any of the Group’s other components.

Segment information is based on internal reports regularly reviewed by the Group’s Chief Operating Decision Maker (“CODM”) in order  
to assess each segment’s performance and to allocate resources to them. The CODM is the Board (see note 2).

Share-based payments
The Group issues equity-settled share-based payments to certain employees. Equity-settled share-based payments are measured at fair  
value at the date of grant. The fair value determined at the grant date is expensed on a straight-line basis over the vesting period based  
on the Group’s estimated number of shares that will vest. This is recognised as an employee expense or credit with a corresponding increase  
or decrease in equity. Fair value is evaluated using the Monte Carlo model for options subject to market-based performance conditions and  
by using the Black-Scholes model for options subject to any other performance condition. 

Exceptional items
Items that are unusual or infrequent in nature and material in size are disclosed separately in the consolidated statement of profit or loss  
and other comprehensive income. The separate reporting of these items helps, in the opinion of the Directors, to provide a more accurate 
indication of the Group’s underlying business performance. Exceptional items typically include impairments of property, plant and equipment  
and right-of-use assets, venue closure costs, significant contract termination costs and costs associated with major one-off projects.  
Charges related to share-based payment arrangements are not treated as exceptional but are excluded from the calculation of adjusted  
EBITDA due to significant variations in the annual charges/credits historically arising from senior employees with significant options leaving  
the business and changes to the probability of share options vesting.

Bar opening costs
Bar opening costs refer to revenue costs incurred in preparing a new bar for opening and include all costs incurred before opening and 
preparing for launch, even if the bar does not open in the reporting period. These costs are excluded from the calculation of adjusted EBITDA. 
The separate reporting of these items helps provide a more accurate indication of the Group’s underlying business performance, which the 
Directors believe would otherwise be distorted due to the irregular timing of the opening of new bars.

Non-derivative financial instruments
Non-derivative financial instruments comprise investments in equity securities, trade and other receivables, cash and cash equivalents,  
loans and borrowings and trade and other payables.

Trade and other receivables
Trade and other receivables are recognised initially at fair value. Subsequent to initial recognition they are measured at amortised cost  
using the effective interest method, less any impairment losses. Receivables also include credit and debit card sales which have not reached  
the bank at the reporting date.

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements82

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL INFORMATION CONTINUED
FOR THE 52 WEEKS ENDED 27 JUNE 2020

1. General information continued
Trade and other payables
Trade and other payables are recognised initially at fair value. Subsequent to initial recognition they are measured at amortised cost using  
the effective interest method. 

Cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash balances at bank or held in the business and on-call deposits. Bank overdrafts repayable  
on demand and forming an integral part of the Group’s cash management are included as a component of cash and cash equivalents  
for the purpose of the statement of cash flow only.

Interest-bearing borrowings
Interest-bearing borrowings are recognised initially at fair value less attributable transaction costs. Subsequent to initial recognition,  
interest-bearing borrowings are stated at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

Share capital
Ordinary Shares are classified as equity. Incremental costs directly attributable to the issue of Ordinary Shares are recognised  
as a deduction from equity net of any related tax.

Merger reserve
The merger reserve arose due to the return of share capital related to the sale of a subsidiary business on 22 February 2014. 

Property, plant and equipment
Property, plant and equipment are stated at historical purchase cost less accumulated depreciation and any accumulated impairment losses.  
Cost includes the original purchase price of the asset and the costs attributable to bringing the asset to its working condition for its intended use.

Depreciation is charged to write-off the cost of assets over their estimated useful lives on the following bases:

Short leasehold premises and improvements  

 –  Lower of 25 years or the unexpired term of the leasehold agreement on a straight-line 
basis for new bars, and the lower of 10 years or the unexpired term of the leasehold 
agreement on a straight-line basis for refurbishments at existing bars

IT equipment and office furniture  

– 3 to 4 years on a straight-line basis

Fixtures and fittings in licensed premises  

– 5 years on a straight-line basis

Freehold land is not depreciated.

Depreciation policies and useful economic lives are reviewed at each statement of financial position date.

Short leasehold costs include directly attributable employment costs and related personal expenses of individuals employed to manage  
or implement the Company’s capital development programme.

Leases
Where the Company is a lessee, a right-of-use asset and lease liability are both recognised at the outset of the lease. Each lease liability  
is initially measured at the present value of the remaining lease payment obligations taking account of the likelihood of lease extension  
or break options being exercised. Each lease liability is subsequently adjusted to reflect imputed interest, payments made to the lessor  
and any modifications to the lease. The right-of-use asset is initially measured at cost, which comprises the amount of the lease liability,  
plus lease payments made at or before the commencement date adjusted by the amount of any prepaid or accrued lease payments,  
less any incentives received to enter in to the lease, plus any initial direct costs incurred by the Group to execute the lease, plus an estimate  
of any costs expected to be incurred at the end of the lease to dismantle or restore the asset, and less any onerous lease provision.  
The right-of-use asset is depreciated in accordance with the Group’s accounting policy on property, plant and equipment. The amount  
charged to the income statement comprises the depreciation of the right-of-use asset and the imputed interest on the lease liability.

The Company has utilised the practical expedient to not assess whether rent waivers agreed as a result of COVID-19 are lease modifications.

Impairment of tangible fixed assets and right-of-use assets
At each statement of financial position date, the Group reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any 
indication of an impairment loss. The carrying amount of assets that do not directly generate cash flows are allocated to other cash generating 
units (“CGUs”) to which it is related as part of the impairment testing of those CGUs.

Impairment testing is performed by reference to establishing the recoverable amount of an asset. The recoverable amount is the higher  
of fair value less costs to sell, and value in use. In assessing value in use, estimated future cash flows are discounted to their present value  
using a discount rate that reflects current market assessments of the time value of money and the risks specific to the asset for which the 
estimate of future cash flows have not been adjusted. If the recoverable amount of an asset (or CGU) is estimated to be less than the asset’s 
carrying amount, the carrying amount is reduced to the recoverable amount. An impairment loss is recognised as an expense immediately.

Intangible assets
Intangible assets comprise capitalised trademark licences and are recognised at cost. They have a finite useful life and are carried at cost  
less accumulated amortisation. Amortisation is calculated on a straight-line basis to allocate the cost of intangible assets over their estimated 
useful life of ten years.

 
Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

83

Inventories
Inventories are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value, with due allowance being made for obsolete or slow-moving items.  
Cost is based on the first-in first-out principle and includes expenditure incurred in acquiring the inventories and other costs in bringing  
them to their existing location and condition. Cost is stated net of supplier volume rebates. Inventories include a value for small value sundry 
consumable items associated with delivering product to customers. The most significant of these consumables are glassware, cutlery and 
crockery, sundry bar equipment and product garnishes. The initial cost of these items on opening a new bar is attributed to inventory but  
any ongoing expenditure to replace or replenish such items is expensed.

Net realisable value is the estimated selling price less further costs expected to be incurred prior to sale or disposal.

Employee benefits
Defined contribution pension plans
A defined contribution pension plan is a post-employment benefit plan towards which the Group pays fixed contributions to a separate  
entity as part of an employee’s contractual arrangement whilst they remain in the Group’s employment. The Group has no legal or constructive 
obligation to pay further amounts to such pension plans. Obligations for contributions to defined contribution pension plans are recognised  
as an expense in the consolidated statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income in the periods during which services are 
rendered by employees.

Short-term benefits
Short-term employee benefit obligations are measured on an undiscounted basis and are expensed as the related service is provided.  
A liability is recognised for amounts expected to be paid under short-term cash bonus and profit-sharing plans if the Group has a present  
legal or constructive obligation to pay such amounts as a result of past service provided by the employee and the obligation can be  
estimated reliably.

Provisions
A provision is recognised in the statement of financial position when the Group has a present legal or constructive obligation as a result  
of a past event which can be reliably measured and it is probable that an outflow of economic benefits will be required to settle the obligation. 
Provisions are determined by discounting the expected future cash flows at a pre-tax rate that reflects risks specific to the liability.

When valuations of leasehold properties (based on future estimated income streams) give rise to a deficit as a result of onerous lease conditions 
they are recognised as provisions. These provisions are measured at the present value of the expenditure expected to be required to settle  
the future contractual payment obligations using a pre-tax rate that reflects current market assessments of the time value of money and the 
risks specific to the obligation. The key assumptions used in the discounted cash flow calculations are the discount and inflation rates and the 
market rents, vacant periods and future trading income relating to such properties. Onerous lease provisions are no longer applicable under 
IFRS 16 and were absorbed into the right-of-use asset upon implementation.

The Group provides for those costs that are considered to be unavoidable prior to lease termination; dilapidation costs are provided for against 
all leasehold properties across the entire estate.

COVID-19 accounting policies
As has been the case for all hospitality businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Group’s trading venues were subject to a UK government 
enforced lockdown effective from 20 March 2020 and which remained in place at the end of the reporting period. During this period, the Group 
has been unable to trade and therefore has generated zero income. Recognising this the UK government has made available certain reliefs and 
support schemes from which the Group has been able to benefit. Given the temporary nature of these reliefs and their material impact on the 
reported performance of the Group, relevant accounting policies are set out below.

The directors have considered whether the collective benefit of government support to counter the impact of ‘COVID-19’ should be reported  
as an Exceptional credit but given the severe impact of the pandemic on the underlying trading numbers and that the reliefs were introduced  
by government to mitigate the trading impact, the directors do not believe that to do so would be meaningful. Support during the COVID 
lockdown has come in many different forms and from a number of stakeholders, including suppliers and landlords, not just government,  
and therefore, given that all of that support is inextricably linked to the prevailing imposed lockdown and operating restrictions the directors  
are of the opinion that to identify all forms of support is impractical and not meaningful. However, where notes to the financial statements  
lend themselves to cross-referencing and quantifying external support such as the disclosures of payroll and rent information, additional 
information has been given.

Furlough and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS)
The Group has utilised the CJRS extensively throughout the period of lockdown. The scheme allows 80% of the normal earnings of  
individuals who have been furloughed, up to a cap of £2,500 per month per employee. The Group pays the furlough wages and then lodges  
a claim to government for reimbursement. Typically, the claims have been made at four weekly intervals shortly after each four-week payroll 
cycle. The government claim is accounted for on an accruals basis and therefore in the consolidated statement of profit or loss matches the 
furlough wages. Unpaid claims to government are included in Trade and other receivables in the consolidated statement of financial position.

Rates holiday and government grants
The government has provided relief for general rates by way of a rates holiday for hospitality businesses for the 20/21 fiscal year; accordingly, 
no rates charges have been recorded for the final quarter of FY20 and charges will not resume until the final quarter of FY21. Furthermore,  
the government has provided funding for grants of £25,000 per eligible site for sites with a rateable value below £51,000. The Group has  
two eligible sites but only one grant was received in FY20 and is being spread over the fiscal year. 

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements84

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL INFORMATION CONTINUED
FOR THE 52 WEEKS ENDED 27 JUNE 2020

1. General information continued
Inventory provision
The long duration of the enforced closure inventory has resulted in inventory product for resale going out of date and the wasting of opened 
kegs and bottles and certain food-lines. The Group has also taken the opportunity during the lock-down period to rationalise and simplify its 
food and drink menus in the expectation that speed of service will be even more important and sales volumes will be lower when a resumption 
of business is possible. Most breweries have agreed to replace full out of date kegs that were delivered in the two weeks preceding lockdown 
free of charge but nevertheless there remains significant waste. Accordingly, provisions have been made against both products for resale and 
consumable stocks to reflect the expected wastage and obsolescence following the menu changes. Please see Note 12 for further details.

VAT and PAYE deferrals
VAT and PAYE liabilities that fell due between the 18 March and the end of June were deferred with the approval of HMRC. PAYE due on 
furlough wages funded by government has not been deferred. The Group took advantage of this scheme to further support the cash position 
during uncertain times. As at 27 June 2020, £2.1 million of VAT and £1.6 million of PAYE had been deferred and must be repaid before the end  
of the 20/21 fiscal year.

Rent concessions
Given the level of uncertainty around trading and financing arrangements in the immediate aftermath of the lockdown imposition, the Group  
did not pay March rents falling due on the quarter day. The government’s introduction of a short-term moratorium to prevent the forfeiture of 
leases by landlords and the subsequent publishing of a ‘Code of Conduct’ setting out best practice for how landlord and tenant should work 
together has resulted in dialogue with landlords. As at 27 June 2020, agreements had been reached with the landlords of 11 of the Group’s 
trading properties to waive £369k of rent relating to the FY20 financial period. Discussions are continuing with many other landlords and the 
Group has made clear to all other landlords that it remains open to discussions as to how the Group’s rental burden can be mitigated during  
the lockdown period and whilst operating restrictions remain in place. Most of the rent due in respect of both the March and June quarters 
remains unpaid.

Only those rental concessions agreed with landlords prior to the end of the FY20 reporting period have been accounted for within the reporting 
period. Rent-free periods or reduced rental periods that are in effect a gift from the landlord with nothing given in exchange are treated as an 
immediate relief of rent. However, where the rental concession is in exchange for an extension to the term of a lease or for some other structural 
change to the terms of the lease, it is treated as a lease modification and the benefit of the concession is recognised in the P&L over the full 
remaining term of the lease.

Due to the UK Government enforced closure resulting from COVID-19, management has engaged with landlords to secure rent relief during 
this period. As at the date of the financial statements, reduced rent payments have been agreed in respect of 35 bars. Of these agreements, 
£2.4 million amounts to straight rent waivers of which £0.4 million was credited to the profit and loss in FY20, with the remaining crediting to 
future years. Further short term payment relief of £1.7 million has been agreed as a result of lease regears, which have typically involved any  
of: an extension to the lease term; the insertion of a future landlord only break right; or the removal of a tenant only break right. All amounts 
stated are estimated given that certain agreements include turnover rents. A Company Voluntary Arrangement (‘CVA’) was conducted after 
period end also; this has been treated as a non-adjusting post balance sheet event. Please see note 26 for further details.

(b) Critical judgements and key sources of estimation and uncertainty

The preparation of consolidated financial information in conformity with IFRS requires management to make judgements, estimates  
and assumptions that affect the application of accounting policies and the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, income and expenses.  
Actual results in due course may differ from these estimates.

Estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an on-going basis and are based on historical experience and other factors including 
expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised  
in the period in which the revision takes place and in any future periods affected. 

The key assumptions concerning the future and other key sources of estimation and uncertainty at the date of the statement of financial  
position that have a significant risk of causing material adjustments to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial 
period are set out below.

The directors consider the principal judgements made in the Financial Statements to be:

Judgements made in assessing the impact of COVID-19 on the financial statements
We have exercised judgement in evaluating the impact of COVID-19 on the financial statements. The areas identified are as follows:

•  Going concern, where assumptions have been made as to the likelihood of further spikes in COVID-19 and the ongoing operating 

restrictions impacting all hospitality businesses;

• 

• 

Impact on future cash flows included within the value in use calculations used in impairment assessments;

IFRS 9, where an increased Expected Credit Loss rate has been increased from 1% to 2% to reflect the enhanced risk of supplier failure 
(collecting rebates).

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

85

Exceptional items, bar opening costs and share-based payments: adjusted profitability measures
Management uses a range of measures to monitor and assess the Group’s financial performance. These measures include a combination  
of statutory measures calculated in accordance with IFRS and alternative performance measures (“APMs”). These APMs include the following 
adjusted measures of profitability:

•  adjusted operating profit before exceptional items, bar opening costs and share-based payments;

•  adjusted profit before tax before exceptional items, bar opening costs and share-based payments;

•  adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation before exceptional items, bar opening costs and share-based 

payments (“adjusted EBITDA”); and 

•  adjusted basic earnings per share before exceptional items, bar opening costs and share-based payments.

The Directors believe that these measures provide management and investors with useful additional information on the Group’s performance. 
The above measures represent the equivalent IFRS measures but are adjusted to exclude items that the Directors consider may prevent  
a relevant comparison of the Group’s performance both from one reporting period to another and with other similar businesses.

These items are not defined under IFRS and as such there is judgement applied in the classification of items as exceptional. Exceptional items 
are classified as those which are separately identifiable by virtue of their size, nature or expected frequency and therefore warrant separate 
presentation. Bar opening costs are another item that the Directors consider should be presented separately to allow a better understanding 
of the underlying performance of the business. Presentation of these measures is not intended to be a substitute for or to promote them above 
statutory measures.

The Group’s consolidated statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income provides a reconciliation of the adjusted profitability 
measures, excluding exceptional and other non-underlying items to the equivalent unadjusted IFRS measures. 

Bar opening costs comprise non-recurring bar opening costs, which are costs incurred between a bar being acquired and commencement  
of trading. It predominantly includes property overheads and staff recruitment, payroll and training costs.

Exceptional items and bar opening costs are further detailed in note 3 to the financial statements.

Items considered to be exceptional or bar opening costs that are separately identified in order to aid comparability may include the following:

•  costs incurred in association with business combinations, such as legal and professional fees and stamp duty;

•  costs incurred in respect of termination of director’s contracts;

• 

impairment charges in respect of tangible assets as a result of bar underperformances; and

•  provisions for onerous leases. 

Charges/credits relating to share-based payments arising from the Group’s long-term incentive schemes are not considered to be  
exceptional but are separately identified due to the scope for significant variation in charges/credits due to changes in senior management  
and the probability of share options vesting amongst other factors.

Capitalisation of employment costs
The Company capitalises employment costs and related personal expenses of individuals whose job roles are fundamentally associated  
with managing or implementing the Company’s capital development programme. Judgement is therefore applied in determining the element 
of internal employment costs which are directly attributable to capital projects. Where such an individual undertakes non-capital expenditure 
related activities as part of their job role then that proportion of their cost is not capitalised unless the non-capital expenditure related  
activities are incidental to their role.

The directors consider the principal estimates made in the Financial Statements to be:

Recoverable amount of property, plant and equipment and right-of-use assets (note 10)
Assets that are subject to depreciation are tested for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstance indicate that the carrying 
amount may not be recoverable. An impairment loss is recognised for the amount by which the asset’s carrying amount exceeds its estimated 
recoverable amount.

The recoverable amount is the higher of an asset’s fair value less costs to sell and its value in use. In assessing value in use, the expected  
future cash flows are discounted to their present value using a pre-tax discount rate that reflects current market assessments of the rate  
of return expected on an investment of equivalent risk. For an asset that does not generate an independent income stream, the recoverable 
amount is determined in conjunction with the cash generating units (“CGU”) to which the asset relates.

Determining value in use requires a series of estimates to be made including an appropriate discount rate to calculate the present value,  
an estimate of the cash flows expected to arise from the CGU (including an assessment of revenue and cost base growth) and a long-term 
growth rate. The possibilities of a second lockdown, development of vaccines, and other government support schemes were considered  
in these assessments, although not included as part of the central estimate used. For further details of the sensitivity of the calculation  
of impairment provisions to these key assumptions, see Note 10.

The key assumptions in the value in use calculation are the applicable discount rate of 8.2 per cent (2019: 11.7 per cent) and long-term  
revenue and cost base growth rates of 1 per cent (2019: 2 per cent).

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements86 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL INFORMATION CONTINUED
FOR THE 52 WEEKS ENDED 27 JUNE 2020

1. General information continued
(c) New and amended standards adopted by the Group

The Group applied the following standards and amendments for the first time in the annual reporting period commencing 30 June 2019:

• 

IFRS 16 Leases

The adoption of this standard has materially impacted the Group Consolidated Financial Statements. Note 26 provides further details.

(d) New standards and interpretations not yet adopted

Certain new accounting standards and interpretations have been published that are not mandatory for the reporting period ended  
27 June 2020 and have not been early adopted by the Group. 

•  Amendments to IAS 1 Presentation of financial statements, and IAS 8 Accounting policies, changes in accounting estimates and  

errors’ definition of material; and

•  Amendments to the conceptual framework.

2. Segmental information
The Group’s continuing operating businesses are organised and managed as reportable business segments according to the information  
used by the Group’s Chief Operating Decision maker (“CODM”) in its decision making and reporting structure.

The Group’s internal management reporting is focused predominantly on revenue and adjusted EBITDA, as these are the principal  
performance measures and drives the allocation of resources. The CODM receives information by trading venue, each of which is considered 
to be an operating segment. All operating segments have similar characteristics and, in accordance with IFRS 8, are aggregated to form 
an ‘Ongoing business’ reportable segment. Within the ongoing business, assets and liabilities cannot be allocated to individual operating 
segments and are not used by the CODM for making operating and resource allocation decisions.

The Group performs all its activities in the United Kingdom. All the Group’s non-current assets are located in the United Kingdom.  
Revenue is earned from the sale of drink and food with a small amount of admission income.

Revenue

Cost of sales

Gross profit

Operating expenses:

– operating expenses excluding exceptional items

– exceptional items

Total operating expenses

Operating loss

Depreciation is disclosed in note 4.

3. Operating expenses

Sales and distribution

Administrative expenses

Total operating expenses

52 weeks ended 
27 June 2020
IFRS 16 
 £’000

52 weeks ended 
29 June 2019
IAS 17 
 £’000

110,074

(26,571)

83,503

(88,388)

(27,770)

(116,158)

(32,655)

151,404

(36,643)

114,761

(112,350)

(7,127)

(119,477)

(4,716)

52 weeks ended 
27 June 2020
IFRS 16 
 £’000

52 weeks ended 
29 June 2019
IAS 17 
 £’000

101,161

14,997

116,158

106,503

12,974

119,477

 
 
Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

87

Exceptional items 

Exceptional items, by virtue of their size, incidence or nature, are disclosed separately in order to allow a better understanding  
of the underlying trading performance of the Group. Exceptional (credits)/charges comprised the following:

Administrative expenses:

– impairment of right-of-use assets

– impairment of property, plant and equipment

– lease modification

– delist from Main market and admission to AIM

– movement on onerous lease provisions

– other

Total exceptional items

52 weeks ended 
27 June 2020
IFRS 16 
 £’000

52 weeks ended 
29 June 2019
IAS 17 
 £’000

Note

27

19,566

8,727

(897)

371

–

3

27,770

–

5,215

–

–

1,912

–

7,127

Following implementation of IFRS 16, impairment reviews now also include right-of-use assets relating to leases. The net book value of  
property, plant and equipment at 37 of the Group’s bars (2019: 26) was written down, including right-of-use asset write-downs at 37 bars.  
Eight of these bars had not been subject to impairment charges previously. The impairment charge is attributable to the combined effect  
of the creation of the right-of-use asset and the impact of COVID-19 on trading performance. The directors considered that trading at these  
bars is unlikely to recover in the foreseeable future to a level that would justify their current book value.

A gain on modification of leases was recognised where the respective IFRS 16 creditors had reduced following a reduction in rental  
amount or length of lease. Where a lease modification reduces the scope of a lease, the gain is netted against the related right-of-use asset.  
Where the right-of-use asset is fully impaired, the gain is taken as a credit to administrative expenses.

Following adoption of IFRS 16, which requires the carrying value of the right-of-use asset to be assessed at each balance sheet date,  
onerous lease provisions are no longer relevant and accordingly all existing provisions have been incorporated as part of the opening 
adjustments on implementation of IFRS 16.

Bar opening costs

52 weeks ended 
27 June 2020
IFRS 16 
 £’000

52 weeks ended 
29 June 2019
IAS 17 
 £’000

–

1,484

Bar opening costs relate to costs incurred in getting new bars fully operational and primarily include costs incurred before the opening 
and preparing for launch, even if the bars do not open in the period. The most substantial parts of the cost are for rent and rates incurred 
between the start of the lease and opening. In the 52 weeks ended 27 June 2020, no new bars were opened (2019: five) following a period 
of consolidation. 

4. Group operating loss
Group operating loss is stated after charging:

Depreciation of property, plant and equipment

Depreciation of right-of-use assets

Impairment of property, plant and equipment 

Impairment of right-of-use assets

Amortisation of intangibles

Auditors’ remuneration:

– audit fees payable to the Company’s auditors for the audit of these financial statements

Fees payable to the Company’s auditors for:

– audit of financial statements of subsidiary companies

– interim review

52 weeks ended 
27 June 2020
IFRS 16 
 £’000

52 weeks ended 
29 June 2019
IAS 17 
 £’000

7,397

7,215

8,727

19,566

1

151

76

21

7,230

–

5,215

–

–

149

35

21

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements 
88 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL INFORMATION CONTINUED
FOR THE 52 WEEKS ENDED 27 JUNE 2020

5. Staff numbers and costs
The average monthly number of employees during each period, analysed by category, was as follows:

Administrative

Operational

The aggregate payroll costs were as follows:

Wages and salaries

Social security costs

Other pension costs

Share-based payment charge/(credit) (note 21)

52 weeks ended 
27 June 2020
IFRS 16 
 Number

52 weeks ended 
29 June 2019
IAS 17 
Number

98

2,870

2,968

100

3,267

3,367

52 weeks ended 
27 June 2020
IFRS 16 
 £’000

52 weeks ended 
29 June 2019
IAS 17 
 £’000

32,821

2,339

597

42

44,606

2,101

401

(64)

35,799

47,044

Aggregate payroll costs include £0.3 million (2019: £0.5 million) capitalised as property, plant and equipment, and are net of £7.6 million  
of Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme grants received.

In the 52 weeks ended 27 June 2020, aggregate payroll costs included £7.6 million reclaimed from the UK Government in accordance  
with the rules of the Corona Virus Job Retention Scheme.

6. Directors’ remuneration

Aggregate emoluments

Pension contributions to money purchase schemes1

Emoluments in respect of the highest paid Director

Aggregate emoluments

Pension contributions to money purchase schemes1

52 weeks ended 
27 June 2020
IFRS 16 
 £’000

52 weeks ended 
29 June 2019
IAS 17 
 £’000

668

42

710

327

42

369

893

44

937

366

44

410

1 

Includes salary enhancements made in lieu of pension contributions due to pension caps.

One Director (2019: one) was enrolled in a defined contribution pension scheme in the period. In addition to the above,  
£353k (2019: £676k) of long-term incentive share options were awarded to the highest paid Director in the period.

The Directors agreed a reduction in salary of 50% to mitigate the impact of COVID-19; please see the Directors’ Remuneration  
Report on page 50 for further information.

 
 
 
 
 
 
Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

89

52 weeks ended 
27 June 2020
IFRS 16 
 £’000

52 weeks ended 
29 June 2019
IAS 17 
 £’000

599

4,335

–

4,934

750

–

108

858

52 weeks ended 
27 June 2020
IFRS 16 
 £’000

52 weeks ended 
29 June 2019
IAS 17 
 £’000

(8,893)

1,369

405

1,250

(5,869)

–

–

–

–

–

7. Finance expense and income

Interest payable on bank loans and overdrafts

Interest on lease liabilities

Interest on onerous lease provisions

Interest payable

Gross gain on disposal

Surrender premiums paid in year

Related surrender costs paid in year

Surrender premiums to be paid

Total exceptional finance income

During the period, the Group closed five bars (Liverpool Wood Street, Swansea, Macclesfield, Lincoln, and Fallowfield). The leases for each 
of these sites other than Swansea, together with the Group’s two other non-trading properties (Lancaster and Wolverhampton that closed  
in 2014) were surrendered. 

Exceptional gains on disposal occurred in respect of these lease surrenders as a result of extinguishing IFRS 16 lease liabilities, and is net  
of surrender premiums paid and payable to landlords; this net position is classified as exceptional finance income.

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements 
90 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL INFORMATION CONTINUED
FOR THE 52 WEEKS ENDED 27 JUNE 2020

8. Income tax 
The major components of the Group’s tax credit for each period are:

Analysis of credit in the period

Current tax

UK corporation tax on the loss for the period

Adjustment in respect of prior periods

Deferred tax – Profit and loss account

Origination and reversal of timing differences

IFRS 16 deferred tax unwinding

Write-off of IFRS 16 deferred tax asset

Deferred tax – Reserves

Tax impact of change in accounting policy

Total deferred tax

Total tax credit

Factors affecting current tax credit for the period

Loss before taxation

Loss at standard rate of UK corporation tax (2020: 19.0%; 2019: 19.0%)

Effects of:

– expenses not deductible for tax and other permanent differences

– adjustment in respect of prior periods

– changes in expected tax rates on deferred tax balances

– deferred tax not recognised

Total tax charge/(credit) for the period

52 weeks ended 
27 June 2020
IFRS 16 
 £’000

52 weeks ended 
29 June 2019
IAS 17 
 £’000

–

–

–

(413)

310

3,564

3,461

(3,874)

(413)

(413)

(31,720)

(6,027)

1,463

(111)

3

8,133

3,461

–

(74)

(74)

(278)

–

–

(278)

–

(278)

(352)

(5,574)

(1,059)

706

(32)

33

–

(352)

At 27 June 2020, the Group has carried forward tax losses of £13.8 million (2019: £2.8 million) available to offset against future losses  
for which no deferred tax asset has been recognised (2019: £484k recognised), and has also not recognised a deferred tax asset in relation  
to disclaimed capital allowances of £0.7 million (2019: £0.9 million deferred tax liability recognised).

The Finance Bill 2016 enacted provisions to reduce the main rate of UK corporation tax to 17% from 1 April 2020. However, in the March  
2020 Budget it was announced that the reduction in the UK rate to 17% will now not occur and the Corporation Tax Rate will be held at 19%.  
The Group has recognised deferred tax in relation to UK companies at 19% accordingly. 

 
 
 
 
 
Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

91

9. Loss per share
The calculation of loss per Ordinary Share is based on the results for the period, as set out below.

Loss for the period (£’000)

Weighted average number of shares – basic and diluted (’000)

Basic loss per Ordinary Share (pence)

52 weeks ended 
27 June 2020
IFRS 16 

52 weeks ended
29 June 2019
IAS 17

(35,181)

50,029

(70.3)

(5,222)

50,029

(10.4)

Loss for the period was impacted by one-off exceptional costs and bar opening costs. A calculation of adjusted earnings per Ordinary Share  
is set out below.

Adjusted EPS

Loss on ordinary activities before taxation 

Exceptional items, share-based payments and bar opening costs 

Exceptional finance income

Adjusted (loss)/profit on ordinary activities before taxation 

Taxation (charge)/credit on ordinary activities 

Taxation on exceptional items and bar opening costs

Adjusted (loss)/profit on ordinary activities after taxation 

Basic and diluted number of shares (‘000)

Adjusted basic and diluted (loss)/earnings per share (pence)

52 weeks ended 
27 June 2020
IFRS 16 
 £’000

52 weeks ended 
29 June 2019
IAS 17 
 £’000

(31,720)

27,812

(5,869)

(9,777)

(3,461)

(5,447)

(18,685)

50,029

(37.3)

(5,574)

8,547

-

2,973

352

(1,636)

1,689

50,029

3.4

On the 27th July 2020 an additional 75,017,495 of shares were issued as part of the Group’s admission to AIM and Fundraising, taking the  
total issued share capital to 125,046,654. If the share Fundraising had occurred before period end this would have changed the number  
of ordinary shares significantly.

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements92

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL INFORMATION CONTINUED
FOR THE 52 WEEKS ENDED 27 JUNE 2020

10. Property, plant and equipment and right-of-use assets

Property, plant and equipment – Group

Freehold land
and buildings
£’000

Short leasehold
premises
£’000

Fixtures
and fittings
£’000

IT equipment and
office furniture
£’000

Cost

At 1 July 2018

Additions 

At 29 June 2019

Additions

At 27 June 2020

Accumulated depreciation  
and impairment

At 1 July 2018

Provided in the period

Impairment charges

At 29 June 2019

Provided in the period

Impairment charges

At 27 June 2020

Net book value

At 27 June 2020

At 29 June 2019

At 30 June 2018

Right-of-use assets – Group

Cost

At 29 June 2019

Recognition of right-of-use assets

Right-of-use assets recognised at 30 June 2019

Reassessment/modification of assets previously recognised

Additions

At 27 June 2020

Accumulated depreciation and impairment

At 30 June 2019

Provided in the period

Impairment charges

At 27 June 2020

Net book value

At 27 June 2020

At 30 June 2019

1,426

–

1,426

–

1,426

(1,216)

–

–

(1,216)

–

–

(1,216)

210

210

210

74,719

6,149

80,868

1,872

82,740

(27,458)

(3,977)

(3,755)

(35,190)

(3,709)

(11,853)

(50,752)

31,988

45,678

47,261

49,762

4,817

54,579

1,667

56,246

(38,479)

(2,491)

(1,433)

(42,403)

(2,880)

(2,997)

(48,280)

7,966

12,176

11,283

7,608

609

8,217

674

8,891

(6,167)

(762)

(27)

(6,956)

(808)

(69)

(7,833)

1,058

1,261

1,441

Short leasehold 
premises
£’000

Vehicles
£’000

–

94,268

94,268

2,767

–

97,035

–

(7,035)

(19,566)

(26,601)

70,434

94,268

–

398

398

10

27

435

–

(180)

–

(180)

255

398

Total
£’000

133,515

11,575

145,090

4,213

149,303

(73,320)

(7,230)

(5,215)

(85,765)

(7,397)

(14,919)

(108,081)

41,222

59,325

60,195

Total
£’000

–

94,666

94,666

2,777

27

97,470

–

(7,215)

(19,566)

(26,781)

70,689

94,666

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

93

The reassessment/modification of leases relates to changes in rent and extensions to lease terms agreed during the reporting period  
to 27 June 2020 for leases that were in place on 30 June 2019 following the adoption of IFRS 16. Depreciation and impairment of property, 
plant and equipment and right-of-use assets are recognised in operating expenses in the consolidated statement of profit or loss and 
other comprehensive income, aside from £6.2 million of property, plant and equipment impairment that was incurred as part of IFRS 16 
implementation and was charged to opening reserves.

The Group has determined that for the purposes of impairment testing, each bar is a cash generating unit (“CGU”). The bars are tested  
for impairment in accordance with IAS 36 “Impairment of Assets” when a triggering event is identified. The recoverable amounts for CGUs  
are predominantly based on value in use, which is derived from the forecast cash flows generated to the end of the lease term discounted  
at the Group’s weighted average cost of capital.

In the 52 weeks ended 27 June 2020, the Group impaired the property, plant and equipment of 37 CGUs (2019: 26 CGUs) and the  
right-of-use assets of 37 CGUs, either partially or in full, based on the value in use of the CGU being lower than the prevailing net book value.  
When an impairment loss is recognised, the asset’s adjusted carrying value is depreciated over its remaining useful economic life.

Impairment testing methodology

At the end each reporting period, a filter test is used to identify whether the carrying value of a CGU is potentially impaired. This test  
compares a multiple of run rate EBITDA, adjusted for an allocation of central overheads, to the carrying value of the CGU. If this test indicates  
a potential impairment, a more detailed value in use review is undertaken using cash flows based on Board-approved forecasts covering 
a three-year period. These forecasts combine management’s understanding of historical performance and knowledge of local market 
environments and competitive conditions to set realistic views for future growth rates. Cash flows beyond this three-year period are 
extrapolated using a long-term growth rate to the end of the lease term. The cash flows assume a 5-year refurb cycle, with an increase  
in revenue factored after refurbishments based on historical refurbishment outcomes.

Historically, the multiple of earnings applied in the filter test has been multiplied by the shorter of the remaining lease term or eight years. 
However, in the current period, a lower multiple of seven has been used in recognition of the severely adverse trading impact of COVID  
raising the prospect of more widespread CGU impairments that may only be revealed by detailed value in use reviews. Using the lower  
multiple naturally flags more CGUs for the more detailed value in use review.

The key assumptions in the value in use calculations are typically the cash flows contained within the Group’s trading forecasts, the long-term 
growth rate and the risk-adjusted pre-tax discount rate as follows:

•  Trading performance across all venues in FY21 will be adversely impacted by the ongoing operating restrictions imposed to mitigate the 
health risks of COVID. At the balance sheet date and in the period immediately following during which these financial statements were 
prepared it was extremely difficult to forecast reliably on an individual venue basis given many unknown factors including precise reopening 
dates for each venue, the government’s timetable for lifting operating restrictions, and indeed what turns the pandemic and all the 
associated factors such as government response and vaccines, would take. The Group modelled a number of scenarios at a macro level  
that were used extensively as part of the admission to AIM and equity fundraise process in June/July 2020 and this included a ‘base case’ 
that assumed all venues reopening in August 2020 and trading at 55% of last year levels slowly rising by 5% of last year during September 
2020 and October 2020 before jumping more significantly to 85% in November 2020 and 90% in December 2020 and not getting to  
100% of historical trading revenues until June 2021. The most fundamental factor in the leap in performance between October 2020 and 
November 2020 was an assumed lifting of government imposed operating restrictions that would enable the Group’s late-night business  
to operate freely. As well as a ‘Base case’ model, a ‘Reasonable worst-case’ model was also used, which assumed the Group’s venues  
would be unable to reopen until November 2020 but that this would be without the imposition of operating restrictions; hence November 
was modelled at 75% of last year sales and December at 80% with a gradual increase during the first six months of calendar year 2021 to  
also reach 100% of historical numbers by June 2021. The difference between the two models in terms of FY21 EBITDA amounted to c£2m; 
this number was not as significant as may have been expected because many venues do not generate EBITDA operating at c60% of last 
year’s sales levels (assumed average for August to October in the Base case) and therefore makes little difference to individual venue 
impairment calculations.

Management continue to believe that the Base case used for the admission to AIM and equity fundraise process in June/July 2020, and which 
was the subject of a working capital report by an independent reporting accountant, provided the most appropriate basis at the year-end for 
considering whether the assets were impaired at the balance sheet date and, therefore, has adopted these assumptions in all of the detailed 
value in use reviews. 

Clearly, much has happened since the balance sheet date including better than the assumed trading performance at venues reopened  
between July and September but weaker trading than expected following the imposition of the 10 pm curfew from the end of September  
and subsequently the introduction of various tier systems and further periods of complete lockdown. There have been significant variations  
in trading across this period and there remains significant uncertainty as to the trading potential of the next few months. One feature that  
the base case did not have was another full lockdown and the impact of this is assessed under the sensitivity analysis section of this note.  
We estimate that a typical equivalent month used for sensitivity purposes results in approximately £11.2 million of sales and £0.4 million  
of adjusted EBITDA. The absence of such a month’s operations in our impairment forecast would likely amount to circa £1.4 million  
of additional impairment.

•  The long-term growth rate has been applied from July 2021 at 1.0 per cent (2019: 2.0 per cent).

•  Pre-tax discount rate: 8.2 per cent (2019: 11.7 per cent) based on the Group’s weighted average cost of capital.

Sensitivity analysis has been performed on each of the long-term growth rate and pre-tax discount rate assumptions with other variables  
held constant. Increasing the pre-tax discount rate by 1 per cent would result in additional impairments of £2.7 million. A 0.1 per cent decrease  
in the long-term growth rate would result in additional impairments of £1.1 million. As referred to above, a November lockdown period,  
removing all sales during that period would result in an increase in the impairment charge of circa £1.4 million.

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements94

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL INFORMATION CONTINUED
FOR THE 52 WEEKS ENDED 27 JUNE 2020 

11. Intangible assets

Group

Cost

At 1 July 2018

Additions 

At 29 June 2019

Additions

At 27 June 2020

Accumulated amortisation

At 1 July 2018

Provided in the period

At 29 June 2019

Provided in the period

At 27 June 2020

Net book value

At 27 June 2020

At 29 June 2019

At 30 June 2018

Total
£’000

–

9

9

12

21

–

–

–

(1)

(1)

20

9

–

Trademarks are amortised over their estimated useful lives, which is 10 years. Amortisation is charged within operating expenses in the 
statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income.

12. Inventories

Goods held for resale

Sundry stocks

Sundry stocks include items such as glasses, packaging, uniform and drinks decorations.

The cost of inventories is recognised as an expense in cost of sales as follows:

Cost of inventories

27 June 2020
IFRS 16
£’000

29 June 2019
IAS 17
£’000

2,525

1,068

3,593

2,337

1,749

4,086

52 weeks ended 
27 June 2020
IFRS 16 
 £’000

52 weeks ended 
29 June 2019
IAS 17 
 £’000

26,571

36,643

An inventory provision of £810,000 was recognised within cost of sales in respect of Covid-19 related obsolete inventory.

 
 
 
 
 
 
Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

95

13. Trade and other receivables

Amounts falling due within one year

Trade and other receivables

Accrued rebate income

Prepayments 

Other debtors

27 June 2020
IFRS 16
£’000

29 June 2019
IAS 17
£’000

661

114

2,054

600

3,429

3,151

713

8,412

–

12,276

The above Other debtors relates to a furlough claim for £762k made on 18 July 2020 for the period 21 June 2020 – 30 June 2020.  
£600k of this relates to FY20 and is therefore recognised as a debtor. In total, amounts of £7.6m have been claimed relating to FY20,  
of which £7.0 million was received pre year-end. A further £6.0 million has been claimed as at the date of this report relating to FY21.

The ageing of trade receivables at the balance sheet date was:

Not past due

Past due 0-30 days

Past due 31-60 days

More than 60 days

27 June 2020
IFRS 16
£’000

29 June 2019
IAS 17
£’000

184

6

4

467

661

2,220

744

187

–

3,151

The Directors are not aware of any factors affecting the recoverability of outstanding balances as at 27 June 2020.

All receivables are GBP denominated. The Group trade and other receivables is net of a specific provision for bad and doubtful debts  
of nil (2019: £11,304), and an IFRS 9 expected credit loss provision of £15,507 (2019: £19,790).

Prepayments and accrued rebate income do not contain impaired assets. There is no difference between the carrying value and fair value  
of all trade and other receivables. £0.4 million of prepayments relates to property rent and rates (2019: £8.1 million).

Due to the UK government’s enforced closure of bars from 20 March 2020, the value of Trade and other receivables relating to uncleared  
credit and debit card takings was £nil (2019: £1.9 million).

14. Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents

27 June 2020
IFRS 16
£’000

29 June 2019
IAS 17
£’000

2,502

2,627

Cash and cash equivalents consist entirely of cash at bank and on hand, including cash floats held at bars. Balances are denominated  
in Sterling. The Directors consider that the carrying value of cash and cash equivalents approximates to their fair value.  

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements 
 
 
 
 
96 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL INFORMATION CONTINUED
FOR THE 52 WEEKS ENDED 27 JUNE 2020 

15. Trade and other payables

Trade payables

Other payables

Accruals and deferred income

Other taxes and social security costs

27 June 2020
IFRS 16
£’000

29 June 2019
IAS 17
£’000

5,587

24

7,364

2,820

15,795

14,438

26

6,796

3,641

24,901

Total
£’000

–

123,611

123,611

2,777

(897)

27

(8,893)

(7,797)

4,335

113,163

Trade and other payables are non-interest bearing and are normally settled 30 days after the month of invoice. Trade payables are  
denominated in Sterling. The Directors consider that the carrying value of trade and other payables approximates to their fair value.  
The value of trade payables and accruals is substantially lower at 27 June 2020 as a result of the business not trading in the last  
14 weeks of the period, as well as the implementation of IFRS 16 removing rental payables.

16. Lease liabilities

Group

At 29 June 2019

Recognition of lease liability under IFRS 16

Opening lease liabilities recognised at 30 June 2019

Reassessment/modification of liabilities previously recognised

Modifications taken as a credit to administrative expenses (note 3)

Additions

Surrender of leases (note 7)

Lease liability payments

Finance costs

At 27 June 2020

Short leasehold 
properties
£’000

Vehicles
£’000

–

123,213

123,213

2,767

(897)

–

(8,893)

(7,608)

4,321

112,903

–

398

398

10

–

27

–

(189)

14

260

The reassessment/modification of leases relates to changes in rent and extensions to lease terms agreed during the reporting period  
for leases that were in place on 30 June 2019 following the adoption of IFRS 16.

The Lease liability payments amount in the table above includes £395k of concessions waived by landlords. Cash payments in the year 
comprise interest of £4.3 million and principal of £3.1 million.

 
 
Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

97

27 June 2020
IFRS 16
£’000

29 June 2019
IAS 17
£’000

10,203

102,960

113,163

–

–

–

27 June 2020
IFRS 16
£’000

29 June 2019
IAS 17
£’000

14,826

(4,623)

10,203

42,210

(14,165)

28,045

98,752

(23,837)

74,915

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

27 June 2020
IFRS 16
£’000

29 June 2019
IAS 17
£’000

–

1,019

1,019

–

1,019

1,019

Onerous lease 
provision
£’000

Dilapidations 
provision
£’000

10,556

(10,556)

–

400

619

1,019

10,556

400

10,956

1,269

9,687

10,956

Total
£’000

10,956

(9,937)

1,019

Lease liabilities are comprised of the following balance sheet amounts:

Amounts due within one year

Amounts due after more than one year

Lease liabilities are as follows:

Not more than one year

Minimum lease payments

Interest element

Present value of minimum lease payments

Between one and five years

Minimum lease payments

Interest element

Present value of minimum lease payments

More than five years

Minimum lease payments

Interest element

Present value of minimum lease payments

17. Provisions

Onerous lease provision

Dilapidations provision

Current

Non-current

At 30 June 2019

Movement on provision

At 27 June 2020

The Group provides for unavoidable costs associated with lease terminations and expiries against all leasehold properties across  
the entire estate, built up over the period until exit.

Following the adoption of IFRS 16, which requires the carrying value of the right-of-use asset to be assessed at each balance sheet date,  
it is no longer necessary to hold onerous lease provisions and accordingly all existing provisions have been incorporated as part of the  
opening adjustments to accommodate IFRS 16 implementation. Thereafter, any onerous lease obligations are recognised as impairments  
of the relevant CGU assets.

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements 
 
 
98 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL INFORMATION CONTINUED
FOR THE 52 WEEKS ENDED 27 JUNE 2020 

18. Interest-bearing loans and borrowings

Revolving credit facility

27 June 2020
IFRS 16
£’000

29 June 2019
IAS 17
£’000

24,500

17,500

As at the date of the consolidated financial position, the Group had a revolving credit facility (the “Facility”) of £30.0 million expiring in  
December 2021. Shortly after the end of the reporting period, the Facility was reduced to £21.0 million and the Group received a £16.5m 
Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan (CLBIL). The CLBIL is a three-year term loan, the proceeds of which were used to pay down  
the Facility. See note 1 under sub-heading Going concern for further details of the Facility and the CLBIL. The Facility and the CLBIL are  
secured and supported by debentures over the assets of Revolution Bars Group plc, Revolución De Cuba Limited, Revolution Bars Limited, 
Revolution Bars (Number Two) Limited and Inventive Service Company Limited, and an unlimited guarantee.

All borrowings are held in Sterling. There is no material difference between the fair value and book value of the Group interest-bearing 
borrowings. For more information on the Group’s exposure to interest rate risk, see note 22.

19. Deferred tax
The following are the major deferred tax liabilities and assets recognised by the Group and movements thereon during the current and  
prior reporting periods:

At 1 July 2018

(Charge)/credit to income

At 29 June 2019

Credit/(charge) to income

At 27 June 2020

Deferred tax assets

Deferred tax liabilities

Total

Share–based
payments
£’000

Disclaimed or 
not used Capital 
Allowances
£’000

Brought–forward 
losses
£’000

19

–

19

(19)

–

(709)

(207)

(916)

916

–

–

484

484

(484)

–

Total
£’000

(690)

277

(413)

413

–

27 June 2020
£’000

29 June 2019
£’000

–

–

–

503

(916)

(413)

Upon implementation of IFRS 16, a deferred tax asset of £3.9 million was recognised predominantly relating to impairment. Furthermore,  
as at the reporting date, the Group had unused tax losses of £13.9 million (2019: £2.8 million) available for offset against future taxable profits,  
but has not recognised a deferred tax asset in relation to these (or any other credits, including for Capital Allowances) due to uncertain  
trading conditions. The IFRS 16 deferred tax asset was written off for the same reason.

20. Share capital

Allotted, called up and fully paid

50,029,159 £0.001 Ordinary Shares (2019: 50,029,159 £0.001 Ordinary Shares)

27 June 2020
IFRS 16
£’000

29 June 2019
IAS 17
£’000

50

50

50

50

 
 
 
 
 
Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

99

21. Share-based payments (equity settled)
The Group currently operates an employee share incentive scheme, The Revolution Bars Group Share Plan. Awards under the scheme  
have typically comprised:

•  A Nominal Cost Option (‘NCO’) granted to acquire ordinary shares in the Company at an option price of 0.1 pence per share; and

•  A linked, tax-favoured Company Share Option (‘CSOP’) granted under Part II of The Revolution Bars Group Share Plan to acquire  

ordinary shares in the Company. The option price is set at the market value at the time of the award. The Remuneration Committee 
determined in 2019 that it did not intend to issue any further options under the CSOP as it does not consider the potential tax benefits  
justify the additional administration. Accordingly, the tables in this note predominantly relate to the NCO scheme unless explicitly stated.

Where the two options are linked, the nominal cost option can only be exercised if the related approved option is exercised (or waived).  
When awards are exercised, the related CSOP options must be exercised first and the number of shares received by an employee through  
the exercise of the nominal cost options is reduced by such number of shares as have a value equal to the gain realised on the exercise  
of the CSOP shares.

The Group’s Plan is an equity-settled share option scheme approved by HMRC. It was established in 2015. Awards are subject to performance 
conditions and require holders to remain employed throughout the vesting period.

The total charge for the period relating to employee share-based payment plans was £0.01 million (2019 credit: £0.01 million), all of which  
related to equity-settled share-based payment transactions. The credit during the prior period related primarily to the reversal of charges  
in earlier years for options granted to senior management who forfeited their right to exercise options on resigning their employment.

The table below summarises the amounts recognised in the consolidated statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income  
during the period:

IPO LTIP AWARD

– Tranche 1

– Tranche 2

– Tranche 3

2016 LTIP AWARD

– Tranche 1

– Tranche 2

– Tranche 3

2017 LTIP Award

2018 LTIP Award

2019 LTIP Award

2020 LTIP Award

In the 52 weeks ended 27 June 2020, conditional awards of ordinary shares were granted as follows:

23 October 2019

Total

52 weeks ended
 27 June 2020
£’000

52 weeks ended 
29 June 2019
£’000

–

(32)

1

(31)

–

(26)

–

(26)

(8)

32

49

26

42

(88)

5

4

(79)

(66)

(1)

1

(66)

8

13

60

–

(64)

Nominal cost 
option (“NCO”)

916,269 

916,269

Company share 
option plan 
(“CSOP”)

–

–

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements100 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL INFORMATION CONTINUED
FOR THE 52 WEEKS ENDED 27 JUNE 2020 

21. Share-based payments (equity settled) continued
The following table illustrates the number and weighted average exercise price (“WAEP”) of, and movements in, share options granted  
under the schemes:

NCO

CSOP

Total

2020

2020

2019

2019

2020

2020

2019

2019

2020

2020

2019

2019

Number  
of shares

WAEP 
£

Number  
of shares

WAEP 
£

Number  
of shares

WAEP 
£

Number  
of shares

WAEP 
£

Number  
of shares

WAEP 
£

Number  
of shares

WAEP 
£

Outstanding  
at the beginning  
of the year

Granted during  
the year

Forfeited during  
the year

Lapsed during  
the year

Outstanding at the 
end of the year

1,879,167 0.001

 1,350,093  0.001

340,278

1.58

 316,811 

 1.76  2,219,445

0.33  1,666,904 

 0.42 

916,269 0.001

 1,098,580  0.001

–

–

 119,526 

 1.11 

916,269 0.001

 1,218,106 

 0.20 

(421,752) 0.001

(236,389) 0.001

(78,044)

1.86

 (96,059) 

 1.58 

(499,796)

0.29

(332,448)

 0.31 

(40,721) 0.001

(333,117) 0.001

–

–

 – 

–

(40,721) 0.001

(333,117)

0.31

2,332,963 0.001

 1,879,167  0.001

262,234

1.44

 340,278 

 1.58  2,595,197

0.15  2,219,445 

 0.33 

The vesting of each award is subject to the attainment of performance conditions; 70 per cent is based on an adjusted earnings per  
share (“EPS”) target (Part A) and 30 per cent on a TSR target (Part B). The adjusted EPS is based upon the non-GAAP measure as discussed  
in note 9 (page 91).

Under the NCO scheme, the performance conditions are tested over performance periods as detailed below:

Award

Grant Date

Start

End

At start

Granted

Lapsed

Forfeited

At end

Performance period

Movement in period

IPO LTIP – Tranche 2

19-Mar-15

IPO LTIP – Tranche 3

19-Mar-15

2016 LTIP – Tranche 2

09-Nov-15

2016 LTIP – Tranche 3

09-Nov-15

02-Nov-16

2017 LTIP

2018 LTIP 

2019 LTIP

2020 LTIP

Jun-16

Jun-19

Jun-17

Jun-20

Jun-16

Jun-19

Jun-17

Jun-20

Jun-16

Jun-19

63,750

63,750

10,309

10,309

92,500

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

(20,000)

(43,750)

–

–

(43,750)

20,000

(3,221)

–

(7,088)

(7,087)

(17,500)

(75,000)

–

3,222

–

–

–

–

(52,577) 

522,392

(92,500)

971,080

(100,000)

816,269

14-Nov-17 and 12-Apr-18

Jun-17

Jun-20

574,969

18-Oct-18 and 01-Apr-19

Jun-18

Jun-21

1,063,580

23-Oct-19

Jun-19

Jun-22

-

916,269

The vesting date for each award is the later of (i) the third anniversary of the date of grant of the award, and (ii) the preliminary announcement  
of the results for the end of the relevant performance period.

1,879,167 

916,269

(40,721)

(421,752)  2,332,963

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

101

Part A – EPS targets

Part A vesting is dependent on the Company’s EPS compound growth rate over the relevant performance period as follows:

Awards prior to 2019

Awards in 2019

Portion of Part A award vesting

At least 7% per annum “Threshold”

At least 27% per annum “Threshold”

25%

Between 7% per annum and 13% per annum

Between 27% per annum and 50% per annum

Pro rata between 25% and 100%

At least 13% per annum “Target”

At least 50% per annum “Target”

100%

The EPS calculation is based on Adjusted EPS. The EPS targets for the various performance periods are as follows:

Grant date

19-Mar-15

09-Nov-15

14-Nov-17

12-Apr-18

18-Oct-18

01-Apr-19

23-Oct-19

Part B – TSR targets

Performance period

Adjusted EPS

Start

Jun-17

Jun-17

Jun-17

Jun-17

Jun-18

Jun-19

Jun-19

End

Jun-20

Jun-20

Jun-20

Jun-20

Jun-21

Jun-22

Jun-22

Target

25.1p

25.1p

25.1p

25.1p

23.0p

9.9p

11.5p

Part B vesting is dependent on the Company’s TSR over the relevant performance periods listed above relative to the TSR of the peer  
group of other UK-listed restaurant and bar sector companies over the same period.

No portion vests unless the Group’s TSR performance at least matches the median of the TSR performance within the comparator Group; 
thereafter the following vesting calculations apply:

The Company’s TSR performance against the TSR of the comparator companies

Extent of vesting of Part B

Median

Between median and upper quartile

Upper quartile

25%

Pro-rata between 25% and 100%

100%

Information used in calculating the cost of granting each option

For the IPO LTIP Award, the offer price (200 pence) has been used as the base point from which TSR is measured for the Company.  
For subsequent awards, the offer price is based on a three-month average prior to the start of the performance period. For all awards,  
the end point offer price is based on the average for the last three months of the respective performance period.

Expected volatility has been estimated by considering historical average share price volatility for the Company and similar companies.  
Staff attrition has been assessed based on historical retention rates.

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements102

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL INFORMATION CONTINUED
FOR THE 52 WEEKS ENDED 27 JUNE 2020 

21. Share-based payments (equity settled) continued
The fair value of share options granted under the scheme dependent on TSR performance is estimated at the date of grant using  
a Stochastic model. The fair value of share options granted under the scheme dependent on EPS performance is estimated at the date  
of grant using the Black-Scholes model. The following table gives the assumptions relevant to options for which charges were made for  
the 52 weeks’ periods ended 27 June 2020 and 29 June 2019:

20205 award

20194 award

20183 award

2016 LTIP2
Tranche 3

IPO LTIP1
Tranche 3

67

–

34

–

0.1

–

57

116

40

62

35

0.1

115

115

45.0%

44.6%

3.0

2.3

0.0%

0.5%

3.0

1.3

0.0%

0.8%

139

48

86

42

0.1

162

153

57.7%

3.0

0.3

3.2%

1.0%

170

40

102

35

0.1

194

194

19.6%

4.3

0.3

2.6%

0.3%

187

57

113

48

0.1

200

200

20.8%

3.3

0.3

2.6%

0.2%

NCO: fair value at grant date – EPS (pence)

CSOP: fair value at grant date – EPS (pence)

NCO: fair value at grant date – TSR (pence)

CSOP: fair value at grant date – TSR (pence)

NCO: exercise price (pence)

CSOP: exercise price (pence)

Share price (pence)*

Expected volatility

Expected life of options (years)

Weighted average remaining life (years)

Expected dividend yield

Risk-free rate

1 

Granted on 18 March 2015.

2  Granted on 9 November 2015.

3  Granted on 14 November 2017 and 12 April 2018.

4  Granted on 18 October 2018 and 1 April 2019.

5  Granted on 23 October 2019.

* 

The share price is stuck at the average closing mid-market price of the ordinary shares in the 3 days preceding the issue of options.

22. Financial instruments
The Board has overall responsibility for the determination of the Group’s risk management objectives and policies. The overall objective  
of the Board is to set policies that seek to reduce risk as far as possible without unduly affecting the Group’s competitiveness and flexibility.

The Group is exposed to the following financial risks:

•  credit risk;

• 

liquidity risk;

•  market risk; and

•  capital risk.

Cash and cash equivalents are held in Pounds Sterling. Trade and other payables are measured at amortised cost.

Credit risk

Credit risk arises from the Group’s cash balances held with counterparties and trade and other receivables. Credit risk is the risk of financial  
loss to the Group if a third-party owing monies to the Group fails to meet its contractual obligations. The Group limits its exposure to credit  
risk from trade receivables by establishing a maximum payment period of three months for corporate customers.

Trade and other receivables are measured at amortised cost. Book values and expected cash flow are reviewed by the Board and  
any impairment is charged to the consolidated statement of comprehensive income in the relevant period. Trade and other receivables  
do not contain any impaired assets.

All cash balances are held with reputable banks and the Board monitors its exposure to counterparty risk on an ongoing basis.  
The Group attempts to mitigate credit risk by assessing financial counterparties.

Given the nature of the Group’s operations, the Directors do not consider the Group’s credit risk, which arises mainly from cash held  
with mainstream UK banks, to be significant.

The Group’s financial assets are as follows:

Trade and other receivables

Cash and cash equivalents

27 June 2020
IFRS 16
£’000

29 June 2019
IAS 17
£’000

661

2,502

3,163

3,151

2,627

5,778

 
Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

103

The ageing of trade receivables at the balance sheet date was:

Not past due

Past due 0-30 days

Past due 31-60 days

More than 60 days

27 June 2020
IFRS 16
£’000

29 June 2019
IAS 17
£’000

184

6

4

467

661

2,220

744

187

–

3,151

The Directors are not aware of any factors affecting the recoverability of outstanding balances as at 27 June 2020.

In accordance with IFRS 9, the group has two types of financial assets that are subject to the expected credit loss model:

•  Trade and other receivables

•  Accrued rebate income

The Group applies the IFRS 9 simplified approach to measuring expected credit losses which uses a lifetime expected loss allowance  
for all trade receivables and accrued rebate income.

To measure the expected credit losses, trade receivables and accrued rebate income have been grouped based on similar credit risk 
characteristics. Both primarily relate to outstanding amounts due from suppliers in relation to agreed rebates and thus have substantially 
the same risk characteristics. The Group has, therefore, concluded that the expected loss rates for trade receivables are a reasonable 
approximation of the loss rates for accrued rebate income. This has increased to a rate of 2% in the current period following the increased  
risk of trading following Covid-19.

The expected loss rates are based on the risk profiles of the suppliers with whom the balances are held as well as the related historical  
results of recoverability. On that basis, the loss allowance as at 27 June 2020 and as at 29 June 2019 was determined as follows for both  
trade receivables and accrued rebate income:

Expected loss rate

Trade and other receivables

Accrued rebate income

27 June 2020
IFRS 16
£’000

29 June 2019
IAS 17
£’000

2%

661

114

16

1%

1,266

713

20

The difference between trade receivables in 2019, as shown immediately above at £1.3 million, and the £3.1 million balance earlier in this  
note relates to uncleared credit and debit card takings, which have been determined as having no expected credit loss due to their very  
short clearance period (two and three days as at the balance sheet date), as well as the balance being net of the expected credit loss provision. 
There is no difference in 2020 due to the Group’s venues being closed in the latter part of the reporting period due to the UK government’s 
enforced closure of restaurants, pubs and bars.

Liquidity risk

Liquidity risk arises from the Group’s management of working capital. It is the risk that the Group will not be able to meet its future obligations 
as they fall due. The Group’s approach to managing liquidity is to ensure, as far as possible, that it has sufficient liquidity to meet its financial 
liabilities when they fall due, under both normal and stressed conditions, without incurring unacceptable losses or risking damage to the 
Group’s reputation. 

The Group aims to maintain a level of cash and cash equivalents in excess of expected cash outflows on financial liabilities over the next  
90 days. The Group also closely monitors the level of expected cash inflows on trade and other trade receivables.

The Group maintains forward cash flow projections, updated daily, to ensure that it always has sufficient cash on hand to meet expected 
operational expenses. The Group has committed lines of credit through a revolving credit facility provided by Natwest, of which £24.5 million  
was drawn at 27 June 2020. See note 1 under sub-heading Going concern for further details of the Group’s funding arrangements.

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements 
 
104

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL INFORMATION CONTINUED
FOR THE 52 WEEKS ENDED 27 JUNE 2020 

22. Financial instruments continued
The Group’s financial liabilities are as follows:

Trade payables

Other payables

Revolving credit facility

The maturity analysis of the financial liabilities is as follows:

As at 27 June 2020

Trade and other payables

Revolving credit facility

As at 29 June 2019

Trade and other payables

Revolving credit facility

27 June 2020
IFRS 16
£’000

29 June 2019
IAS 17
£’000

5,587

24

24,500

30,111

> 5 years
£’000

–

–

> 5 years
£’000

–

–

14,438

26

17,500

31,964

Total
£’000

5,611

24,500

Total
£’000

14,464

17,500

< 1 year
£’000

5,611

–

< 1 year
£’000

14,464

–

1–5 years
£’000

–

24,500

1–5 years
£’000

–

17,500

These liabilities are short term in nature and are stated on an undiscounted basis.

Market risk

Market risk is the risk that changes in market prices, such as interest rates or foreign exchange rates, will affect the Group’s costs.  
The objective of market risk management is to manage and control market risk exposures within acceptable parameters. Market interest  
rate risk arises from the Group’s holding of interest-bearing financial assets and liabilities.

At 27 June 2020, the Group’s interest-bearing financial assets consisted solely of cash and cash equivalents (see note 14). The Group  
has interest-bearing financial liabilities as at 27 June 2020, comprising a revolving credit facility of £24.5 million (2019: £17.5 million).

The Group does not enter into derivatives or hedging transactions.

The main risk arising from the Group’s financial instruments are interest rate risk. The Group does not have any exposure to foreign currency  
risk as all of the Group’s revenue and costs are in GBP.

The Board makes ad hoc decisions at its regular meetings as to whether to hold funds in instant access accounts or longer-term deposits.  
All accounts are held with reputable UK banks. These policies, which the Directors consider to be appropriate for the current stage of 
development of the Group’s business, will be kept under review by the Board in future years. If interest rates at each period-end reporting  
date had moved by 5 per cent, the impact on results would not have been significant.

Fair value of financial instruments

The fair value of each category of financial instruments is the same as their carrying value in the Group statement of financial position.

Capital risk

The Group’s capital is made up of share capital and retained earnings.

The objectives when managing capital are:

• 

to safeguard the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern, so that it can provide returns for shareholders and benefits  
for other stakeholders; and

• 

to provide an adequate return to shareholders by pricing products and services commensurately with the level of risk.

The Group ensures that it has sufficient cash on demand to meet its expected operational expenses, including the servicing of  
any financial obligations. This excludes the potential impact of extreme circumstances which cannot be reasonably predicted.

The capital structure of the Group consists of shareholders’ equity as set out in the consolidated statement of changes in equity.  
All working capital requirements are financed from existing cash resources and a revolving credit facility. There are no externally imposed  
capital requirements. Financing decisions are made by the Board based on forecasts of the expected timing and level of capital and  
operating expenditure required to meet the Group’s commitments and development plans. When monitoring capital risk, the Group  
considers its gearing ratio. 

 
 
Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

105

27 June 2020
IFRS 16
£’000

29 June 2019
IAS 17
£’000

–

–

1,650

1,650

52 weeks ended
27 June 2020
IFRS 16
£’000

Note

52 weeks ended
29 June 2019
Restated*
IAS 17
£’000

(31,720)

(5,574)

4,934

(5,869)

7,397

7,215

8,727

19,566

(897)

(2,883)

1

42

9,396

493

6,444

(10,483)

619

6,469

1

6,470

858

–

7,230

–

5,215

–

–

2,857

–

(68)

7,661

(193)

(802)

2,649

979

10,294

292

10,586

23. Dividends

Amounts recognised as distributions to equity holders in the period:

Final dividend for the 52 weeks ended 30 June 2018 of 3.30 p per share

24. Note to accompany the consolidated statement of cash flow

Cash flow from operating activities

Loss before tax from operations

Adjustments for:

Net finance expense

Exceptional finance income

Depreciation of property, plant and equipment

Depreciation of right-of-use assets

Impairment of property, plant and equipment

Impairment of right-of-use assets

Lease modification

Working Capital and Other movements (further analysed below)

Amortisation of intangibles

Charge/(Credit) arising from long-term incentive plans

21

Operating cash flows before movement in working capital

Decrease/(Increase) in inventories

Decrease/(Increase) in trade and other receivables

(Decrease)/Increase in trade and other payables

(Decrease)/Increase in provisions

Tax refunded

Net cash flow generated from operating activities

* Within the Working Capital and Other movements analysis, the prior year comparatives have been corrected to remove an incorrect Tax 
(Credit)/Charge line of £352k, increasing trade and other payables by £274k, and increasing tax refunded by £78k. There was no impact on  
the net cash flow generated from operating activities or on the net decrease in cash and cash equivalents for the period to 29 June 2019.

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
106 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL INFORMATION CONTINUED
FOR THE 52 WEEKS ENDED 27 JUNE 2020

25. Related party transactions
(a) Subsidiaries

Transactions between the Company and its subsidiaries, which are related parties, have been eliminated on consolidation and are not  
disclosed in this Note. 

(b) Key management personnel

The compensation of key management personnel (including the Directors) is as follows:

Key management emoluments including social security costs

Awards granted under long-term incentive plans

Pension contributions to money purchase schemes1

52 weeks ended
27 June 2020
IFRS 16
£’000

52 weeks ended
29 June 2019
IAS 17
£’000

1,276

503

51

1,830

1,620

1,170

54

2,844

1 

Includes salary enhancements made in lieu of pension contributions due to pension caps.

The Group’s key management are the Directors of the Company and Senior Management as detailed on pages 34 to 36. Details of the 
Directors’ remuneration is provided in the Directors’ Remuneration Report. The Group did not enter into any form of loan arrangement  
with any Director during any of the reporting periods presented.

26. Changes in Accounting Standards
Following the adoption in the year of IFRS 16 Leases, the following details its impact on the Group’s Consolidated Financial Statements.

IFRS 16 Leases

The Group adopted IFRS 16 with effect from 30 June 2019. The Group applied the standard using the modified retrospective approach  
and thus comparative information has not been restated and is presented as previously reported under IAS 17.

The new standard results in all property and vehicle leases being recognised on the Statement of Financial Position as, from a lessee 
perspective, there is no longer any distinction between operating and finance leases. Under IFRS 16, an asset, based on the right to use  
a leased item over a long-term period, and a financial liability to pay rentals are recognised. The only exceptions are short-term and  
low-value leases.

As at 30 June 2019, the Group sub-let three properties, being partial elements of properties. Under IFRS 16, lessor accounting remains  
largely unchanged, with lessors continuing to account for leases as either operating or finance leases, depending on whether the lease 
transfers substantially all the risk and rewards incidental to ownership of the underlying asset, and whether the present value of the sublease 
payments amount to at least substantially all of the fair value of the underlying asset, which in this case is the head-leases.

The Group leases both properties and vehicles, which under IAS 17 were classified as a series of operating lease contracts with payments  
made (net of any incentives received from the lessor) charged to profit or loss as arising over the period of the lease. From 30 June 2019,  
under IFRS 16, leases are recognised as a right-of-use asset with a corresponding lease liability from the date at which the leased asset 
becomes available for use by the Group. Each lease payment is allocated between the liability and a finance cost. The finance cost is charged  
to profit or loss over the lease period using the effective interest method. The right-of-use asset is depreciated over the shorter of the  
asset’s useful life and the determined lease term, which is the shorter of the remaining lease term and first opportunity to break the lease,  
on a straight-line basis.

In applying IFRS 16 for the first time, the Group has used the following practical expedients permitted by the standard:

• 

In determining whether existing contracts meet the definition of a lease, the Group has not reassessed those contracts previously  
identified as leases and has not applied the standard to those contracts not previously identified as leases;

•  Short-term leases (leases of less than 12 months) and leases with less than 12 months remaining as at the date of adoption of the new 

standard are not within the scope of IFRS 16;

•  Leases for which the asset is of low value (IT equipment and small items of office equipment) are not within the scope of IFRS 16;

•  The use of a single discount rate to its portfolio of leases with reasonably similar characteristics.

On adoption of IFRS 16, the Group recognised lease liabilities in relation to leases previously classified as ‘operating leases’ under the  
principles of IAS 17 Leases. For all leases, these liabilities were measured at the present value of the remaining lease payments, discounted 
using the Group’s weighted average incremental borrowing rate as of 30 June 2019, which was 3.91%. This was deemed appropriate given  
that the Group’s leases have reasonably similar characteristics. The rate was determined as the borrowing rate under the Revolving Credit 
Facility, as then existed, with appropriate adjustments made to reflect the increased term and amount of borrowing required for a similar  
lease portfolio, as well as changes to risk rating.

 
Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

107

IFRS 16 defines the lease term as the non-cancellable period of a lease together with the options to extend or terminate a lease if the lessee  
is reasonably certain to exercise that option. Where a lease includes the option for the Group to terminate a lease term early, the Group makes  
a judgement as to whether it is reasonably certain that the lease termination option will be taken. 

This predominantly takes into account the length of time remaining before the option is exercisable, current trading performance,  
future trading forecasts, and the level and type of future capital investment. The current average remaining lease length of the Group’s  
leases, as at the date of adoption of IFRS 16, was 14 years as profiled below:

Remaining lease length

Proportion

< 5 years

5 – 10 years

10 – 15 years

> 15 years

13%

17%

27%

43%

The associated right-of-use assets were measured using the approach set out in IFRS 16.C8(b)(ii), whereby right-of-use assets are equal to  
the lease liabilities adjusted by the amount of any prepaid or accrued lease payments, including unamortised lease incentives such as rent  
free periods, onerous lease provisions, and an estimate of the dismantling, removal and restoration costs required under the terms of the lease. 
Under IFRS 16, the right-of-use assets are tested for impairment in accordance with IAS 36 ’Impairment of Assets’. This replaces the previous 
requirement to recognise a provision for onerous leases. An impairment assessment of the cash generating unit (“CGU”) assets was performed  
on transition at 30 June 2019 with an initial impairment charged through opening reserves.

In the consolidated cash flow statement, depreciation of the right-of-use-asset is included in operating activities and the repayment of  
lease liabilities is included in financing activities whereas under IAS 17 operating lease rental payments were included in operating activities.  
The impact on the consolidated cash flow statement is an increase in cash inflow from operations of £7.4 million and a decrease in the  
cash outflow from financing activities of £7.4 million.

The effect of the accounting policy change on the consolidated statement of financial position at implementation on 30 June 2019 was:

Assets

Property, plant and equipment

Right-of-use assets

Prepayments

Deferred tax asset

Change in total assets

Liabilities

Lease liabilities – Current

Lease liabilities – Non-current

Onerous lease provision

Accruals

Rent-free creditor – Current (within accruals)

Rent-free creditor – Non-current

Change in total liabilities

Retained earnings

Retained earnings – deferred tax

Change in equity

As at  

29 June 2019
£’000

IFRS 16  
adjustments  
£’000

As at  

30 June 2019
£’000

59,325

–

8,412

–

–

–

10,556

6,796

229

3,184

9,725

–

(6,193)

94,666

(2,403)

3,874

89,944

7,113

116,498

(10,556)

(445)

(229)

(3,184)

109,197

(23,127)

3,874

(19,253)

53,132

94,666

6,009

3,874

7,113

116,498

–

6,351

–

–

(13,402)

3,874

The adoption of IFRS 16 reduced opening retained earnings as at 30 June 2019 by £19.3 million. This represents the initial impairment  
review upon adoption less the deferred tax thereon. As part of this impairment testing, the net book value of property, plant and equipment  
at ten of the Group’s bars was written down on implementation, and 28 of the right-of-use assets were also written down.

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements108 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL INFORMATION CONTINUED
FOR THE 52 WEEKS ENDED 27 JUNE 2020

26. Changes in Accounting Standards continued
The table below presents a reconciliation from operating lease commitments disclosed at 29 June 2019 to lease liabilities recognised  
at 30 June 2019.

Operating lease commitments disclosed at 29 June 2019

Break-clause dates1

Increased rent-reviews2

Exclusion of service charges3

Effect of discounting4

Lease liabilities recognised as at 30 June 2019

Of which are:

Current lease liabilities

Non-current lease liabilities

Lease liabilities recognised as at 30 June 2019

£’000

182,123

(3,572)

1,090

(10,293)

(45,737)

123,611

7,113

116,498

123,611

1 

 The operating lease commitments were calculated using the lease-end termination date, whereas the IFRS 16 calculations include judgements where an earlier lease break date  
has been used.

2  A number of outstanding rent-reviews have been finalised since the end of FY19; these were not included in the operating lease commitments disclosed at 29 June 2019.

3 

4 

The Group policy was previously to include contractual service charges in the operating lease commitments figure; these are excluded from IFRS 16.

Previously, disclosures of lease commitments were undiscounted whilst under IFRS 16 lease commitments are discounted based on the Group’s incremental borrowing rate.

The split of right-of-use assets and lease liabilities following the adoption of IFRS 16, as well as the movement of each over the period,  
can be found in notes 10 and 16 respectively. 

During the 52 weeks ended 27 June 2020, the application of IFRS 16 resulted in increased adjusted EBITDA, as reported in the Consolidated 
Statement of Comprehensive Income, of £9.7 million in comparison to treatment under IAS 17. There was a decrease to operating profit of 
£6.1 million. The differences have arisen as operating lease payments under IAS 17 were replaced by a depreciation charge on right-of-use 
assets, and adjustments to impairment, onerous lease provisions, rent free periods and dilapidation provisions. Profit before taxation decreased  
by a total of £4.5 million with the inclusion of £4.3 million of finance costs under the new standard.

The table below reconciles operating profit between IAS 17 and the new standard, IFRS 16.

Add: Operating lease costs under IAS 17

Add: Adjustment to onerous lease provision

Impact on adjusted EBITDA for the 52 weeks ended 27 June 2020

Less: Depreciation of right-of-use assets for leases previously recognised as operating leases under IAS 17

Add: Impact on fixed asset depreciation

Less: Impact on impairment reviews

Less: Onerous lease provision reversal

Add: Cash exceptionals included in exceptional finance income

Add: Modification of lease under IFRS 16

Impact on operating loss for the 52 weeks ended 27 June 2020

Less: Finance costs associated with lease liabilities for leases previously recognised as operating leases under IAS 17

Add: Onerous lease interest not incurred

Add: Exceptional gain on disposal

Impact on loss before taxation for the 52 weeks ended 27 June 2020

£’000

8,164

1,521

9,685

(7,215)

54

(9,217)

(2,405)

3,024

897

(5,177)

(4,335)

48

5,869

(3,595)

 
Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

109

27. Post-balance sheet events
Changes to committed borrowing facilities

As at the date of the consolidated financial position, the Group had a revolving credit facility (“RCF”) of £30.0 million expiring in December 2021.
Shortly after the end of the reporting period effective 6 July 2020, the Group’s total committed borrowing facilities (“Facilities”) were increased 
to £37.5 million through the receipt of a £16.5m Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan (CLBIL) and reduction in the RCF to £21.0 million. 
The term of the RCF was also extended to June 2022. On 16 December 2020, the amortisation profile of the Facilities was changed to postpone 
reductions due to take place in March 2021 and June 2021. Further details of the Facilities, their duration, amortisation profiles, future availability 
of committed funding and financial covenant are set out under the going concern section of note 1 to the financial statements.

Delist to AIM and fundraising

On 5 June 2020, the Group announced its intention to raise gross proceeds of up to £15.0 million by way of a Firm Placing and a Placing and 
Open Offer at 20 pence per New Ordinary Share, as well as to delist from the Main Market and admit to trading on AIM. The admission to AIM 
was completed on 27 July 2020 together with the Fundraising of gross proceeds of £15.0 million and net proceeds of £14.1 million and from  
that date the total number of Ordinary Shares with voting rights in the Company was 125,046,654.

Company Voluntary Arrangement (‘CVA’)

On 13 November 2020, Revolution Bars Limited which is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary entity of Revolution Bars Group plc, completed  
a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) proposed on 27 October 2020. This entity comprises the majority of the Group’s Revolution  
branded bars. As part of the CVA, rent arrears to the value of £1.0 million on 13 bars were waived and are not payable. This credit will be  
shown in the FY21 financial statements as the liability was released after the period end. Additionally, the lease liabilities on five of these  
bars were compromised for the remainder of the lease term and seven bars were moved to a turnover based rent for a period of two years.

UK Government COVID-19 announcements

On 31 October 2020, the UK Government announced a second national lockdown effective in England from 5 November 2020 to 2 December 
2020 resulting in the mandatory closure of all the Group’s bars in England for that period. Following the national lockdown, the UK Government 
announced revised tier structure operating restrictions that resulted in 35 of the Group’s bars remaining closed and all but one of the remaining 
bars operating under tier 2 severely suppressing income generation. The impact of these measures was included in the going concern 
assessment as detailed in note 1 to these financial statements. However, the impairment review of property, plant and equipment and right-
of-use assets were performed using less onerous trading conditions as were forecast at the balance sheet date. As such, those forecasts 
did not include the impact of a second national lockdown or the punitive tier restrictions but rather assumed a continuing recovery in trading 
performance towards the end of calendar year 2020. The estimated impact of this on impairment is considered using sensitivity analysis  
in note 10.

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements110 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL INFORMATION CONTINUED
FOR THE 52 WEEKS ENDED 27 JUNE 2020

28. Alternative Performance Measures - Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income – Non-IFRS 16 Basis
The re-presented Statement of Comprehensive Income set out below does not form part of the condensed consolidated financial statements 
for the 52 weeks to 27 June 2020. It is included to provide an understanding of the underlying performance for the 52 weeks to 27 June 2020, 
given that IFRS 16 Leases has been adopted for the current period without restatement of the comparative period. The re-presented statement 
consists of:

•  The reported Statement of Comprehensive Income for the current period; and

•  A pro forma Statement of Comprehensive Income for the current period assuming IFRS 16 had not been adopted.

The pro forma Statement of Comprehensive Income for the current period is an estimation of the results for the period when applying the 
previous accounting standard for leases, IAS 17 Leases and the resulting impact on onerous lease provisions and impairment of assets.

Revenue

Cost of sales

Gross profit

Operating expenses

– operating expenses, excluding exceptional items

– exceptional items

Total operating expenses

Operating loss

Finance expense

Exceptional finance income

Loss before taxation

Tax 

Loss and total comprehensive income for the period

(Loss) per share

Basic and diluted (pence) 

Adjusted basic and diluted (pence)

Non-GAAP alternative performance measure

Operating loss

Exceptional items

Credit arising from long-term incentive plans

Bar opening costs

Adjusted operating loss

Finance expense

Adjusted loss before tax

Depreciation

Amortisation

Finance expense

Adjusted EBITDA

52 weeks ended 
27 June 2020
IFRS 16 
Reported
£’000

52 weeks ended 
27 June 2020 
IAS 17 
Pro forma
£’000

Impact of  
IFRS 16
£’000

110,074

(26,571)

83,503

(88,388)

(27,770)

(116,158)

(32,655)

(4,934)

5,869

(31,720)

(3,461)

(35,181)

(70.3p)

(37.3p)

–

–

–

(2,524)

7,701

5,177

5,177

4,287

(5,869)

3,595

2

3,597

110,074

(26,571)

83,503

(90,912)

(20,069)

(110,981)

(27,478)

(647)

–

(28,125)

(3,459)

(31,584)

(56.2p)

(19.8p)

(32,655)

5,177

(27,478)

27,770

(7,701)

20,069

42

–

(4,843)

(4,934)

(9,777)

14,612

1

4,934

9,770

–

–

(2,524)

4,287

1,763

(7,161)

–

(4,287)

(9,685)

42

–

(7,367)

(647)

(8,014)

7,451

1

647

85

The pro forma Statement of Comprehensive Income has been prepared using the reported results for the current period and replacing  
the accounting entries related to IFRS 16 Leases, on adoption and during the period, with an estimate of the accounting entries that would  
have arisen when applying IAS 17 Leases. The effective tax rate has been assumed to be unaltered by this change. Impairment assumptions 
have been re-geared for an IAS 17 perspective, and the onerous lease provision movement has been included.

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

111

The pro forma Statement of Comprehensive Income for the current period has been prepared by adjusting the reported Statement  
of Comprehensive Income for the current period to:

• 

Increase of £2.5 million in operating expenditure

Rental expenditure incurred

Net utilisation of onerous lease movement

IFRS 16 depreciation reversal

IAS 17 depreciation incurred

Total increase in operating expenses

•  Decrease of £7.7 million in exceptional items

IFRS 16 impairment reversal

IAS 17 cash exceptionals

IAS 17 impairment incurred

IFRS 16 lease modification reversal

Net onerous lease movement

Total decrease in exceptional items

•  Reduction of £4.3 million in finance expense

IFRS 16 finance cost reversal

Onerous lease interest incurred

Total decrease in finance expense

Impact of IFRS 16
£’000

(8,1669)

(1,520)

14,612

(7,450)

(2,524)

Impact of IFRS 16
£’000

28,293

(3,024)

(19,076)

(897)

2,405

7,701

Impact of IFRS 16
£’000

4,335

(48)

4,287

An exceptional finance income of £5.9 million is also recognised under IFRS 16 relating to the net gain on disposal of leases.

Exceptional items are comprised of:

Administrative expenses:

– impairment of right-of-use assets

– impairment of property, plant and equipment

– lease modification

– delist from Main market and admission to AIM

– surrender premiums and bar closure costs

– movement on onerous lease provisions

– other

Total exceptional items

52 weeks ended 
27 June 2020
IFRS 16 
 £’000

52 weeks ended 
27 June 2020
IAS 17 
 £’000

19,566

8,727

(897)

371

–

–

3

27,770

–

19,076

–

371

3,024

(2,405)

3

20,069

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements 
112

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

COMPANY STATEMENT  
OF FINANCIAL POSITION
AT 27 JUNE 2020

Assets

Non-current assets

Investments

Current assets

Trade and other receivables

Total assets

Liabilities

Current Liabilities

Trade and other payables

Total Liabilities

Net assets

Equity attributable to equity holders of the Parent

Share capital

Merger reserve

Retained earnings

Total equity

Note

27 June 2020
£’000

29 June 2019
£’000

5

6

7

8

29,650

29,650

826

30,476

117

29,767

(667)

(667)

–

–

29,809

29,767

50

11,645

18,114

29,809

50

11,645

18,072

29,767

The Company made nil profit after tax in the 52 weeks ended 27 June 2020 (2019: £1.7 million), with the prior period profit relating  
entirely to dividends received from a subsidiary of the Company in the period.

Signed on behalf of the Board on 16 December 2020

Mike Foster
Director

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

113

COMPANY STATEMENT  
OF CHANGES IN EQUITY
FOR THE 52 WEEKS ENDED 27 JUNE 2020

At 30 June 2018

Profit and total comprehensive income for the period

Charge arising from long-term share-based payments

Dividends paid

At 29 June 2019

Profit and total comprehensive income for the period

Credit arising from share-based payments

At 27 June 2020

Reserves

Share capital
£’000

Merger reserve
£’000

Retained earnings
£’000

Total equity
£’000

50

–

–

–

50

–

–

50

11,645

–

–

–

11,645

–

–

18,140

1,650

(68)

(1,650)

18,072

–

42

29,835

1,650

(68)

(1,650)

29,767

–

42

11,645

18,114

29,809

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements114

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

COMPANY STATEMENT  
OF CASH FLOW
FOR THE 52 WEEKS ENDED 27 JUNE 2020

Cash flow from operating activities

Profit before tax

Adjustments for:

Dividends received

(Increase)/decrease in trade and other receivables

Increase in trade and other payables

Credit/(charge) arising from share-based payments

Net cash flow generated from operating activities

Cash flow from investing activities

Dividends received from subsidiary company

Net cash flow generated from investing activities

Cash flow from financing activities

Equity dividends paid

Net cash flow used in financing activities

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents

Opening cash and cash equivalents

Closing cash and cash equivalents

52 weeks ended 
27 June 2020
£’000

52 weeks ended 
29 June 2019
£’000

–

–

(709)

667

42

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

1,650

(1,650)

68

–

(68)

–

1,650

1,650

(1,650)

(1,650)

–

–

–

 
 
 
Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

115

NOTES TO THE COMPANY  
FINANCIAL INFORMATION

1. Accounting policies
Statement of compliance

The Company’s financial statements have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”)  
as adopted by the EU, as they apply to the financial statements of the Group, for the 52 weeks ended 27 June 2020 (prior period 52 weeks 
ended 29 June 2019) and in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006.

Basis of preparation

The Company financial statements have been prepared in accordance with those parts of the Companies Act 2006 applicable to companies 
reporting under IFRS as adopted by the EU. They are presented in Pounds Sterling, with values rounded to the nearest hundred thousand, 
except where otherwise indicated. The financial statements have also been prepared under the historical cost convention, on a going concern 
basis. These policies have been applied consistently, other than where new policies have been adopted.

Going concern

The directors have reviewed the Company’s trading forecasts for the next 12 months and formed a judgement at the time of approving the 
financial information that there is a reasonable expectation that the Company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence  
for the foreseeable future. For this reason the directors continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial information.

(a) Accounting policies

Non-derivative financial instruments
Non-derivative financial instruments comprise investments in equity and debt securities, trade and other receivables, cash and cash 
equivalents, loans and borrowings and trade and other payables.

Trade and other receivables
Trade and other receivables are recognised initially at fair value. Subsequent to initial recognition they are measured at amortised cost  
using the effective interest method, less any impairment losses.

Trade and other payables
Trade and other payables are recognised initially at fair value. Subsequent to initial recognition they are measured at amortised cost using  
the effective interest method.

Cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash balances and cash held at bank. Bank overdrafts that are repayable on demand and form an  
integral part of the Group’s cash management are included as a component of cash and cash equivalents for the purpose only of the cash  
flow statement.

Interest-bearing borrowings
Interest-bearing borrowings are recognised initially at fair value less attributable transaction costs. Subsequent to initial recognition,  
interest-bearing borrowings are stated at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

Share-based payments
The Company issues equity-settled share-based payments to certain employees. Equity-settled share-based payments are measured  
at fair value at the date of grant. The fair value determined at the grant date of the equity-settled share-based payments is expensed on  
a straight-line basis over the vesting period based on the Group’s estimate of shares that will eventually vest. This is recognised as an  
employee expense with a corresponding increase in equity. Fair value is measured by the Monte Carlo model for options subject to  
a market-based performance condition and by use of a Black-Scholes model for all others. Cost is recharged to subsidiary entities.

Investments in subsidiary undertakings 
A subsidiary is an entity controlled, either directly or indirectly, by the Company, where control is the power to govern the financial and 
operating policies of the entity so as to obtain benefit from its activities. Investments in subsidiaries represent interests in subsidiaries  
that are directly owned by the Company and are stated at cost less any provision for permanent diminution in value.

Share capital
Ordinary Shares are classified as equity. Incremental costs directly attributable to the issue of Ordinary Shares are recognised  
as a deduction from equity, net of any tax effects.

Dividends
Dividends receivable from the Company’s subsidiaries and joint venture investments are recognised only when they are approved  
or paid by shareholders. 

Dividend distributions to the company’s shareholders are recognised in the period in which the dividends are paid, and, for the  
final dividend, when approved by the company’s shareholders at the AGM. 

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements116 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES TO THE COMPANY  
FINANCIAL INFORMATION CONTINUED

1. Accounting policies continued
Taxation
Tax on the profit or loss for the period comprises current and deferred tax. Tax is recognised in the consolidated statement of profit or loss and 
other comprehensive income except to the extent that it relates to items recognised directly in equity, in which case it is recognised in equity.

Current tax is the expected tax payable or receivable on the taxable income or loss for the period, using tax rates enacted or substantively 
enacted at the statement of financial position date, and any adjustment to tax payable in respect of previous periods.

Deferred tax is provided on temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes  
and the amounts used for taxation purposes. The following temporary differences are not provided for: the initial recognition of goodwill;  
the initial recognition of assets or liabilities that affect neither accounting nor taxable profit other than in a business combination; and  
differences relating to investments in subsidiaries to the extent that they will probably not reverse in the foreseeable future. The amount  
of deferred tax provided is based on the expected manner of realisation or settlement of the carrying amount of assets and liabilities using  
tax rates enacted or substantively enacted at the statement of financial position date.

A deferred tax asset is recognised only to the extent that it is probable that future taxable profits will be available against which the temporary 
difference can be utilised.

(b) Critical judgements and key sources of estimation and uncertainty

The preparation of financial information in conformity with IFRS requires management to make judgements, estimates and assumptions  
that affect the application of accounting policies and the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, income and expenses. Actual results in due 
course may differ from these estimates.

Estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an on-going basis and are based on historical experience and other factors including 
expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised  
in the period in which the estimates are revised and in any future periods affected. 

The key assumptions concerning the future and other key sources of estimation and uncertainty at the date of the statement of financial  
position that have a significant risk of causing material adjustments to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial 
period are set out below.

The directors do not consider there to be any principal judgements or key sources of estimation and uncertainty.

(c) New and amended standards adopted by the Group

There are no relevant new standards and interpretations adopted or not yet adopted.

2. Profit for the period
No profit or loss account is presented for the Company as permitted by section 408 of the Companies Act 2006. The profit after tax for the 
period was £nil (2019: £1,650,000). 

3. Auditors’ remuneration
Auditors’ remuneration in respect of the Company audit was £1,000 (2019: £1,000). 

4. Directors’ remuneration and employee costs
Details of Directors remuneration in respect of services delivered to the Group are contained in the Directors’ Remuneration Report on pages 
50 to 57. The remuneration received by the Directors in respect of directly attributable services to this company is inconsequential in the 
context of the remuneration figure. The Company has no employees other than the Directors and the Directors are not remunerated through 
this Company other than by issues of share-based payments as described in Note 1 to the Company financial statements. The Directors are 
considered to be the Key Management Personnel of the Company.

5. Investments
Investments in the Company’s statement of financial position consist of investments in subsidiary undertakings as follows:

At cost and net book value:

At the beginning of the period

Investment in subsidiary

At the end of the period

52 weeks ended
27 June 2020
£’000

52 weeks ended
29 June 2019
£’000

29,650

–

29,650

29,650

–

29,650

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

117

As at 27 June 2020 and at 29 June 2019, the Company owned 100 per cent of the Ordinary Share capital of the following UK companies:

Company name

Inventive Guarantee Co Limited1

Revolution Bars (Number Two) Limited1,2

Revolution Bars Limited1

Revolución de Cuba Limited1

Inventive Service Company Limited1

Inventive Leisure Limited1

Rev Bars Limited1

Inventive Leisure (Services) Limited1

New Inventive Bar Company Limited1

Country of 
incorporation 

United Kingdom

United Kingdom

United Kingdom

United Kingdom

United Kingdom

United Kingdom

United Kingdom

United Kingdom

United Kingdom

1 

2 

The registered address of each company is 21 Old Street, Ashton-under-Lyne, Tameside OL6 6LA.

Incorporated during the current year.

+  Direct holding

++ 

Indirect holding

Class of shares

Holding

Status

Ordinary

Ordinary

Ordinary

Ordinary

Ordinary

Ordinary

Ordinary

Ordinary

Ordinary

100% Holding company+

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

Trading+

Trading++

Trading++

Trading++

Dormant++

Dormant++

Dormant++

Dormant++

In view of the current trading conditions an impairment review of the carrying value of the Investment in subsidiaries was carried out, using  
a value in use (‘VIU’) with free cash flows starting in FY22 (based on the board approved budget), a pre-tax discount rate of 8.2% and a long 
term growth rate of 2%. If the WACC rate was changed by 1% this would change the VIU by £3.0 million. If the long-term discount rate was 
changed by 1% this would change the VIU by £2.0 million. If both were changed by 1% this would change the VIU by £5.0 million, and as a 
downside test of the impairment review this combined sensitivity would not result in an impairment of the carrying value of the subsidiaries. 

6. Trade and other receivables

Prepayments

Amounts owed from subsidiary undertakings

27 June 2020
£’000

29 June 2019
£’000

826

–

826

–

117

117

Amounts owed from subsidiary undertakings are unsecured, interest free and repayable on demand. The expected credit loss impact  
from IFRS 9 is immaterial for the Company. Prepayments relate to Fundraising expenditure incurred allowable against Share Premium  
upon completion of the Fundraising exercise.

7. Trade and other payables

Trade payables

Amounts due to group undertakings

Amounts owed to subsidiary undertakings are unsecured, interest free and repayable on demand.

8. Share capital

Allotted, called up and fully paid

50,029,159 £0.001 Ordinary Shares (2019: 50,029,159 £0.001 Ordinary Shares)

27 June 2020
£’000

29 June 2019
£’000

56

611

667

–

–

–

27 June 2020
£’000

29 June 2019
£’000

50

50

50

50

Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance ReportFinancial Statements 
 
 
 
 
118 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

GLOSSARY

Adjusted

‘Adjusted’ before any performance measure denotes that it excludes exceptional items,  
share-based payment (credit)/charges and bar opening costs

Alternative Performance Measure

FY20 key performance measure reported on an IAS 17 basis that is directly comparable  
to a FY19 reported key performance measure

AGM

APM

CVA

Annual General Meeting

Alternative Performance Measure

Company Voluntary Arrangement

COVID

The COVID-19 pandemic

Earnings per share

Profit after tax of the business divided by the weighted average number of shares in issue during  
the period

EBITDA

EPS

Earning before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation. Please refer to note 26 and note 28  
for an understanding of how this metric has been affected by the implementation of IFRS 16

Earnings per share

Exceptional items

Items that by virtue of their unusual nature or size warrant separate additional disclosure in the  
financial statements in order to fully understand the performance of the Group

FY19

FY20

IAS 17

The financial reporting period ended 29 June 2019

The financial reporting period ended 27 June 2020

Where measures are described as being prepared on an ‘IAS 17’ basis, this means that they  
reflect the framework of accounting that applied in FY19 prior to the transition to IFRS 16 in FY20.  
This is considered to be useful in order to explain business performance during the transition  
to IFRS 16, as the results for previous periods are not restated and comparability may otherwise  
be difficult

Like-for-like sales

This measure provides an indicator of the underlying performance of our bars. There is  
no accounting standard or consistent definition of ‘like-for-like sales’ across the industry.  
Group like-for-like sales are defined as total retail sales from bars that have traded throughout  
both the current and prior reporting periods

Net bank debt

Net bank debt is calculated as bank borrowings less cash at bank and other cash and  
cash equivalents

Operating profit

Earnings before interest and tax

Profit before tax

Profit after taking account of all income and costs including interest but before tax

CORPORATE INFORMATION

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

119

Revolution Bars Group plc
Registered number 08838504

Registered address 

21 Old Street 
Ashton-under-Lyne 
Tameside 
OL6 6LA

AIM Nominated advisor and Joint broker

finnCap
1 Bartholomew Close 
London 
EC1A 7BL

Joint broker

Peel Hunt LLP
Moor House 
120 London Wall 
London 
EC2Y 5ET

Registrar

Link Asset Services
71 Victoria Street 
London 
SW1H 0XA

Financial PR

Instinctif Partners
65 Gresham Street 
London 
EC2V 7NQ

Independent auditors

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
1 Hardman Square 
Manchester 
M3 3EB

Tax advisers

Grant Thornton UK LLP
4 Hardman Square 
Spinningfields 
Manchester 
M3 3EB

Legal advisers (corporate)

Gowling WLG (UK) LLP
4 More London Riverside 
London 
SE1 2AU

Macfarlanes LLP
20 Cursitor St 
London 
EC4A 1LT

Legal advisers (property)

Shoosmiths LLP
100 Avebury Boulevard 
Milton Keynes 
MK9 1FH

Legal advisers (licensing)

Kuits
3 St Mary’s Parsonage 
Manchester 
M3 2RD

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Company OverviewStrategic ReportGovernance Report 
120 Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

NOTES

Revolution Brighton

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2020

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Registered address

21 Old Street 
Ashton-under-Lyne 
Tameside 
OL6 6LA