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Revolution Bars Group

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FY2022 Annual Report · Revolution Bars Group
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Annual Report  
and accounts 2022

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We are a leading operator of premium bars  
operating two market-leading brands, “Revolution”  
and “Revolución de Cuba”, and two exciting new 
concepts. We have a strong national presence across 
the UK but with significant opportunities for further 
expansion and currently trade from 69* bars located 
exclusively in town or city centre high streets. 

All brands focus on a premium drinks range and  
a quality food offering typically trading from late 
morning through into the late evening.

Venues across the UK

69*

Huge thank you to Jordan Baird @Bairdvisuals for allowing us to use  
some of his images across this report, including the amazing front cover.

Contents
STRATEGIC REPORT
2  Chairman’s Statement
4  At a Glance
6  Year in Review
8  Market Review
10 
Investment Case
12  Business Model
14	
18  Our Strategy
24  Financial Review
28  Risk Report
30  Section 172 (1) Statement
32  Responsible Business (including  

	Chief	Executive	Officer’s	Statement

The Task Force on Climate-related 
Financial Disclosures Report)

GOVERNANCE REPORT
44  Board of Directors
46  Senior Management
47  Corporate Governance:  
Chairman’s Introduction  
to Governance

48   Governance Section: Quoted 

Companies Alliance Code (“QCA”)

53  Board Activity
54   Nominations  

Committee Report
56   Audit Committee Report
60   Directors’ Remuneration Report
62  Directors’ Remuneration Policy
65  Directors’ Report
68   Statement of Directors’ 

Responsibilities in Respect of  
the Annual Report and the  
Financial Statements

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
70 

 Independent Auditors’ Report  
to the Members of Revolution Bars 
Group plc
 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

76 

77 

78 

79 

80   Notes to the Consolidated  
Financial Information
106   Company Statement  

of Financial Position

107   Company Statement  
of Changes in Equity
107   Company Statement  

of Cash Flow

108   Notes to the Company  
Financial Information

111  Glossary
112  Corporate Information

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

1

Financial highlights

Revenue

FY22

FY21

£39.4m

£140.8m

Gross margin

£140.8m

FY22

£110.1m

FY21

£28.1m

£110.1m

APM Adjusted EBITDA**

Profit/(Loss) before tax

FY22

£10.2m

FY22

£2.1m

£(26.3)m

FY21

£2.1m

£(12.0)m

FY21

£10.2m

Values

Purpose

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

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

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

Vision

The place where everyone 
wants to be.

Ambition
Always striving to be the 
best version of ourselves.

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

*   As well as our 21 recently acquired Peach pubs.
**  

 Adjusted performance measured Adjusted EBITDA reflects the IAS 17 position and 
excludes exceptional items, share-based payment charges and bar opening costs 
(see reconciliation table in the Financial Review).

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview2

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT

Overview
I am pleased that our business has now returned to normal 
trading without restrictions, despite the impact from COVID-19  
in the first half of the year. We hope and plan for a period of 
exciting trading over the winter months, celebrating large  
parties with our corporate guests, whilst remaining cautious  
of the upcoming festive period where the Government has  
found it necessary in the last few years to restrict trading  
and damage guest confidence.

We recognise the potential for uncertainty in guest confidence  
as we enter a period of economic uncertainty, characterised by 
recession and an inflationary environment, but are confident of 
the resilience of our guest base.

During the year, we have delivered two new Revolution bars, 
completed 19 refurbishments across the estate, and launched  
our second exciting new concept.

Keith Edelman, Non-Executive Chairman

Accelerated 
refurbishment 
programme: 19 sites 
completed in FY22
two new brands
Return to strong 
sales
First new bar lease 
signed in four years

The two new bars, in Preston and Exeter, have 
had excellent guest reception and feedback 
and are trading in line with expectations, 
which are set to achieve a four-year payback.

On 18 October we were also very excited  
to announce the acquisition of The Peach  
Pub	Company	(Holdings)	Limited	and	its	
subsidiaries (“Peach”), the operator of a 
collection of 21 award-winning pubs. Peach 
offers an exciting addition to the Group 
portfolio and provides a more balanced and 
diversified business with scale and compelling 
growth potential across multiple trading 
segments of drinks, food and accommodation. 
We look forward to seeing where this new 
venture takes us.

Our refurbished Revolution sites are 
demonstrating a new, edgy design which is 
social media friendly and gives our guests the 
opportunity to showcase their experience, 
encouraging return visits. Our refurbished  
bars are also performing well and are in line 
with a two-year payback period. Our guest 
proposition review is being finalised on 
Revolución de Cuba to take it into its next 
exciting stage and enhance the guest journey.

We are pleased with the performance of both 
new concepts, Founders & Co. and Playhouse, 
both of which have received excellent guest 
feedback. Founders & Co. has created a 

friendly community feel which is enjoyed by 
guests of all ages and has enabled the Group 
to diversify sales towards daytime and food 
from the more traditional patterns. Playhouse, 
a competitive socialising offering, has seen 
great success with corporate and group 
bookings, offering an immersive experience 
for our guests.

We have continued to build on the progress 
made with Inclusion & Diversity, Wellbeing, 
Sustainability and developing the guest journey. 
Management are now aligning their focus to 
continue driving these important strategies 
forwards, whilst driving new workstreams to 
grow and build business performance.

Our business
At the end of the reporting period, the Group 
operated 69* premium bars with a strong 
presence throughout the UK for its two 
high-quality retail brands: Revolution (49 bars), 
focused on young adults; and Revolución de 
Cuba (18 bars), which attracts a broader age 
range. Most of the Group’s sales are derived 
from food and drink with some late-night 
admission receipts driven by entertainment 
completing the sales mix. The FY22 portfolio 
also includes one Founders & Co. venue  
in Swansea and one Playhouse venue in 
Northampton, providing a new diversification 
of sales through increased food offerings and 
game machine sales.

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

3

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We were excited to return to our pre-COVID-19 
strategy of expansion and refurbishment of 
the estate, and in the year spent £8.3 million  
of capital expenditure across two brand new 
Revolution bars, 19 refurbishments, converting 
a bar into Playhouse, sustainability, IT and 
other key investments. In FY23 we plan on 
refurbishing up to a further 18 bars, meaning 
up to 57% of the like-for-like estate will have 
been refurbished across FY22 and FY23.

To date, four bars have been refurbished in 
FY23. The bars opened and refurbished in 
FY22 are performing well, and we look forward 
to extending our expansion plans over the 
coming years.

Our results
Sales of £140.8 million (2021: £39.4 million) 
were 257.4% higher than the previous year 
due to a return to much more normal trading, 
albeit with some impact from COVID-19 at  
the start of the period and during festive 
trading. In comparison, the previous year  
was significantly impacted by lockdowns  
and restrictions. Our statutory profit before  
tax for the year of £2.1 million (2021: loss  
before tax of (£26.3) million) reflects very 
positive trading and careful cost management, 
compared to the prior period which was 
significantly impacted by the restrictions on 
trading. Adjusted1 EBITDA, our preferred KPI,  
is significantly impacted by IFRS 16 and thus 
the Directors believe that business progress  
is best measured by the directly comparable 
IAS 17 Alternative Performance Measures3 
(“APM”) measure of adjusted1 EBITDA which 
was a profit of £10.2 million (2021: loss of 
(£12.0) million). The positive movement in 
APM3 adjusted1 EBITDA reflects a strong 
period of cash generative sales from excellent 
business progress and pent-up demand.  

No further debt drawdowns were required  
in FY22 due to the positive trading, whereas  
in FY21 a total of £20.0 million of Coronavirus 
Large	Business	Interruption	Loan	Scheme	
(“CLBILS”)	term	loans	were	obtained,	as	well	
as £34.0 million from the net proceeds of the 
two equity fundraisings. The business remains 
in a strong cash position, meaning it is ready  
to take advantage of any potential good-value 
acquisition opportunities in addition to the 
organic expansion and refurbishment of the 
estate. As at 17 October 2022, the Group had 
net cash of £0.7 million.

Our Board
There have been no changes to the Board in the 
year. With COVID-19 firmly behind us, the Board 
have been able to return to in-person meetings 
where applicable, and have continued their 
focus on Governance matters, strategy, and 
performance improvement of the business. 
The Board and Executive Management group 
continue to work closely together, with the 
Board providing challenge, a sounding board 
and support to Management decisions.

Our team members
At the end of the reporting period, the Group 
employed around 2,800 people, all of whom 
strive to provide the outstanding guest 
experience that is at the heart of our strategy. 
Recruitment needs have risen since the start 
of FY22, when we were able to finish our use 
of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme 
early and bring all our people back, as well  
as staffing our brand-new bars. Our teams 
continue to demonstrate amazing commitment 
to the business, making sure our bars are the 
place where everyone wants to be. I thank all 
of our people and teams for their hard work, 
great attitudes, and continued efforts as we 
move into the next exciting stage of expansion 
and growth for the business.

Our Future
Like-for-like2	(“LFL”)	revenue	generated	in	the	
first 11 weeks of FY23 was -10.0%, reflecting 
the challenging trading conditions faced. A 
combination of rail and tube strikes, heatwaves, 
festivals and events, and people going abroad 
for their holidays have all contributed to 
reduced footfall in our bars.

However,	LFL2 revenue from next two weeks 
improved to -4.5%, reflecting the positive  
sales increase from the return of students  
in September. Our young and resilient guest 
base are somewhat protected from the 
ongoing cost pressures on the economy; 
summer trading is one of our quieter times  
of the year and we are therefore pleased to 
see sales improve after the summer period.

The Financial Review provides information  
on liquidity and going concern, and also the 
full going concern disclosures, which include 
references to material uncertainty, can be 
found in note 1.

I am confident that the strong leadership  
and new workstreams will continue to drive 
improved performance and expansion and 
look forward to a future of positive trading.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank  
all our colleagues for their hard work during a 
very difficult year interrupted by COVID-19, as 
well as our stakeholders with particular thanks 
to the continued support of our suppliers.

Keith Edelman
Non-Executive Chairman
18 October 2022

revenue £m

Net bank cash/(debt)

FY22

£140.8m

FY21

£39.4m

GROSS MARGIN £m

FY22

£110.1m

FY21

£28.1m

£4.1m

2021: (£3.6M)

APM3 adjusted EBITDA/(loss)

£10.2m

2021: (£12.0M)

1  Adjusted performance measures exclude exceptional 

2	

items, share-based payment charges and bar  
opening costs
Like-for-like	(LFL)	sales	are	same	site	sales	defined	as	
sales at only those venues that traded in the same week 
in both the current year and most recent non-COVID-19 
affected comparative period

3  APM refers to Alternative Performance Measure being 

measures reported on an IAS 17 basis

*  As well as our 21 recently acquired Peach pubs

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic Report 
4

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

AT A GLANCE

four premium
brands

Locations

Drinks

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.

We opened our first Founders 
& Co. in Swansea in June 2021, 
and our first Playhouse in 
Northampton in October 2021.

On 18 October we announced 
the acquisition of 21 award-
winning pubs that are not 
included in these figures.

7  Scotland 
12 North-East 
12  North-West 
12 Midlands 
3  Wales 
13 South-East 
9  South-West 
1 

 Northern Ireland*

* Revolución de Cuba only in Northern Ireland.

An exciting high street party venue, serving fresh food and expertly mixed cocktails. Bringing big weekend entertainment, this is where to get the party startedBringing Cuba to you, an authentic Cuban bar experience where you can bring your amigos for  live music, rum-focused cocktails and great tapasAn eclectic food hall offering four different independent kitchens with a coffee shop,  gentleman’s barbers, vintage clothing retailer  and community-focused eventsA place to thrill, chill and fill, bringing a mix of next-level gaming experiences, pizza by the slice and  an innovative drinks rangeA wide range of premium cocktails and vodka  focused drinksRum-led cocktails and Cuban inspired drinksStocked with local drinks, created and curated by  the finest homegrown South Wales talentCocktails on tap and self-service drink dispensers  let you keep on gamingRevolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

5

Food

Entertainment

FY22 Refurbishments 
completed

FY23 Refurbishments  
planned (Up to)

 19  18

18

1 1

69Total venues

49

 Revolution

 Revolución	de	Cuba

 Founders	&	Co

 Playhouse

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany OverviewSignature pizzas and burgers, supported by delicious grazing dishesCuban and Latin American inspired tapas focused food menuAn ever-changing array of local food vendors serve you anything from pizza, burgers, Indian, Japanese, poutine, Mexican… there’s always something new  to tryEnjoy a New York-inspired giant pizza slice, prepared with 24hr dough freshly made in-house. Or try and tackle our metre pizza if you dareDelivering the party spirit since 1996, the best place  to celebrate any occasion with our amazing DJsAuthentic live Latin music and dance productions, supported by exciting dancers and entertainmentPub quizzes, learn-to-paint, life drawing, baby groups, dogs, creative writing… we’ve got it all! New events  are added and enjoyed regularlyYou’ll find all the classic arcade games here, with the showcase being our huge 10-person raceway.6

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

YEAR IN REVIEW

2022
Back with a bang

FY22 New bars

2

Sales

£140.8m

Refurbishment programmeOur ambitious refurbishment programme saw 19 exciting refurbishments completed in FY22, with up to a further 18 planned for FY23. From our first  one at Nottingham Cornerhouse,  to the last one at Parsonage Gardens  in Manchester, we have seen pleasing increased performance as guests enjoy our bars. Read more on pages 14 to 17An exciting reopeningOn 19 July 2021, two weeks into FY22, we were very excited to fully reopen without social distancing and other restrictions. We saw an exciting level  of custom as pent-up demand brought our guests back to the place where everyone wants to be, and we were certainly ready to bring the party. Read more on pages 14 to 17The ConferenceAfter a missed year, the Group was very excited to come together for the annual conference in September 2021. Over 500 of our management team across the bars and support centre met in Birmingham to celebrate our successes and hear about our exciting future,  with a party afterwards of course! Read more on page 31Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

7

We are continually investing in our brands to ensure we continue 
to win our guests’ hearts and minds. Revitalising and refreshing 
the brand propositions are key, with the introduction of unique 
experiences at our new concept venues that are proving 
successful alongside focusing on bar refurbishments.

Our highest ever ENPS score 

41.5pts

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany OverviewPlayhouseOur second exciting new concept, Playhouse, opened in October 2021;  a competitive socialising concept with both old and new arcade games to excite our guests. Metre-long pizzas with our freshly made in-house dough, cocktails on tap, and a 10-car huge raceway bring an enticing offering  to our guests. Read more on pages 4 to 5Above Minimum Wage EmployerIn March 2022, the Group was proud  to announce it was investing over  £2.0 million per annum in becoming an “above minimum wage employer” as part of its “fair day’s pay for hard day’s work” pledge. These new pay bands brought wages above the April 2022 new national minimum wage rates and helps retain our status as an employer of choice. Read more on pages 32 to 33First new opening in four yearsLate June 2022 saw the launch of  our first bar in four years at Revolution Exeter. This was quickly followed  by another brand-new opening at Revolution Preston. Our fabulous property team has been scouring the UK for the most beautiful and thrilling venues to bring our four exciting brands to, and continue to build a strong pipeline of future sites. Read more on pages 14 to 178

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

MARKET REVIEW

We seek the right opportunities and experiences 
that our guests desire in a post-COVID-19 world.

Our Digital JourneyThe heavy restrictions during the pandemic resulted  in an opportunity for expansion in our technological advancements. This resulted in an exciting App used  by over 1.2 million of our guests, an improved booking system allowing our sales teams to organise group bookings with ease and streamlining the guest journey,  as well as other general improvements to the digital guest journey. We continue to invest in QR codes for at-table ordering in all our sites and have recently recognised  the need to outsource certain IT support to allow our brilliant IT team the capacity to focus on our exciting in-house technology.The end of the moratoriumThe British Government introduced a moratorium during COVID-19 to support struggling hospitality businesses who may not have been able to pay their rents during the pandemic. This came to an end on 25 March 2022, after which point the Group has seen a number of new property opportunities arise in the market. The Group has opened two new sites in FY22, and is ready to take advantage  of any exciting acquisition opportunities that may arise. We operate an incentive scheme where our people will be rewarded for notifying the property team of any suitable properties in their local area we end up expanding to.  The Group was thrilled to announce in October 2022  the acquisition of 21 award-winning pubs.Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

9

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany OverviewGuest experiencesWe were very pleased to see the end of all restrictions  in England in July 2022 and traded very strongly outside of restricted periods in the year. We continue to identify a desire by our guests for exciting new experiences, which is why we partner with brilliant talent, entertainment and dancers across the UK. Our bottomless brunches are so well loved that we recently launched a trial of premium bottomless dinners which feature DJs and entertainment, taking you into the night. Following the shift in working patterns, we are also working to capitalise on remote working by partnering with relevant suppliers and  making our bars welcoming environments for remote-office workers to join us for a coffee, wi-fi and a place  to collaborate.Future TradingAs at the end of June 2022, the Coffer Peach Tracker noted like-for-like sales at Britain’s top managed restaurant, pub and bar groups at 5% ahead of the pre-COVID-19 levels of June 2019, noting that this  “would represent a strong performance for managed groups in most months. However high inflation means sales are down in real terms, and mounting costs continue to pile pressure on profit margins.” The Group continues to monitor costs carefully noting that inflation may potentially also have an impact on guest confidence;  we have contracted cost specialists to review all terms with our suppliers and identify cost savings, whilst we negotiate improved terms and secure fixed costs where possible. With the current economic climate and potential recession, we recognise a potential risk to some of  our guests but feel this is somewhat mitigated by our primarily resilient young guest base. Through careful  cost management and strategic price increases,  the Group secured a gross margin of 78.2% in FY22, which is higher than FY20 of 75.9% and FY19 of 75.8%. 10

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

INVESTMENT CASE

Yielding 
strong results

Four Exciting  
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 presents relatively high barriers to entry 
and delivers a highly differentiated offer in the marketplace.

Founders & Co. is an eclectic mix of independent food vendors, 
makers, sellers, and creators all under one roof.

Playhouse, a competitive socialising concept filled with old  
and new arcade games, a huge 10-car raceway, and metre  
long pizzas.

The Group is pleased with the new concepts which add a 
diversification of sales to the Group and is in the process  
of expanding the Founders & Co. and Playhouse portfolios.  
We continue searching for amazing venues to bring all of  
our brands to and are poised to take advantage of any good 
acquisition opportunities.

We are thrilled to bring a fifth brand into the Group in October 
2022, with the acquisition of 21 award-winning pubs from  
the Peach brand, which offers a further diversified brand  
and business with scale and growth potential across drinks, 
food and accommodation.

 Read more on page 4

We’ve got a management team here that can run  
a bigger operation, and therefore an acquisition  
is very much on our agenda.

Rob Pitcher, Chief Executive Officer

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

11

Our talented management team’s focus on our strategy 
and core strengths is beginning to yield strong results.

Management is ready to drive the trading performance, 
refurbishments, expansion of the estate, and exciting new 
brands. The Group is ready to take advantage of good 
acquisition opportunities.

Clear strategy 
in place

People  
first

Financially 
well structured

Maximising revenue and profit

Focus on brand awareness and 
ESG including Sustainability  
and EVP

Developing the guest experience

Cost monitoring and control, 
mitigating risks wherever possible

Diversification of sales via new 
concepts and workstreams

Experienced Executive and 
Management teams empowered by 
the Board to maximise performance

Purpose, Vision and Values 
embedded throughout the 
businesses

Rolling out the Inclusion Revolution 
to make us the place where 
everyone wants to be

Engaging our 2,800-strong 
passionate team

Attracting new talent and ensuring 
we are the employer of choice

Strong cash generation

Significantly improved liquidity  
with £25.9 million cash generated 
from operating activities provides 
resilience and an excellent platform 
which allowed the exciting 
acquisition of Peach

Debt target to below one times 
APM (IAS 17) adjusted EBITDA

Net cash as at the end of FY22  
of £4.1 million

 Read more on pages 18 to 19

 Read more on pages 32 to 33

 Read more on pages 24 to 27

March 2022 saw the 
Group’s biggest ever 
pre-booked revenue 
outside of Christmas

PAssionate team members

FY22 Net Cash 

2,827 £4.1M

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview12

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

BUSINESS MODEL

Our business model is built on core strategies driving 
improved performance and exciting new opportunities.

Leveraging our sources  
of competitive advantage

Creating value from  
our guest proposition

Two established and recognised brands
•  Revolution and Revolución de Cuba, both of which  

are synonymous with a fun night out

•  Two new brands, Founders & Co. and Playhouse, 

diversifying our guest offering, and recent acquisition  
of fifth brand, Peach

Refurbishments and new bars
•  19 exciting refurbishments completed, with up  

to a further 18 planned for next year

•  Two new bars opened, the first in four years
Experienced team and skilled staff
•  Highly experienced and dedicated Executive and 
Management teams empowered by the Board to  
deliver growth

Strong financial structure
•  Overperformance has seen steady cash generation

New brands launched

New bars opened 

2

Colleagues at  
year-end

2,827

2

Net cash at  
year-end

£4.1m

Impactful venues
Large, characterful spaces

Premium drinks
70% of drinks sales from cocktails  
and spirits

Maximising  
value

Strong  
expansion  
strategy

 See page 8

Embedded  
values

 See page 32

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

13

Sharing value with  
our stakeholders

Guests
•  Fun and safe night out for our predominantly female guests
Colleagues
•  Rewarding roles, with opportunities for advancement and 

improved career plans for all levels

Shareholders
•  Exciting return to trading after freedom-day, seeing strong 

like-for-likes of +14% until Omicron. The business is currently 
in a net cash position

Communities
•  Vibrant bars and job opportunities at the heart of 
communities, while supporting impactful charities

Small plates as 
proportion of food sales 

Highest ever colleague 
engagement rates 

24%

net cash as at  
17 October 2022

£0.7M 

87%

Locations (not including 
peach)

69

Lively entertainment & energy
Live music, DJs and entertainers

Innovative food
All-day menus that are both delicious  
and Instagram worthy

Robust risk  
management

 See page 28

Sound  
governance

 See page 47

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview14

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER’S STATEMENT

After the excitement of “Freedom Day” in the 
summer of 2021, we were delighted to experience 
pent-up demand and staycations having a very 
positive impact on performance once able to  
trade normally, with the devolved nations gradually 
relaxing restrictions through late summer and into 
the autumn. The Group also benefitted from many 
of our young guests enjoying delayed celebrations 
during the first half of the year.

Business review
After an excellent start to the year, it was 
extremely disappointing to find COVID-19 so 
severely affecting festive trading. Government 
guidance and restrictions regarding “Plan B” 
derailed festive trading, where Corporate 
guests were discouraged from fulfilling their 
large group bookings. This continued into our 
second half of the year with restrictions still in 
place; restrictions were, once again, slower to 
release across Wales, Scotland and Northern 
Ireland where approximately 15% of the 
Group’s business is generated.

Similarly to the summer of 2021, we were 
pleased to see pent-up demand return in 
spring 2022 following the release of “Plan B” 
restrictions. Many of our postponed Christmas 
parties enjoyed a belated celebration in these 
months, and we were delighted to welcome 
our Corporate guests back. Positive trading 
conditions continued, with our young guest 
base ready to party, and a good run of  
bank holidays.

The advent of summer 2022 brought with  
it much tougher trading conditions with our 
guests attending many postponed festivals 
and large-scale stadium concerts, as well as 

restriction-free summer holidays abroad 
returning for the first time since 2019. Trade 
was impacted by our guests attending two 
years’ worth of gigs and events, that had  
been postponed and then crammed into  
the summer of 2022.

During this time, the growing media coverage 
on the war in Ukraine and the resultant 
cost-of-living crisis has continued to build  
into the everyday lives of the general public 
and has driven consumer confidence to an 
all-time low. Whilst the Group’s young guest 
base is somewhat sheltered from the full 
impact of this crisis, due to still living at  
home or in shared accommodation, they are, 
however, not completely immune and we  
are seeing a level of caution from them at  
this uncertain time. We continue to review 
internal costs and pricing carefully to navigate 
the current economic backdrop.

We launched our first new concept, Founders 
& Co. at the very end of FY21, and saw it 
celebrate its first birthday in week 52 of FY22. 
The site has created a strong community feel 
for people of all ages and backgrounds and is 
performing well. The sales mix is 50:50 food 
and drink (with the Group taking a proportion 

of food sales from our independent traders as 
rent), with 97% of sales also achieved before 
11pm, meaning the brand is introducing a  
new demographic and trading pattern to the 
Group. Our second new concept, Playhouse, 
launched towards the end of FY22 H1, is 
delivering on our low-cost/high-margin model, 
helped by strong game machine sales making 
up 21% of total sales. We are very excited to 
launch our second Playhouse site in FY23 H1.

We are thrilled to announce that in October 
2022 we completed the acquisition of The 
Peach	Pub	Company	(Holdings)	Limited	 
and its subsidiaries (“Peach”), a collection  
of 21 award-winning countryside pubs. After 
working closely with Peach over the last 
several months, we feel Peach has a strong 
focus on its colleagues and guests and has 
great synergies both operationally and from  
a People perspective. We are very excited  
to get under the skin of this complimentary 
new offering and enjoy the Christmas  
trade together.

Our focus is and has been on getting back  
to our value-creating workstreams to  
further develop the business under our 
strategic priorities. 

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

15

The strategic priorities set for FY22 made great progress with 
some of the highlights set out below:
Investing in our team:
•  Became an above-minimum wage paying 
employer to enable us to retain and attract 
the best talent in the industry;

Investing in our brands  
and guest experience:
• 

“Feed It Back” guest experience feedback 
platform driving continuous improvement 
in our guest opinion scores and Net 
Promoter Scores. The Group now holds a 
sector-leading position on these measures 
of guest satisfaction;

•  continued investment in our digital 

capabilities through a newly created digital 
marketing function, which has seen early 
wins through email campaigns, affiliate 
marketing and website migration. This is 
just the start of an exciting digital journey 
for the Group;

•  building on the success seen in the prior 
year, the Revolution App now has 1.2 
million registered users, up from one 
million six months ago and 230,000 in 
February 2020;

•  we have begun exciting brand proposition 
work for Revolución de Cuba, which is 
ongoing, as we look to further refine the 
brand offering in order to deliver the next 
stage of growth; and
the Revolution brand has had a very 
exciting year, picking up “Bar Brand of the 
Year” from the Pub & Bar Magazine in June 
2022. An exciting, “Instagrammable” and 
TikTok style is reflected in all new 
refurbishments.

• 

•  appointed a dedicated Pay, Reward & 

• 

• 

• 

Operational Support Manager, reflecting 
the importance in providing best-in-class 
support to our bars and our teams;
Inclusion & Diversity (“I&D”) champions 
recruited from across the entire workforce 
to set up a new I&D advisory Board; 
establishment of our “Inclusion Revolution” 
Strategy, with data driven insight through 
our partnership and research with “Wiser”;
identified the key elements of our 
Wellbeing Strategy. Nominated Area 
Wellbeing Champions to drive insight and 
inform actions in wellbeing focus groups 
across the business. Trained 71 Mental 
Health First Aiders at management  
level in the Group as well as support  
centre colleagues;
launched the “Rev U” training academy, 
including new career pathways for all 
operational roles. We also launched our 
first ever high potential programme for our 
General Managers, and our Area Manager 
Development programme, management 
level apprenticeships, and implemented  
a mentoring programme;

•  our April 2022 Employee Engagement 
Survey saw us achieve record results, 
despite the last couple of years being 
some of the most challenging for the 
business. We saw our highest ever 
participation rate of 87%, highest ever 
engagement score of 65%, and highest 
ever Employee Net Promoter Score 
(“Employee NPS”) score of 41.5; and
•  new employee benefits offered to our 
people included an enhanced pension 
scheme, life assurance, enhanced parental 
leave, amongst other exciting changes. 
Introduction of long service awards to 
demonstrate our commitment back to our 
wonderful people and to celebrate their 
long-standing contributions to the Group.

• 

Investing in our estate:
•  Opened our first new sites since 2018, with 
the welcoming of Revolution Exeter and 
Revolution Preston. We are pleased with 
their reception, and both are trading in line 
with expectations;
first full year of trade for our first new 
concept, Founders & Co., which brings a 
new, diverse range of custom to the Group 
and has a fantastic community feel for all 
ages, with strong food and pre-11pm sales;
the second new concept, Playhouse, 
launched late FY22 H1, and we are  
excited to see the machines proving very 
popular with our guests, with 21% of sales 
coming from them. Food sales are up 42% 
compared to the previous Revolution bar at 
the site. We have received excellent guest 
feedback, and our marketing and design 
review has been completed ahead of the 
launch of our second Playhouse venue in 
FY23 H1;

• 

•  our largest ever refurbishment programme 
saw 19 site refurbishments delivered in  
the year, and we are on target to see a 
two-year payback from these sites;
•  energy consumption is down 32% since 
2017, whilst our carbon footprint has 
reduced by 19% since our 2019/20 baseline 
due to energy efficiencies including 
increased use of renewable sources, the 
effects of making our cocktail menu carbon 
neutral,	and	other	projects	including	LED	
lighting; and

•  our Zero Hero engagement at sites 

continues to show improved results with 
out-of-hours energy waste at 3% at the  
last quarter, which meets our target and  
is down from 10% at the start of the year. 
Recycling increased by 7% in the year also, 
to 63%. Supply chain engagement has 
begun with questionnaires completed  
for all tier 1 suppliers, and tier 2 is midway 
through completion. We have already seen 
benefits here at a supply chain level by 
reducing the number of deliveries from  
our largest supplier, Matthew Clark.

Our five strategic priorities are more relevant than ever:

Revenue & 

Profit 2 Brand 
1 Maximising 

Awareness 
and ESG 
including 
Sustainability 
and EVP

 Read more on page 18 

Experience 4 Cost  
3 Guest 

Control 5 Diversification  

of Sales

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview16

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER’S STATEMENT CONTINUED

Group strategic objectives
We have taken the opportunity in the year to 
refine our focus and strategy, identifying great 
synergies between our previous strategic 
objectives and new key pillars: 

•  Maximising Revenue & Profit
•  Brand Awareness and ESG including 

Sustainability and EVP

•  Guest Experience
•  Cost Control
•  Diversification of Sales

These five pillars are not a directional shift 
from the previous strategy, but a refinement 
coming out of the pandemic to ensure we are 
aligned with growth plans and to drive our 
long-term decision-making. Prior to COVID-19, 
the Group expected to start planning for 
estate expansion towards the end of FY20; 
whilst the disruption caused by COVID-19 set 
back our timescales for expansion, we have 
opened two new bars in FY22, as well as 
introducing two new concepts since June 
2021. We continue to build an exciting pipeline 
of properties to continue expansion, alongside 
the exciting new acquisition of Peach.

Strategic priorities for FY23
During FY22 we were able to launch our 
enhanced refurbishment programme, open 
two new Revolution bars, and opened our 
second new concept. The fact that we are  
in a position to restart our growth strategy  
is a testament to the hard work and positive 
growth we have seen in the last year.

It is a very exciting time for the Group as  
we get back to our core methodology of 
continuous improvement across the business 
that is driven through multiple workstreams.

With these exciting plans and focus for FY23, 
we are committed to the following strategic 
priorities in FY23:

Maximising Revenue & Profit
•  A strong pipeline of new properties to 
deliver continued growth, including a 
second Founders & Co. site;

•  up to 18 sites earmarked for refurbishment 
in FY23, including our second Playhouse 
site; this will be our second largest ever 
refurbishment programme after FY22;
•  we continue to explore potential value-

• 

creating acquisition opportunities as and 
when they arise; and
implementation of a new draft product 
range across the Group in order to drive 
margin maximisation and sales.

• 

Brand Awareness and Esg including 
sustainability and evp
•  Further driving Diversity, Inclusion and 
Belonging through strengthening our 
relationship with subject matter expert 
René Carayol, maximising outputs from our 
internally appointed Inclusion Board and 
working with external partners like Be 
Inclusive	and	WiHTL	to	ensure	enhanced	
awareness and knowledge amongst our 
RBG family, in order to ultimately deliver 
our “Inclusion Revolution” Strategy;
further driving our Sustainability, Health 
and Wellbeing agenda across the entire 
business with the ambition to be known as 
the most progressive late-night hospitality 
business in the industry, whilst putting our 
peoples’ wellbeing at the heart of our 
decision making. To achieve this will we 
continue to work with external partners “So 
Let’s	Talk”	to	build	a	culture	of	openness	
and understanding, as well as hosting 
insight-driven employee voice groups to 
ensure robust priorities for delivery that 
really make a difference to our people, 
focusing on the financial, physical and 
mental wellbeing of all;

•  continued delivery of high-quality training 
and coaching across the business via our 
“Rev U” platform, including the talent 
development of our Head Bartenders, 
Senior Kitchen Managers and expert core, 
training more Mental Health First Aiders 
than ever before, as well as rolling out  
our mentoring programme across the 
entire business; 

•  ensure and drive retention of our talented 
teams by acting on feedback, ensuring  
a voice through our employee listening 
groups, and designing best-in-class reward 

and recognition initiatives alongside 
ensuring an inclusive culture for all; and

•  proud to win the On-Trade Company  

of the Year award at the Footprint Drinks 
Sustainability Awards in September 2022, 
and be shortlisted in the British Business 
Excellence Awards for Employer of  
the Year. 

Guest Experience
•  We aim to surprise and delight by creating 
memorable experiences for our guests 
using the art of true hospitality to add value 
to their experiences;
refinement of our guest journey, from the 
first interaction, which is often digital, to their 
time in our bars, and through to excellent 
aftercare to ensure peak happiness is 
sustained and a repeat visit is driven;

• 

•  enhancing our “Atmosphere programme” 

• 

to replicate the success seen in our 
late-night atmosphere creation to other 
parts of the day and week to drive guest 
satisfaction; and
 guest proposition review to be conducted 
on Revolución de Cuba brand to enhance 
guest experience, following the success  
of the Revolution guest proposition review 
12 months ago.

Cost Control
•  Developing our vending proposition, with 
an initial introduction of this seen in the 
new concept, Playhouse, to maximise 
spend per head with minimal additional 
costs, positively impacting margin;
•  creation of our sustainability blueprint  
bar at Reading Revolución de Cuba,  
where we are delivering a market-leading 
sustainability blueprint to assess how low 
we can go with energy consumption; and

•  sustainable, energy-saving cellar 

equipment rolled out to at least 50% of  
our sites. B-Corp gap analysis is to be 
undertaken, with water usage monitoring 
rolled out across the estate, as well as a 
carbon impact review on our food menus. 
We see all of this as the “right way” of 
mitigating cost inflation.

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

17

Diversification of Sales
•  Evolution of our “project event space” 

workstream to deliver increased utilisation of 
our spaces outside of peak trading, as well 
as driving dwell time and spend per head;
•  expansion and diversification of our product 
offerings, looking at merchandising and 
gifting, expansion of our Playhouse food 
offering, “Slice Shop”, and vending 
opportunities; and
roll-out to weddings, festivals and events  
of our “Daiq Shack” portable bar, bringing 
the Revolución de Cuba party straight to  
our guests.

• 

Market outlook 
Entering the new financial year, free from 
COVID-19 restrictions, we look towards the 
winter months and festive trading period as 
the most important in the year. Unfortunately, 
we must also look at this time with a degree of 
caution having seen the sector shut down the 
last couple of years. With the uncertainty in the 
political landscape, we cannot predict what 
the “Government of the day” may choose to 
do during this time.

We have so far found that our young guest base 
are prioritising experiences and their freedom, 
where they are somewhat more resilient to the 
cost-of-living crisis. Conversely, the business is 
feeling the effects of inflation. This is a key area 
of focus for Management, and an area where 
we are mitigating hard, but utility costs, people 
costs, and other inflationary pressures are 
rising at an alarming rate which cannot be 
entirely mitigated nor passed through to our 
guests via price increases.

The UK Government must recognise the  
urgent need to introduce business rates reform; 
UKHospitality estimates the Hospitality industry 
overpays £2.4bn each year; following the 
pandemic, which hit the Hospitality industry 
particularly hard, there is undue pressure and 
expense on heavily indebted businesses who 
are trying to rebuild. UK high streets are seeing 
the effects of this outdated and inefficient 
system, causing serious unjust imbalances in 
the rates businesses are paying. We recognise 
an online sales tax could be hard to implement, 

but just because something is difficult doesn’t 
mean it shouldn’t happen, and we would 
welcome any reform which alleviates the very 
serious cost imbalance between “bricks and 
mortar” retail and “clicks and picks” retail.

To help break the inflationary cycle that  
the nation is currently in we would urge the 
Government to cut the headline rate of VAT  
as a catalyst to prevent for further retail price 
increases being passed on to the consumer 
during the difficult winter months, as 
businesses try to recover some of the increased 
costs they are being exposed to in the form of 
energy, people, and other inflationary costs.

Following the opening of two new bars in 
FY22, the property market continues to be 
favourable. Strong cash generation and recent 
fundraisings have created a strong balance 
sheet in order to take advantage of this.

Winter is likely to be a challenging few months 
for the sector; the Group is poised to take 
advantage of any potential further competition 
being removed from the market which 
supports our long-term prospects.

Current Trading
The first two periods of FY23 were challenging 
with footfall disrupted by train and tube strikes, 
heatwaves, resurgence in festivals and events, 
and people going abroad for their first holidays 
in three years. We were pleased to see the 
return of students in September provide a 
positive impact on our sales performance; 
however, the national rail strikes continue to 
have a meaningful negative impact on some  
of our peak trading days with the rail unions 
targeting Saturdays to create peak disruption  
for travel between cities across the nation.

We are starting to see strong momentum 
building in the level of corporate bookings,  
with larger functions returning with more 
regularity and our Christmas bookings are well 
ahead of the same time last year. The festive 
trading period is an extremely important one 
for the Group and we are very much looking 
forward to our first restriction-free Christmas  
for three years.

Both of our new concepts, Founders & Co. and 
Playhouse, are trading well and are receiving 
strong guest sentiment which has given us the 
belief to open a second site for both concepts. 
These are planned to open during the course  
of this financial year.

Our two new Revolution bars, Exeter and 
Preston, opened at the very end of FY22.  
It was great to welcome our new guests and 
colleagues who worked very hard to open  
these bars to our launch parties in July 2022, 
and guest reception and feedback has been 
excellent. Both sites are performing well,  
and we will take this success and learnings 
forwards into our new openings in FY23.

We recognise the impact strikes, weather, 
events and holidays and cost pressures  
has had on summer trading and are pleased  
to see an improvement in trade as we enter 
autumn, with the return of university students. 
We continue to monitor performance very 
carefully, and are hopeful of a very positive 
Christmas, celebrating with our corporate 
guests, parties and walk-in guests.

I am incredibly proud of what our people  
have achieved over recent years; we have 
made great progress with advancements of 
our brand offerings, our “Inclusion Revolution”, 
sustainability agenda, guest journey and 
wellbeing and support of our people. We have 
created exciting workstreams which focus  
on value-creation and developing the Group 
for the future.

Rob Pitcher
Chief Executive Officer
18 October 2022

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview18

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

OUR STRATEGY

Strategic
Delivery

FY22 Strategic pillars

1

Maximising 
Revenue & 
Profit

Improved performance 
through a focus on 
profitable sales generation.

2

Brand 
Awareness 
and ESG

including 
Sustainability  
and EVP.

 Read more on page 20 

 Read more on page 20 

3

Guest 
Experience

Making sure we’re the 
place where everyone 
wants to be.

4

Cost  
Control

Rigorous focus on  
all expenditure to 
mitigate inflationary 
cost environment.

 Read more on page 21 

 Read more on page 22 

5

Diversification 
of Sales

New concepts and 
workstreams to expand 
our offering towards 
becoming omnichannel.

 Read more on page 23 

An exciting return to 
normal trading, with 
continued focus on 
advancement of guest 
proposition strategy. 
Strategic pricing and 
effective cost reductions 
allowed great margin 
growth, with a strong  
cash position for future 
investment in new sites 
and refurbishments. 

Trade in the year was still partially impacted 
by COVID-19, with the first two weeks of  
the financial year still under restriction and 
Omicron significantly impacting Christmas 
trade. Excluding these periods, the Group 
traded excellently. In our H1 Trading Update 
we were pleased to announce +14% 
like-for-like sales from 19 July 2021 to 
13 November 2021, before Omicron started, 
and in our pre-close statement we confirmed 
our 56 English bars delivered like-for-like 
sales growth after 19 July 2021 of +1.3%, 
despite the disruption of Omicron. This gives 
us confidence our recent workstreams, new 
experiences and improvements to the guest 
experience are seeing fruition.

In the year we launched our second new 
concept, Playhouse, which is now coming  
up to its first-year anniversary. We are very 
pleased with the performance of both new 
brands, as they continue to adapt to the 
needs of their local guests and communities 
and are excited at the continued new 
development of their guest offerings.  
We are in the process of further openings  
for these new concepts.

We continue to identify new locations for 
both the new concepts and to grow our 
property portfolio. The property team  
are busier than ever, continuing with the 
enhanced refurbishment programme whilst 
building a strong pipeline of future sites. 
Management continues to develop our 
guest proposition through new experiences 
and events, with utilisation of our bars 
outside of normal trading hours as 
workspaces or for external events.

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

19

Workstream
maximising Revenue & profit 

•  Reduced level of discounts 
given lower footfall and 
operating capacity reductions 
to protect margin

•  Active planning for World Cup 

and Christmas trading
•  Assessing what the new 

• 

peak-time trading looks like  
in a post-COVID-19 world
“Planning to Win” meetings held 
with all bar and area managers, 
with a programme to upskill  
and engage our bars with the 
biggest opportunities to grow

Progress

KPIs

Next Steps

•  New Revolution food menu 

launched June 2022

•  Continued relaunch parties  

at our refurbished bars
•  Executive team have led 

individual bar meetings to 
highlight opportunities in 
sales growth and cost 
mitigation

•  Acquisition of Peach, bringing 
21 well-performing new pubs 
into the Group portfolio

• 

Improved EHO 5-star 
scores across all bars  
of 89.2% (FY21: 83.3%)
•  Site-specific KPIs and 

opportunities identified 
with tracking of 
performance against  
these metrics quarterly
Improvements in  
bar controls around 
purchasing and gross  
profit management

• 

•  Finding more ways of 
delivering what our  
guests want

•  Continue innovating and 

refreshing our drinks offer  
by working with key brand 
owners

•  Focus on profit generation 
during peak evening trade
•  High-energy entertainment 
packages (Saturday X and 
Saturday Y) and exciting 
launch parties at our  
new bars

Brand awareness and esg including sustainability and evp

•  Encouragement for all staff  
to live and breathe fun into  
their jobs

•  Launched	“Rev	U”	training	
academy, allowing training  
for all

•  Mental Health First Aid training 

for all managers across 
business, including support 
centre colleagues

•  Actively engaging with PR  
and awards for the business
•  Focus on best-communication 

methods internally and 
externally

•  Annual sustainability plan to  

hit our target of Net Zero before 
2030

guest experience

•  Female guest at heart of both 
our major brand propositions; 
focus on clean, well-maintained, 
safe environments

•  New App features to enhance 

guest loyalty

•  Revamped music offerings in  

all our bars

•  Selling fun times and happy, 
memorable experiences

•  Enhancing our guests’ 

multi-sensory experiences 
across all trading sessions

cost control

•  Re-engineered menus with 
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

diversification of sales

•  Launch	of	new	promoter-led	

events

•  Focus on daytime offerings  

like food, brunch and themed 
events
Increased focus on return of 
students after COVID-19

• 

•  Collaborating to further both 
our Wellbeing and Inclusion  
& Diversity (“I&D”) agendas
•  Became an above-minimum 
wage employer in the year
I&D champions recruited 
across business to set up 
advisory board

• 

•  Enhanced long-service 

awards, holiday schemes,  
and parental leave

•  Sustainability focus on all  

new refurbishments

•  A sustainable kitchen created 
in Reading Revolución de 
Cuba

•  Removal of passion fruit 

garnishes from our cocktails  
in the year

•  Highest ever Employee Net 
Promoter Score of 41.5 in 
April	2022	Quality	of	Life	
survey across all colleagues
Increase General Manager 
retention of 2.42 years, up 
from 2.12 at start of FY22

• 

•  Nominated, won and 

shortlisted for a variety of 
exciting awards across 
brand, Sustainability  
and people

•  Savings from passion fruit 
reinvested to make our 
cocktail menus carbon 
neutral

•  Zero Heroes in all our bars 
pushing sustainability and 
energy reductions

•  Utilising Area Wellbeing 

Champions to support and 
develop our colleague 
welfare, and Inclusion & 
Diversity policies

•  Continued investment in 
colleague wellbeing and 
remuneration packages

•  Continued group activities like 
the annual football tournament 
and annual conference
•  Attracting and retaining  

the best bartenders on the 
high street

•  Rollout of Office 365 and 
Microsoft Teams to all bars
Integration and 
implementation of new CRM 
system across all brands

• 

• 

“Feed It Back” guest 
experience platform launched
•  Order and pay at table via the 
App continued improvement

•  Engaging with external 
experts to review the 
Revolución de Cuba guest 
experience and atmosphere 
in bars

•  New Party Booking and 
management system

• 

•  80% of bookings are made 
via our booking system
Increased net audience 
growth across all social 
media platforms of +4.4% 
for Revolution and +8.4% for 
Revolución de Cuba

•  Over 1.2 million users of the 
Revolution App, up from 
230,000 in February 2020

•  Maintain high level of 

feedback response both 
centrally and at our bars
•  Continued development of 

the Apps

•  Further use of technology  
in delivering guest journey
•  QR codes to be available on 

all tables

•  Menu adaption, sales price and 
changes in bar ergonomics to 
drive sales and cost control
•  Gross margin increased to 
78.2%, which is above the 
levels seen pre-COVID-19
•  Continued engagement with 
energy brokers to plan for 
future pricing

•  Expansion of estate with 
two new bars opened in  
the year

•  Conversion of Northampton 
into new brand, Playhouse

•  32% reduction in energy 

usage since 2017

•  Energy prices largely fixed 

until April 2023

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

•  Focus on maximisation of 
App sales and efficiency  
of product delivery

•  Continued sustainability 
agenda with cost benefits

•  Future-focused workstreams 
such as World Cup planning
•  Bottomless Brunch bookings 

seeing increased popularity in 
shift to daytime trade
•  Exciting new style in our 

Revolution bars, seeing graffiti 
and street art a real focus to 
energise our bars

•  Both new concepts now 

open with pleasing trading
•  Vending and drinks-on-tap 
options at Playhouse have 
shown pleasing payroll-
control performance
•  New events and themed 
brunches utilising our 
exciting venues

•  Continued new utilisations  
of our amazing spaces
•  Bringing vending and 

merchandise sales into  
our bars

•  Exciting roll-out of our 

existing food offers through 
increased Deliveroo 
presence and Playhouse’s 
award-nominated pizza

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview20

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

OUR STRATEGY CONTINUED

Strategy in action

1 Maximising 

Revenue & Profit

Growth for the future
After a return to normal trading two weeks into  
the financial year, apart from disrupted trading over 
Christmas due to Omicron, the Group was pleased 
with positive trading, as well as improved gross 
margin above levels seen pre-COVID-19. We see 
this as a reflection of the excellent progress on 
workstreams and performance management have 
focused on throughout the pandemic.

Strategic focus has shifted from survival to thriving in normal trade.  
Our guests have returned with a bang, and we’ve showcased two brand 
new Revolution bars, two new concepts, and 19 refurbishments. Our 
planned expansion and refurbishment plans are going well, and we 
continue to build a strong pipeline of new bars, expecting a further  
six new sites in FY23 alongside rolling out our new concepts further.

We have adapted to new guest patterns, reflecting improved trading  
in the daytime and weekends as well as targeting those working from 
home. We have a very exciting pipeline of workstreams that our senior 
management are focused on to further expand sales, including sales 
diversification, the upcoming World Cup, and how to best use our spaces.

2 Brand  

Awareness and 
ESG including 
Sustainability 
and EVP

Investing in our people
We were very excited to announce that we 
became an above-minimum wage employer  
in the year as well as improving our benefits 
packages, a real benefit seen across our entire 
workforce in order to enable us to attract and 
retain the best talent in the industry. This was 
recently reflected as we were shortlisted for  
the 2022 British Business Excellence Awards  
as “Employer of the Year”; we are incredibly 
proud to have been made finalists and are 
excited for the awards ceremony in November 
2022 where we will find out the results.

Development and training of our teams remains paramount,  
and with the launch of “Rev U” – our central training environment,  
we are offering varied internal and external training courses to all  
of our people, both in the bar and at the support centre. We want to 
create an exciting environment where our people can become whoever 
they want to be as we support them on that journey; we love nothing 
more than seeing our talented bar staff work their way through the 
operational career paths or join the support centre to progress their 
career goals. This is further enhanced via our recent introduction of 
long-service awards including additional holidays, exciting incentive 
trips, and year-long gifting for our most dedicated people who have 
been with us over 20 years.

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

21

3 Guest  

Experience

Making our bars the place  
where everyone wants to be
With 19 refurbishments under our belts in the  
year, we have seen a new, edgy design emerge  
in our bars which focuses on making them 
“Instagrammable”, social-media friendly, and a truly 
exciting venue our guests will want to keep visiting. 

Graffiti and street art can be found on the walls (both internally and 
externally!), as well as intimate spots in all our bars where guests can 
get their best picture “for the Gram”. Our guests will truly feel like the 
star of the party in our “Best Seats in the House” as they are brought 
bottles to tables. Our “Push for Party” button in the new Preston toilets 
is already well-loved, with our guests often having to be reminded that 
there is a whole other party going on in the bar outside the bathrooms!

We continue to create dynamic new menus and have launched new 
food and drinks menus in the year with a focus on calories, bar snacks, 
and small plates and grazers, as well as improving our vegan and 
dietary options. Our Drink and Food Development teams bring a 
plethora of experience to the business and aren’t afraid to launch 
Insta-worthy cocktails and plates our guests will love.

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview22

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

OUR STRATEGY CONTINUED

Strategy in action

4 Cost  

Control

Protecting our margins
With rising costs being seen across the UK 
in all industries, we continue to carefully 
monitor the impact on the Group. 

This remains a key agenda point at all strategy meetings,  
and energy costs are largely fixed until April 2023. We have 
engaged an external party to review and assist in contract 
negotiations to ensure we are getting the best price available 
without compromising on quality. Our procurement team has 
recently expanded, bringing in new experience to ensure supply 
chain and supplier negotiations are well controlled. Where 
appropriate, the Group will strategically assess the need for  
sales price increases to combat rising costs.

Sustainability remains a key priority, and we see this as an 
effective method of doing the right thing and enabling us to 
control costs in the right way. We continue to drive sustainability 
into the hearts of all our people, reminding teams to do their part, 
whether that is turning off the lights or recycling. But we also 
have a team of dedicated Zero Heroes across all our bars and 
centrally who focus on driving sustainable and green methods 
throughout the whole business. Our Reading Revolución de 
Cuba kitchen is a market-leading sustainable venue, where we 
continue to assess how low we can go with energy emissions;  
we also roll out best practice sustainable equipment into our bars 
through refurbishments.

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

23

5 Diversification  

of Sales

Party any way you want to
The introduction of our two new concepts, 
Founders & Co. and Playhouse, brought a 
completely different demographic of guests  
and experiences to the Group. We have been 
pleased with the performance of the first two 
bars to trial these concepts and are looking to 
roll these out either to under-performing core 
brand sites or through the acquisition of brand-
new sites. Founders & Co. in particular offers a 
huge range of experiences to their guest base  
in Swansea, offering anything from breathing 
classes, yoga, pub quizzes, pottery classes, to a 
simple coffee and workspace or exciting brunch.

Our Sales team have done a fantastic job of improving the range  
of optionality for our corporate guests who may be looking to book  
with us for a celebration, team building event or Christmas party.  
Both the central and bar-led sales teams utilise our spaces effectively  
to ensure our corporate guests have a dedicated space to let their hair 
down, exciting array of tailored food and drinks, and committed team 
members there on the night to cater for their every whim. Wider still,  
we continue to identify new events and uses for our bars, including 
offering the bars as workspaces in the day, bottomless dinners, themed 
brunches and external party hire.

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview24

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

FINANCIAL REVIEW

• 

Introduction
•  The “FY22” accounting period represents 
trading for the 52 weeks to 2 July 2022 
(“the period”). The comparative period 
“FY21” represents trading for the 53 weeks 
to 3 July 2021 (“the prior period”);
the Group continues to offer comparative 
Alternative Performance Measures3 
(“APM”) of the numbers converted to IAS 17 
following the implementation of IFRS 16  
in FY20. APM3 for the current period 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;

• 

the results information therefore gives 
FY22 IFRS 16 statutory numbers, followed 
by APM3 of FY22 under IAS 17, and the 
equivalent comparison from FY21. A 
reconciliation between statutory and  
APM3 figures is provided in note 27;
•  when considering the results for the 

period, it should be noted that the Group 
experienced a period of pent-up demand 
during Q1 followed by tough Christmas 
trading impacted by the move to “Plan B” 
including the return to the “Work from 
Home” instruction, implementation of 
Vaccine Passports for late night bars and 
Government messaging which encouraged 
the limiting of social interactions resulting 

in a significant impact on Christmas trade, 
all of which we are now pleased to see 
removed; and

•  comparatively, when considering the 

results for the prior period, it should be 
noted that trade was restricted, including 
two lockdown periods where the 
Government enforced the closure of pubs, 
bars and restaurants in November and 
January until mid-March, as well as varying 
rules in the tier systems significantly 
impacting Christmas trade, and ongoing 
social distancing restrictions for the 
remainder of the year.

Total Sales 
Operating	Profit/(Loss)
Adjusted1 EBITDA
Profit/(Loss)	Before	Tax
Non-cash Exceptionals
Cash Exceptionals
Net Cash/(Net Debt)

FY22  
(IFRS 16)  
£m

FY21  
(IFRS 16)  
£m

140.8
7.4
19.4
2.1
(0.6)
–
4.1

39.4
(21.2)
(3.9)
(26.3)
(3.2)
(2.2)
(3.6)

FY22  
APM3  
(IAS 17)  
£m

140.8
4.8
10.2
3.9
(0.2)
–
4.1

FY21  
APM3  
(IAS 17)  
£m

39.4
(21.6)
(12.0)
(22.8)
(0.5)
(2.7)
(3.6)

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

25

Presentation of results 
Consistent with previous reporting periods, 
the Group operates a weekly accounting 
calendar and as each accounting period  
refers only to complete accounting weeks,  
the period under review reflects the results  
of the 52 weeks to 2 July 2022. Prior year 
comparatives relate to the 53 weeks ended 
3 July 2021. There have been no changes  
to accounting policies following the 
implementation of IFRS 16 in FY20. The 
Directors believe that adjusted1 EBITDA 
provides a better representation of underlying 
performance as it excludes the effect of 
exceptional items and share-based payment 
charge/credits (non-cash), none of which 
directly relate to the underlying performance 
of the Group. The adjusted1 EBITDA 
represents IFRS 16 and therefore excludes  
any rental costs. APM3 adjusted1 EBITDA 
represents IAS 17 and is therefore after 
deducting the IAS 17 rental charge.

Results
The Group is very pleased to have seen  
a positive upturn in trading since social 
distancing restrictions were lifted on 19 July 
2021; this is in comparison to FY21 where 
much of the year was severely impacted  
by ongoing COVID-19 lockdowns, tiers and 
social distancing restrictions. The Group  
has therefore seen a significant increase  
in revenue in the year to £140.8 million  
(2021: £39.4 million), 257.4% higher than the 
corresponding period, which shows the level 
of disruption that lockdowns and restrictions 
caused in FY21 and strong recovery in FY22.

The underlying result, as measured by our 
preferred APM3 adjusted1 EBITDA (see note 
27), was £22.2 million higher, at a profit of 

£10.2 million (2021: loss of (£12.0) million). This 
is our preferred metric because it shows the 
underlying cash available, in a normal trading 
period, for investment, loan servicing and 
repayment, and for distributing to shareholders 
in the form of dividends. Adjusted1 EBITDA  
was a profit of £19.4 million (2021: loss of  
(£3.9) million). 

Margins: Gross profit in the year amounted  
to £110.1 million (2021: £28.1 million) which 
amounted to a gross margin of 78.2%, up from 
71.3% in the prior year and above margins 
seen pre-COVID-19, with 75.8% seen in FY19. 
The increase in margin was in part due to  
a change in the mix of products sold, with 
guests now able to enjoy late-night trading  
at higher full price volumes. This late-night 
trading, together with lower discounting, 
particularly in our cocktail menu, better  
trading agreements, the reduction in the  
VAT rate on food and non-alcoholic drink,  
and an improvement in the sales mix with 
higher-margin items also contributed to this 
improved margin.

Payroll: Headcount increased from 2,495  
at the start of FY22 to 2,827 at the end of 
FY22, as we continued to recruit to normal 
staffing levels upon the release of restrictions. 
Pleasingly, the Group ended its use of  
the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme 
(“CJRS”) before the scheme’s end date of 
30 September 2021 as the bars returned  
to normality. Our increased turnover, the 
decreased furlough claims, increased 
headcount, and becoming an above-minimum 
wage employer meant that total payroll costs 
for the year were £51.4 million compared  
to £22.1 million in FY21. This is a payroll to 
turnover ratio of 36.5% in FY22, compared to 
31.0% in FY19 (our last pre-COVID-19 year), 

showing the impact of minimum wage 
requirements and a challenging period  
of trading over Christmas.

Government Support: The Group took 
advantage of all applicable Government 
support throughout the period. The Group  
has recognised £0.6 million of grant funding 
received under the Restart Grant scheme.  
This income has been recognised within Grant 
Income within operating profit. The two-thirds 
reduction in business rates for the English 
Hospitality industry, capped at £2.0 million, 
expired at the end of March 2022. This 
reduction resulted in an overall £2.0 million 
saving for the Group in FY22, a further  
£0.7 million in rates savings relating to the 
devolved nations has also been recognised  
in FY22 as well as a further £0.1 million from 
additional schemes.

The Group achieved an operating profit of £7.4 
million (2021: loss of (£21.2) million). This was 
after charging non-cash exceptional items of 
£0.6 million (2021: £3.2 million) and nil cash 
exceptionals (2021: £2.2 million), which are 
detailed further below.

Underlying profitability
The Board’s preferred profit measures are 
APM3 adjusted1 EBITDA and APM3 adjusted1 
pre-tax profit/(loss) as shown in the tables 
below. The APM3 adjusted1 measures exclude 
exceptional items, pre-opening costs and 
charges arising from long-term incentive plans. 

Pre-tax profit/(loss)
Add back Exceptional items
Add back Charge arising from long-term incentive plans
Add back Pre-opening costs

Adjusted1 pre-tax profit/(loss)
Add back Depreciation
Add back Amortisation
Add back Finance costs

Adjusted1 EBITDA

52 weeks 
ended 2 July 
2022 

53 weeks 
ended 3 July  
2021 

IFRS 16  
£m 

IFRS 16  
£m

52 weeks 
ended 2 July  
2022  
APM3  
IAS 17 
£m

53 weeks 
ended 3 July  
2021  
APM3 
IAS 17  
£m

2.1
0.6
0.1
0.3

3.1
11.1
0.0
5.3

19.4

(26.3)
5.4
0.1
–

(20.8)
11.8
0.0
5.1

(3.9)

3.9
0.2
0.1
0.3

4.5
4.9
0.0
0.9

10.2

(22.8)
3.2
0.1
–

(19.5)
6.3
0.0
1.2

(12.0)

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview 
 
26

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

FINANCIAL REVIEW CONTINUED

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 £0.6 
million is £0.4 million higher than the APM3 
exceptionals of £0.2 million due to impairment 
incurred on IFRS 16 right-of-use assets.
The statutory exceptional charge of £0.6 
million comprises £0.6 million (2021: £3.2 
million) of non-cash exceptionals relating  
to right-of-use impairment charges of £0.4 
million, property, plant and equipment 
impairment charges of £0.3 million offset by  
a modification of lease credit of £0.1 million. 
There are no cash exceptionals in FY22, 
whereas FY21 included £2.2 million of cash 
exceptionals relating to property restructure 
costs including legal and professional 
expenditure incurred in the CVA and various 
landlord deals, as well as the cost of exiting 
sites. A full analysis of exceptional items is 
given in note 3 to the financial statements.

Charge relating to long-term incentive 
schemes resulted from equity-settled share- 
based payment transactions; this was a charge 
of £77k (2021: £64k). No awards vested in 
either the current period or prior period.

Pre-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.

Finance costs
Finance costs of £5.3 million (2021: £5.1 million) 
comprised £0.9 million (2021: £1.1 million) of 
bank interest paid on borrowings and £4.4 
million (2021: £4.0 million) of lease interest. 
Bank interest relates to the committed  
fees relating to undrawn elements on the 
Company’s committed revolving credit facility 
with NatWest (“RCF”), as well as the interest 
charged	on	the	Coronavirus	Large	Business	
Interruption	Loan	Scheme	(“CLBILS”)	loans.	 
A reduction was seen here due to lower 
borrowing values in the year.

Liquidity
In the prior year, the Group received a £16.5 
million	CLBILS	loan	from	NatWest	in	the	form	
of a three-year term loan which was used  
to pay down the RCF. A further £3.5 million 
CLBILS	term	loan	was	approved	in	April	2021.	

Two equity fundraisings were also completed 
in the prior year, raising total net proceeds  
of £34.0 million. These net proceeds were 
used to repay all remaining outstanding loan  
draw downs on the RCF, with some funds 
ringfenced for an enhanced refurbishment 
programme and expansion opportunities.

On 11 November 2021, the RCF was extended 
to 30 June 2023, and interest was increased 
by 1.2% with a further up-to 1% chargeable if 
the RCF is drawn to within £5.0 million of total 
limits. A new deleveraging method was also 
agreed based on overperformance compared 
to the severe but plausible downside case, 
due in June 2022, which was extended to 
September 2022 in June 2022 to support  
the refinancing.

As at the balance sheet date of 2 July 2022, 
the Group held the £16.3 million RCF Facility 
which was fully unutilised, with £14.8 million 
total	outstanding	in	CLBILS	term	loans	which	
continue to amortise. Gross bank debt was 
therefore £14.8 million, and the total net cash 
position was £4.1 million.

The total facility was refinanced on 10 October 
2022, through which a new RCF was committed 
at a total facility level of £30.0 million expiring 
October 2025. The RCF was sought with the 
purposes of repaying all other indebtedness, 
general working capital requirements, and for 
future acquisitions. Therefore, all outstanding 
CLBILS	term	loans	were	repaid	on	13	October	
2022, with just the RCF making up total 
facilities going forwards. Interest is charged  
on the utilised RCF at a margin determined  
by leveraging plus SONIA, with unutilised  
RCF values having interest charged at 40%  
of margin.

The RCF will amortise by £1.0 million on 
30 June 2023, £2.0 million on 30 June  
2024 and £2.0 million on 30 June 2025. In 
accordance with these arrangements and 
subject to compliance with financial covenants, 
the Group will therefore have committed 
funding facilities available during the going 
concern assessment period as follows:

31 December 2022
30 June 2023
31 December 2023
30 June 2024

RCF  
£m

30.0
29.0
29.0
27.0

As at 17 October 2022 the Group has net cash 
of £0.7 million.

Taxation
There is no tax payable in respect of the 
current period due to brought-forward losses. 
Accordingly, the charge in the current year is 
£nil (2021: £nil).

Earnings per share
Basic earnings per share for the period was 
0.9 pence (2021: loss (21.2) pence). Adjusting 
for exceptional items, non-recurring bar 
opening costs and charges arising from 
long-term incentive plans resulted in a basic 
adjusted1 earnings per share for the period  
of 1.3 pence (2021: loss of (18.9) pence).

Operating cash flow and net  
bank debt
The Group generated net cash flow from 
operating activities in the period of £25.9 
million (2021: utilised (£2.3) million) as a direct 
result of positive trade in the year, whereas the 
prior year had significant cash strains during 
periods of closure.

After positive cash flow from operating 
activities, capital expenditure payments of 
£8.3 million, bank loan interest £0.9 million 
and loan repayments of £1.0 million all 
contributed to a net cash inflow in the period 
of £6.7 million improving the net bank cash 
position to £4.1 million. This is in comparison  
to 2021, where capital expenditure payments 
of £2.0 million, lease surrender payments of 
£1.7 million, bank loan interest £1.1 million and 
loan repayments of £52.7 million offset with 
proceeds from fundraising of £34.0 million and 
drawdown of borrowings of £44.0 million all 
contributed to a net cash inflow in the period 
of £9.6 million decreasing net bank debt to a 
closing position of (£3.6) million.

Capital expenditure
The Group made capital investments of  
£8.3 million (2021: £2.0 million) during the 
period consisting of two new Revolution bars, 
converting an existing Revolution bar into  
a new concept, Playhouse, refurbishments 
across 19 bars, sustainability, and IT projects 
and other key investments. In the prior  
year, capital expenditure related entirely  
to existing bars. Capital expenditure is 
expected to remain high in FY23 with up  
to 18 refurbishments, as we continue to  
use the funding provided in the FY21  
equity fundraisings.

Dividend
As notified previously, the Board has 
suspended payments of dividends. 
Furthermore, (a) a condition of taking on the 
CLBILS	facility	is	that	the	Company	is	unable	
to	pay	a	dividend	whilst	the	CLBILS	remains	
outstanding and (b) as a result of the CVA 
referred to above, 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 

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

27

Company’s ability to make a dividend payment 
until after 13 November 2023. There was no 
dividend paid or declared in either the current 
or prior period.

Going concern
Under the terms of its banking facilities with 
NatWest, the Company has covenants over 
interest cover, net leverage, and fixed charge 
cover. The Directors have modelled both a 
management base case forecast scenario and 
a downside case scenario; please see note 1 
for further details on the key assumptions.  
No forecast breach of the banking covenants 
arises under either forecast scenario.

The material uncertainty caused by COVID-19, 
guest confidence, and higher input costs, 
coupled with forecasting difficulties as a result 
of constantly changing economic impacts 
means that the Group cannot be assured  
that it will not breach covenants. A breach  
of covenant would require the bank to grant  
a waiver or for the Group 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 
non-current borrowings to current borrowings. 

The Directors have assessed, however,  
that given a strong underlying business, 
particularly when allowed to trade without 
restriction or significant economic disturbance, 
the Group’s existing relationships with its  
main creditors, its success in recent years in 
obtaining covenant waivers and renegotiating 
its banking facilities and recent equity 
fundraisings, that a request for a waiver of  
a covenant breach or renegotiation of the 
banking facilities would be successful.

Despite a return to normal trading in England 
since July 2021, the severe disruption to the 
Group’s trade prior to that since March 2020 
caused by COVID-19, and the resultant and 
frequently changing operating restrictions 
imposed by the UK Government and the 
devolved authorities, as well as the cost-of-
living narrative and economic impacts  
of this, 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-19, and the possibility of 
further restrictions or lockdowns imposed  
by the Government, as well as significant 
inflationary cost pressures, 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 Group and 
the Company 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 
impact of possible COVID-19 restrictions and 
further cost impacts on our trading 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. 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 note 1 to the 
financial statements.

Danielle Davies
Chief Financial Officer 
18 October 2022

1  Adjusted performance measures exclude exceptional items and share-based payment charges and bar opening costs.
2	

Like-for-like	(LFL)	sales	are	same	site	sales	defined	as	sales	at	only	those	venues	that	traded	in	the	same	week	in	both	the	current	year	and	most	recent	non-COVID-19	affected	 
comparative period

3  APM refers to Alternative Performance Measure being measures reported on an IAS 17 basis.

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview28

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

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  
whilst 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

Response and mitigation

Change 
to residual  
risk in FY22 Commentary

Underlying cause of risk
COVID-19

The Group’s operating environment has  
continued to be affected by COVID-19 due to  
the Omicron variant in the winter. There is the  
risk of ongoing extensive local or national 
lockdowns, guest or corporate caution,  
and potential operating restrictions.

Climate change and Sustainability

Climate change and a growing requirement to 
operate a sustainable business pose a risk to the 
business’ ability to source appropriate food and 
drink. It also has the potential to cause reputational 
damage with our guests.

•  Operational procedures implemented  
to ensure safeguarding of our teams  
and guests
Investment to ensure COVID-safe venues 
through use of signage, PPE, technology 
and enhanced cleaning procedures

• 

•  Regular Board reviews and action 
planning to monitor restrictions

•  Dedicated management and team 
members focused on driving 
sustainability agenda

•  Collaborating with Net Zero partners  
to monitor progress and provide  
accurate reporting

•  Removal of passion fruit garnishes 

allowing us to net our cocktail menu  
and make it carbon neutral

Refurbishment and acquisition of bars

The Group’s long-term strategy is based on growth 
through the acquisition of new bars and sales 
generation from refurbished bars, with longer-term 
market expectations reliant on this. There is a risk 
that should these not happen, like-for-like sales  
will not grow, the business will not remain relevant, 
and overall sales growth will not occur.

•  The development team and property 
agents have sufficient resources  
to ensure the investigation of new  
site opportunities

•  5/6-year investment cycle for all bars
•  Bars refurbished have proven track 
record of improvement in sales
•  Operational management focus on 

economically significant bars

The Group continues to carefully 
monitor the ongoing situation  
and will react quickly to further 
restrictions for hospitality 
businesses. We appreciate the 
support from NatWest to ensure 
sufficient facilities to accommodate 
future potential restrictions.

The Group implemented the RBG 
Sustainability Charter, becoming 
the UK’s first bar group to commit to 
Science-Based Targets to achieve 
Net Zero before 2030.

We continue to develop our 
“sustainable” kitchen in Reading.

The Group has a strong cash 
position to take advantage  
of any expansion and new bar 
opportunities, whilst continuing  
the enhanced refurbishment 
programme into FY23.

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

29

Underlying cause of risk
Supply chain and supplier concentration

Response and mitigation

Change 
to residual  
risk in FY22 Commentary

The reopening of the global economy  
post-COVID-19 has caused supply chain  
issues that continue to affect the availability  
of certain products.

The UK is seeing cost prices rise across several 
areas, including utilities, food and drink.

The drinks distribution market is also dominated  
by one significant business, Matthew Clark, which 
is the Group’s principal supplier as it operates 
nationwide. If Matthew Clark were to face business 
difficulties or alter pricing it could disrupt the 
Group’s operations.
Consumer demand and PR

The out of home markets for eating and drinking 
depend on the consumers’ disposable income. 
Macroeconomic factors, including recent 
challenges with energy costs, other inflationary 
pressures, and low-growth, have an impact on 
consumer confidence and disposable income.

In an increasingly digital world, guests are more 
likely to express dissatisfaction on social media 
rather than alerting a member of staff, which can 
have reputational impacts.

There is a growing trend for consumer-led digital 
campaigns against sectors or brands that they 
believe require change.

Health and safety

The Group’s bars are open to the public and  
the Group has a duty of care to look after its 
colleagues and its guests.

Allergens are a heightened risk for our guest  
base, and thus the Group must ensure strict 
guidelines are adhered to in order to ensure  
the safety of guests.

The physical safety of our guests is paramount,  
and our bar and operational teams are trained  
in managing guest safety
National minimum/living wage

A significant proportion of bar-based teams are 
affected, directly or indirectly, by wage legislation 
and the national minimum living wage. Recent 
years have seen rises above inflation imposed  
on the business.

Post-COVID-19, we face challenges in availability  
of the right people, and we must ensure we offer 
competitive packages to attract and be the best 
place to work. This extends to the costs of other 
people-focused suppliers like security staff.

Funding

NatWest provides funding to the Group by  
way of a Revolving Credit Facility which bears 
covenants which set levels for ratios on leverage, 
interest and fixed charge covers.

As interest rates increase this has the potential  
to put increased pressure on the Group’s  
banking facilities.

•  Product offerings can be easily adapted 
and switched to alternative suppliers  
and ingredients
Increases in our retail selling prices  
are strategically required to counter  
the growing costs

• 

•  Utility rates are largely fixed until April 

2023

•  The proposed strategy regarding 

Matthew Clark is to tolerate the risk based 
on the Group’s assessment that they are 
the best supplier and a three-year deal is 
in place to September 2024, as well as 
maintaining a good relationship

•  Ability to tailor offerings in response to 
macroeconomic influences, including 
quick adjustments to promotional activity
•  Group’s proposition is not based solely on 
selling price; a more affluent demographic 
is targeted
Increased focus on guest experience  
and feedback, with recent partnership 
with “Feed It Back” to monitor guest 
experience

• 

•  Community management team to monitor 
and respond across our social channels

•  Crisis PR agency to support in any 
high-risk issues that may occur

•  The Group’s policies and procedures 

manual covers all aspects of operations, 
as well as detailed ongoing training for  
all staff

•  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 
throughout the business

• 

•  Technology is utilised to deploy our 

people more effectively and to streamline 
back office processes that will help 
mitigate wage increases

•  Contracts are reviewed regularly for 

• 

• 

external suppliers to ensure securing  
the best rates
Increase in sales price of goods may be 
required to counter the growing costs
In FY22 we became an above-minimum 
wage employer to ensure retention of our 
best people

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, 
including contract reviews with 
suppliers to ensure securing the 
best prices.

Recent global events, including the 
war in Ukraine, have increased 
macroeconomic uncertainty and 
consumer demand both financially 
and from a health risk perspective.

All bars are tasked with reviewing 
feedback and addressing it, whilst 
Management also review overall 
guest experience scores.

Our brands take a progressive 
approach to consumer trends, 
allowing them to be on the right 
side of most consumer-led 
campaigns.

Independent audits of Health & 
Safety continue across all bars to 
ensure a high quality of safety.

New Health & Safety provider, Food 
Alert, and new key performance 
Health & Safety Management 
software, Alert 365.

Executive team sit on industry 
bodies to ensure we are up to  
date on any issues.

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

The Group has recently increased 
the rate paid for security staff  
to ensure meeting licence 
requirements and providing  
guests with a safe night out.

•  The difficult economic landscape may 
result in further increases to this risk
•  The Group manages costs and has 
several options to manage cash to  
ensure compliance

The Group has ample headroom  
to cover its plans and reasonable 
downsides. Please refer to the 
Going Concern section in note 1  
for further information.

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview30

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

SECTION 172 (1) STATEMENT

Stakeholder
engagement

Under Section 172 of the 
Companies Act 2006 (“S172”),  
a Director is required to act in the 
way they consider, in good faith, 
would be most likely to promote  
the success of the Company for the 
benefit of its members as a whole.

This report discusses how the interests of 
other stakeholders impact the long-term 
success of the Company, and explains how 
the Company’s Directors have:

•  engaged with colleagues, suppliers, 

guests, investors and the community; 
and

•  had regard to employee interests, the 

need to foster the Company’s business 
relationships with suppliers, guests  
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 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.

We set out here the key priorities and the 
ways in which we engaged with our key 
stakeholders during FY22. This list is not 
intended to be an exhaustive list of all 
stakeholder priorities and engagement 
activity, but to provide a summary that 
illustrates the importance stakeholder 
groups play in the Board’s decision making.

We engage with:
Colleagues

Suppliers

Guests

Investors

Community

Why we engage:

Attracting and retaining the best people is 
fundamental to driving business success, 
particularly given the Group’s purpose,  
vision and values.

Creating fun and memorable experiences 
would not succeed without a diverse group  
of engaged, well-trained and motivated 
people that enjoy working in our bars.

Accessing new premium products is a key 
element of keeping the Group’s offering 
vibrant, refreshed and interesting, whilst 
providing the brand owners with an 
opportunity to showcase their products  
in a fun environment.

Great relationships with suppliers allow  
us to source the best value goods for the 
benefit of our guests.

We want to create a safe environment in which 
our guests love coming to us for the fun and 
memorable experiences we are known for, 
and in order to do so we must recognise our 
guests’ needs.

The Board recognises the need for innovation 
to provide our guests with a new and exciting 
offering.

We recognise the incredible support we 
receive from our investors and having their 
buy-in to short and long-term strategy is key  
to business success.

The Group is dedicated to acting responsibly 
in its business practice, which is beneficial to 
the environment and community.

With our exciting expansion plans, it is 
imperative we have local community buy-in  
to secure the success of our new bars.

How we engage:

Material topics:

Continued effective use of technology through remote working has allowed the opportunity for 

•  Providing a safe, inclusive, and diverse 

the Board, Executive team and wider colleagues to work together more closely and successfully 

working environment

than ever.

Following the successful implementation of regular strategy and business virtual updates by the 

Chief Executive Officer and other Executive members, this has been made a regular quarterly 

update to the wider business.

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 Executive team and core management undertake regular bar visits to allow the teams time 

for communication and feedback.

•  The Group is determined that it remains  

a responsible employer

• 

Introduction of the Inclusion & Diversity 

Board, made up of members across our 

workforce, committed to working together 

with respect for each other and the Group 

at all times and in a truly collaborative way

•  Became an above-minimum wage 

employer in the year

Brand owners and all key suppliers are invited to attend the Group’s annual conference, which 

•  Major suppliers are required to include 

includes sessions for the drink brands to understand how they can work with the Group and 

statements on modern slavery and 

provides them an opportunity to showcase new products.

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.

The Commercial team has seen an effective restructuring to ensure the right people are 

available for cost analysis, supply chain management, and supplier negotiations.

anti-bribery, and are asked to partner  

with us on sustainable workflows

•  A number of large contracts were 

re-signed in the year, securing key terms 

and conditions for effective planning

Social media and review platforms are internally and externally reviewed, with high response 

•  Our guests are showing an increased focus 

rates to guests to understand their experiences with our bars.

Recognising the increased focus on health and wellbeing, the Board is also mindful that the 

Group’s trade is associated with the retailing of alcohol. Accordingly, significant resources are 

allocated to staff training and guest supervision to ensure that guests do not gain entry if they 

are intoxicated and that they leave our bars in a safe and orderly fashion so as not to cause 

on the environment and sustainability 

agenda

• 

Increased health & safety requirements. 

ensure a safe environment in which our 

guests can return following COVID-19

disruption to others.

The Group provides regular engagement and consultation with investors, with regular trading 

•  Twice-yearly roadshows to discuss interim 

updates. Executive Directors are regularly available for direct meetings with institutional and 

and annual performance and plans

individual investors, particularly following publication of the Group’s interim and annual results.

•  Utilisation of fundraising monies for 

The corporate website is maintained with the latest statutory information including significant 

shareholders, market announcements and the latest financial statements.

long-term growth of portfolio, and 

providing updates on the pipeline  

of new bars

The Business Development Director leads a team of individuals committed to driving our 

•  Community-focused new concepts, 

sustainability agenda in a mutually beneficial way for our bars and local communities. We have 

Founders & Co. and Playhouse, regularly 

removed passion fruit from our drinks, created a sustainability-focused kitchen in one of our bars, 

engage with communities through events 

and even homed a local beehive on the roof of one of our bars.

Sustainability and the community are key agenda points in all Risk Committee meetings. Both 

local management and our Compliance team remain in regular contact with local enforcement 

officers to ensure our bars remain a safe and welcoming environment for local communities.

such as beach cleanups.

•  Goal to have our Support Centre office 

paper-free

•  Active engagement through social media 

platforms with communities

 
Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

31

We engage with:

Why we engage:

How we engage:

Material topics:

Continued effective use of technology through remote working has allowed the opportunity for 
the Board, Executive team and wider colleagues to work together more closely and successfully 
than ever.

•  Providing a safe, inclusive, and diverse 

working environment

•  The Group is determined that it remains  

Following the successful implementation of regular strategy and business virtual updates by the 
Chief Executive Officer and other Executive members, this has been made a regular quarterly 
update to the wider business.

• 

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 Executive team and core management undertake regular bar visits to allow the teams time 
for communication and feedback.

Brand owners and all key suppliers are invited to attend the Group’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.

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.

The Commercial team has seen an effective restructuring to ensure the right people are 
available for cost analysis, supply chain management, and supplier negotiations.

a responsible employer
Introduction of the Inclusion & Diversity 
Board, made up of members across our 
workforce, committed to working together 
with respect for each other and the Group 
at all times and in a truly collaborative way

•  Became an above-minimum wage 

employer in the year

•  Major suppliers are required to include 
statements on modern slavery and 
anti-bribery, and are asked to partner  
with us on sustainable workflows
•  A number of large contracts were 

re-signed in the year, securing key terms 
and conditions for effective planning

Social media and review platforms are internally and externally reviewed, with high response 
rates to guests to understand their experiences with our bars.

Recognising the increased focus on health and wellbeing, the Board is also mindful that the 
Group’s trade is associated with the retailing of alcohol. Accordingly, significant resources are 
allocated to staff training and guest supervision to ensure that guests do not gain entry if they 
are intoxicated and that they leave our bars in a safe and orderly fashion so as not to cause 
disruption to others.

•  Our guests are showing an increased focus 

• 

on the environment and sustainability 
agenda
Increased health & safety requirements. 
ensure a safe environment in which our 
guests can return following COVID-19

The Group provides regular engagement and consultation with investors, with regular trading 
updates. Executive Directors are regularly available for direct meetings with institutional and 
individual investors, particularly following publication of the Group’s interim and annual results.

The corporate website is maintained with the latest statutory information including significant 
shareholders, market announcements and the latest financial statements.

•  Twice-yearly roadshows to discuss interim 

and annual performance and plans
•  Utilisation of fundraising monies for 
long-term growth of portfolio, and 
providing updates on the pipeline  
of new bars

The Business Development Director leads a team of individuals committed to driving our 
sustainability agenda in a mutually beneficial way for our bars and local communities. We have 
removed passion fruit from our drinks, created a sustainability-focused kitchen in one of our bars, 
and even homed a local beehive on the roof of one of our bars.

Sustainability and the community are key agenda points in all Risk Committee meetings. Both 
local management and our Compliance team remain in regular contact with local enforcement 
officers to ensure our bars remain a safe and welcoming environment for local communities.

•  Community-focused new concepts, 

Founders & Co. and Playhouse, regularly 
engage with communities through events 
such as beach cleanups.

•  Goal to have our Support Centre office 

paper-free

•  Active engagement through social media 

platforms with communities

Colleagues

Suppliers

Guests

Investors

Community

Attracting and retaining the best people is 

fundamental to driving business success, 

particularly given the Group’s purpose,  

vision and values.

Creating fun and memorable experiences 

would not succeed without a diverse group  

of engaged, well-trained and motivated 

people that enjoy working in our bars.

Accessing new premium products is a key 

element of keeping the Group’s offering 

vibrant, refreshed and interesting, whilst 

providing the brand owners with an 

opportunity to showcase their products  

in a fun environment.

Great relationships with suppliers allow  

us to source the best value goods for the 

benefit of our guests.

We want to create a safe environment in which 

our guests love coming to us for the fun and 

memorable experiences we are known for, 

and in order to do so we must recognise our 

guests’ needs.

The Board recognises the need for innovation 

to provide our guests with a new and exciting 

offering.

We recognise the incredible support we 

receive from our investors and having their 

buy-in to short and long-term strategy is key  

to business success.

The Group is dedicated to acting responsibly 

in its business practice, which is beneficial to 

the environment and community.

With our exciting expansion plans, it is 

imperative we have local community buy-in  

to secure the success of our new bars.

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview32

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

Corporate and Social 
Responsibility Statement

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

People
At Revolution Bars Group, our attitudes and 
activities prioritise our near-3,000 strong 
workforce under our “People First” pledge;  
we challenge ourselves daily to “revolution”-
ise the way members of the hospitality sector 
train, work, and progress, both professionally 
and personally. Our early adoption of a 
“sustainability lens” with reference to our 
people has empowered us to see beyond  
the antiquated talent life cycle and firm up  
our employer proposition holistically across 
Attraction & Retention, Pay & Reward, and 
Learning	&	Development.	We	believe	that,	by	
growing and developing the very best people, 
we can truly bring to life our vision of being 
“the place where everyone wants to be”. 

“Rev U”, our internal brand for all of our 
learning and development programmes, 
covers induction through to Executive 
development and everything in-between, 
including career pathways for our talented 
kitchen, sales, and management teams. We 
focus on innovative, high-impact programmes 
to facilitate the upskilling and reskilling of  
our people, which has seen us maintain high 
levels of internal succession into management 
roles across all parts of the business. We  
are proud of our reputation for training and 
development and all the more that many of  
our “Rev U” alumni members have advanced 
to hold key roles not only within our business, 
but also the wider sector.

Our newly developed programme for new 
openings and refurbishments has played  
a pivotal role in supporting the successful 
launch of our first new bars in four years and 
trained over 90 of our new recruits. This is all 
delivered by our Guest Experience Trainers, 
whose primary role is to deliver best in class 
training to our people to ensure we are able  
to deliver fun and memorable experiences 
with our teams and guests. 

As a Group, we challenge ourselves to 
progress our inclusive culture daily and  
this starts with educating ourselves. We 
continue to engage external partnerships and 
organisations like Women in Hospitality, Travel 
&	Leisure,	and	as	well	as	a	recent	collaboration	
with “Be Inclusive”, we are also proud to be 
one of the founding partners of “Plan B”, the 

mentoring platform designed to accelerate 
women’s representation on boards. We remain 
committed to closing our gender pay gap, 
beginning with representation, and within this 
Financial Year the Executive team moved to a 
female majority for the first time ever. Of our 
workforce, 48% is female and 52% is male, and 
as we continue on our “Inclusion Revolution” 
journey we anticipate evolution in all forms of 
diversity and parity through the insight and 
counsel of our Inclusion Board, made up of 
team members from different roles across  
the Group. 

Colleague wellbeing continues to live at the 
heart of our people strategy, and we are 
confident that our clear leadership and actions 
have us on the journey toward long-term, 
sustainable improvements in the health and 
wellbeing of our people. Our investment in the 
internal accreditation of the Mental Health 
First Aid course has seen over 70 managers 
graduate this crucial education programme  
so far. Further, our corporate charity partner 
appointed	in	year	(Campaign	Against	Living	
Miserably	(“CALM”))	was	voted	for	by	75%	 
of our colleagues, and we are collectively 
delighted	to	support	CALM	in	their	journey.	

This year, we have evolved our reward 
structures and priorities in line with the 
Group’s values of fun, ambition, integrity, and 
recognition. October 2021 saw enhancement 
to our pay matrixes and eradicated National 
Minimum Wage rates from our pay structures 
entirely, which built on efforts beginning 
pre-pandemic to ensure we retain our place  
as an industry-leading employer. Further, the 
Group introduced a suite of “lifetime benefits”, 
including enhanced pensions, life assurance,  
a holiday purchase scheme, electric vehicle 
options and significant enhancements to 
parental leave pay. These sit alongside our 
already established EAP, BHSF free counselling 

services, 24/7 GP access, pay on demand and 
lifestyle savings platform. 

Recruitment has been a challenging obstacle 
to overcome since our return to trade with 
both the pandemic and Brexit having a huge 
impact on our employee turnover and ability  
to attract candidates, though it has been 
reassuring to see some stabilisation in this 
space towards the end of this financial year 
with colleague turnover dropping by 4% in the 
final quarter, and General Manager stability 
improving across the last three quarters.

Listening	to	our	amazing	teams	is	pivotal	to	
understanding the quality of their experience 
with us. A key employee voice channel is the 
Group’s performance measurement issued 
twice yearly through an independently 
administered	“Quality	of	Life”	survey.	We	are	
delighted that April 2022 saw the highest ever 
participation rate (87%), engagement (65%) 
and ENPS (41.5 pts) scores recorded since 
inception with significant gains wave-on-wave 
across every question. 

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.

People trained internally as Mental 
Health First Aiders in the year

Participation rate in our  
“Quality of Life” Survey

71

87%

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

33

intolerances, given that this is important to an 
increasing proportion of our guest base.

sold, and additional fundraising activity will be 
planned.

Food information and quality
The Group continuously aims to improve  
the quality of its food offering and provide 
guests 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 
highlighted on the printed menu. Full training 
is provided to bar teams to enable them to 
deal with guest 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 

Charity
As part of its social responsibility agenda, the 
Group partnered with a new corporate charity 
partner in August 2021. Following an internal 
vote, over 75% of those that voted chose the 
Campaign	Against	Living	Miserably	(“CALM”).	
After a challenging year in FY21, where at 
times up to 98.5% of our workforce were on 
furlough, the Group has an increased focus on 
employee wellbeing and ensuring a safe and 
supportive environment at work. Our people 
told us that suicide support was an incredibly 
serious concern given the challenging year 
many had faced, and the Group is proud to 
support	CALM	in	their	journey.	The	Group	will	
be donating 50p from every sharing platter 

As at year-end, the Group has raised a total of 
£54.6K	for	CALM	through	the	sale	of	products	
and local fundraising initiatives, and as at the 
date of report a further £12.3K has been raised 
on top of this.

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. 

Anti-bribery and corruption policy
The Group has in place an anti-bribery and 
corruption policy that is communicated through 
all heads of department to their teams, and 
included in the colleague handbook. 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.

Modern slavery policy and  
human rights
The Group has in place a Modern 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.

Streamlined Energy and Carbon 
Reporting (“SECR”) Disclosure
The Group has chosen to early adopt a  
Task Force on Climate-related Financial 
Disclosures (“TCFD”) Report. This report 
includes the requirements of the SECR 
disclosure, including relevant disclosures on 
emission type and Greenhouse Gas Emissions 
Intensity Ratio, scope and methodology, and 
sustainability plans, and therefore has not 
been duplicated here. Please see pages 34-40 
for further information.

Case Study:  
Our Hero – Mike Buckley

Our very own Hero (aka: Head of Safety, Audit and Stock at Revolution 
Bars Group), Mike Buckley, won The Hero Award at the Retailer’s Retailer 
Awards 2022. Mike has guided the Group through the varying restrictions 
over the past few years with unfailing humour, ensuring our teams are 
well-informed and confident in their actions. He has gone above and 
beyond to help transform the business, whilst demonstrating stand-out 
professional growth. Judging for The Hero Award involved a series of 
interviews with sector leaders, and we couldn’t be more proud of Mike  
for his win – congratulations!

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview34

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS CONTINUED

THE TASK FORCE ON
CLIMATE-RELATED
FINANCIAL DISCLOSURES
(TCFD) REPORT 

Our commitment to environmental best practice  
is central to our long-term business strategy.  
We are making our first disclosure under TCFD 
early as part our commitment to sustainable 
practices. There is no planet “B” and at Revolution 
Bars Group we are 100% committed to doing  
our bit to ensure we minimise our impact on  
the environment and achieve Net Zero.
Rob Pitcher, Chief Executive Officer

CLIMATE-RELATED RISK
Disclosure of the actual and potential impacts 
of climate-related risks and opportunities on an 
organisation is fundamental to understanding 
how the business strategy may be influenced. 
Climate-related issues can affect several 
important aspects of an organisation’s financial 
performance and position, both now and in  
the future.

THE TASK FORCE ON CLIMATE-RELATED 
FINANCIAL DISCLOSURES
The Task Force provides recommendations for 
climate-related financial disclosures structured 
around four thematic areas:

The four overarching recommendations are 
supported by 11 specific recommended 
disclosures focussing on assessing climate-
related risks and opportunities. Revolution Bars 
Group (the “Group”) recognises the importance 
of adopting the TCFD recommendations and 
reporting climate-related information using  
this framework to ensure high-quality and 
decision-useful disclosures that enable users  
to understand the impact of climate change  
on the organisation.

GOVERNANCE
The Governance disclosure looks at 
organisations’ governance around climate-
related risks and opportunities.

1.  Governance
2.  Strategy
3.  Risk Management
4.  Metrics & Targets

The strategic oversight of climate change  
is owned by the Board of Directors,  
with decision-making delegated to the 
Executive team. 

Our day to day Governance structure is 
implemented in this area through four  
working groups:

1.  Operational Carbon
2.  Value Chain
3.  Climate change and Business Strategy
4.  Engagement and Accountability

Day to day decision-making resides in the third 
working group (Climate change and Business 
Strategy) of which the Chief Executive Officer 
(Rob Pitcher) and Chief Financial Officer 
(Danielle Davies) are members.

BOARD OVERSIGHT
The Group considers climate change to be  
a significant Board-level strategic issue.

Overall responsibility for our Sustainability 
Strategy (including Net Zero/Climate change) 
sits with the Board. The Board receives 
quarterly updates and approves the Annual 
Sustainability Plan ahead of each financial year.

Climate-related financial issues fall in the 
scope of the Risk Committee, which will  
review and take action as required on risk 
management policies and business planning.

MANAGEMENT’S ROLE
At Management level, the climate change 
agenda is managed as part of the delivery  
of our Sustainability programme. Driven  
day to day by the Annual Sustainability Plan, 
we set clear goals and metrics/targets to 
operationalise our approach.

Each year we undertake a planning cycle  
to assess climate-related issues and ensure 
that our Sustainability programme is fit for 
purpose in addressing climate-related risk  
and to deliver value for the business from the 
opportunities that climate change presents.

We retain a specialist consultancy (Energise) 
on an ongoing basis who provide any specific 
technical advice that is required in relation to 
climate-related risk, in respect of mitigation, 
adaption and transition.

NEXT STEPS
We are committed to disclosing information 
relating to our governance approach, the 
Board’s oversight of climate-related risks  
and opportunities and management’s role  
in assessing and managing climate-related 
risks and opportunities on an ongoing basis  
in line with the TCFD recommendations.

We will continue to engage at both Board  
and Management level on climate-related 
issues, considering how we can integrate best 
practice into our internal governance structure 
and processes. 

STRATEGY
The Strategy disclosure looks at the actual  
and potential impacts of climate-related risks 
and opportunities on the organisation’s 
businesses, strategy, and financial planning.

We acknowledge that climate-related risks 
and opportunities have an impact on our 
business. We are therefore implementing  
a clear strategy to respond to that. Our focus  
is on:

•  Mitigation of our impact, by reducing our 

emissions.

•  Managing any transition or physical risks  

in relation to adaptation.

In 2021 we formally adopted our Sustainability 
Strategy, providing us a clear framework of 
how we manage our climate-related risks  
and opportunities through to 2030.

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

35

Case Study:  
A Passion for Sustainability
A particularly innovative carbon-saving move that 
Revolution Bars Group has recently implemented was  
the removal of the passion fruit garnish from its cocktails. 
which will reduce its carbon footprint by more than 100 
tonnes of CO2. The financial savings have been invested 
back into sustainability projects as part of the Net Zero 
strategy. This measure, coupled with carbon offsetting  
to help the business achieve its goals in the short term,  
will significantly lower the business’ overall carbon 
footprint, with cocktails alone currently representing  
8% of its total footprint.

MATERIAL CLIMATE-RELATED RISKS  
AND OPPORTUNITIES
Our primary risks and opportunities centre 
around our supply chain and reputation/
response to policy. We have a significant 
number of workstreams active in our Net Zero/
Sustainability strategy to address these topics. 
We believe we need to take an industry-
leading approach to decarbonisation, which 
will manage risk and increase opportunities  
in relation to reputation/response to policy. 

We have extensive activity in our supply chain 
from delivering the same strategy, and we are 
working with our suppliers on the risk in our 
supply chain as part of this process/activity. 
Much of our climate-related risk is presented 
by our supply chain, which also represents the 
largest element of our carbon footprint. 

We have begun to engage with our supply 
chain to both mitigate our emissions and 
understand any resilience issues which may 
occur and address those. The short-term  
risk is not immediately significant, but some 
purchasing from areas which are at greater 
risk of the acute physical impacts of climate 
change will be reviewed. In addition, we will 
play an active part in the Hospitality sector in 
developing approaches to more sustainable 
food/drink options.

EMISSIONS REDUCTION STRATEGY
We have adopted six key principles as part  
of our Sustainability Strategy which guide  
our approach:

1.  Make sustainability central to everything 

we do by adopting a sustainability mindset 
throughout the business

2.  Take proactive action by implementing 
changes to our business to reduce our 
impact on the environment

3.  Engage with and report to our key 

stakeholders (our people, shareholders, 
suppliers, guests, industry)

4.  Become efficient by design (including 
buildings, refurbishments and menus)
5.  Renew our approach/technology where 
required to address the sustainability 
challenge

6.  Rebalance our impact where the other 

actions taken do not address it sufficiently

We have two headline commitments in relation 
to emissions reduction in our Sustainability 
Strategy

1.  To achieve carbon neutral status  

by the end of the decade and commit  
to a Science-Based Target as soon  
as practicable

2.  To reduce our carbon intensity by 40%  

by 2030

These are reinforced by resource level targets, 
which are further detailed in the metrics and 
targets section.

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview36

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS CONTINUED

RISK 
MANAGEMENT

The Risk Management disclosure looks at the processes 
used to identify, assess and manage climate-related risks.

IDENTIFYING AND ASSESSING RISK
The Group identifies climate-related risks and 
opportunities and defines materiality based on 
the We Mean Business risk taxonomy, TCFD 
Guidance and our existing climate-related  
risk and opportunity assessments. 

Risks are grouped into two categories and 
then into further sub-categories: Physical risks 
which relate to the physical impacts of climate 
change, and Transition risks, which relate  
to the transition to a low-carbon economy.  
We consider our climate change risk between 
now and 2050 as a timeframe.

MANAGING RISK
Risks and opportunities are managed through:

Our risk management process in relation to 
climate-related risk can be summarised by  
the following steps:

• 

Identify risks and opportunities/define 
materiality, based upon:
 – We Mean Business taxonomy
 – TCFD guidance
 – Existing climate-related risks and 

opportunity assessments

•  Assess the risks/opportunities and any 

required action in a short-term timeframe 
(<5 years)

•  Model through scenario analysis (where 
relevant) the potential impact of the risks/
opportunities against three climate  
change scenarios

•  Manage by developing and implementing 

internal risk controls

•  Where not material to the entire business, 

•  Monitor on an ongoing basis and improve 

the relevant Net Zero/Sustainability working 
group, which meet at least quarterly.

•  Where material, through the Risk 

Committee.

risk management controls

The three scenarios considered in respect of this risk assessment can be summarised as follows:

Scenario
Description

Overview

Assumptions

Early

Late

BAU

Smooth transition to <2°C

Disruptive transition to <2°C

No acceleration of action >3°C

Transition to a carbon-neutral 
economy starts early and the 
increase in global temperatures 
stays well below 2 degrees, in line 
with the Paris Agreement.

Global climate goal of keeping 
temperatures well below 2 
degrees is met but the transition is 
delayed and must be more severe 
to compensate for the late start.

There is early and decisive  
action to reduce global emissions 
in a gradual way, with clearly 
signposted government policies 
implemented relatively smoothly.

To compensate for the delayed 
start a deeper adjustment is 
required, as evidenced in a 
steeper increase in global carbon 
prices in a late attempt to meet  
the climate target. Under this 
scenario, physical risks rise more 
quickly than in the early policy 
action scenario and transition  
risks are severe.

Where no policy action beyond 
that which has already been 
announced is delivered, resulting 
in above 3 degrees of warming. 
Therefore, the transition is 
insufficient for the world to  
meet its climate goal.

This scenario tests organisation’s 
resilience to both chronic changes 
in weather (e.g. rising sea levels), 
as well as more frequent and 
extreme weather events (e.g.  
flash floods). Therefore, under  
this scenario, there are limited 
transition risks, but physical risks 
are significant.

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022
Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

37
37

INTEGRATING RISK
To assess, manage and integrate risk, we maintain a climate-related risks and opportunity register. This is prepared following the risk management 
process already described. The taxonomy structure is aligned to the We Mean Business structure and is described below. The register summarises 
our actions in relation to each risk area.

RISK TAXONOMY & ASSESSMENT
Our risk taxonomy (in relation to climate-related risk) is shown below, with the underlying level of risk we believe that they present. 

RISK AREA

Reputation

PHYSICAL/TRANSITION

CATEGORY

RISK

Transition

Reputation

Medium-high

Customer Demand

Transition

Customer Demand

Medium-high

OPPORTUNITY

Medium-high

Medium-high

Renewable Energy Policy

Transition

Air	Pollution	Limits

Transition

Environmental Policy

Transition

Emissions Reporting Policy Transition

Product Policy

Transition

Product Efficiency Policy

Transition

Product	Labelling	Policy

Transition

Cap and Trade

Transition

Fuel Taxes and Policy

Transition

Carbon Taxes

Transition

International Agreements

Transition

Voluntary Agreements

Transition

Snow & Ice

Changes in Rainfall

Physical

Physical

Increasing Temperatures

Physical

Extreme Temperatures

Physical

Change in Rainfall Patterns Physical

Droughts or Heavy Rainfall Physical

Impact on Natural 
Resources

Community Impact

Disaster Relief 

Economic Impact  
on Consumer

Physical

Physical

Physical

Physical

Medium-high

Medium

Medium

Medium-high

Medium-high

High

Medium-high

Medium-high

Medium

Medium-high

Medium-high

Medium

Low

Low

Medium-high

High

Low

Medium

Low

Medium-high

Low

Low

Medium-high

Medium-high

Policy

Policy

Policy

Policy

Policy

Policy

Policy

Policy

Policy

Policy

Agreements

Agreements

Changing Climate

Changing Climate

Changing Climate

Changing Climate

Changing Climate

Changing Climate

Medium

Medium

Medium

Medium

Medium

Medium

Natural Resources

Medium-high

Social Impacts

Social Impacts

Social Impacts

Medium-high

Medium-high

Medium-high

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview38

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS CONTINUED

METRICS & TARGETS 
The Metrics & Targets disclosure looks at the metrics and targets used to assess and manage relevant climate-related risks and opportunities.

With our most material risk and opportunity areas being our supply chain and our reputation, our metrics and targets focus on our decarbonisation 
(driven by our Net Zero/Sustainability strategy) and our supply chain’s engagement.

METRICS USED
Our operational management of climate-related risk is measured through the below metrics:
•  Greenhouse Gas Emissions (absolute and relative) measured in tCO2e
•  Performance against our Carbon Budget (set as part of our strategy)
•  Supply chain engagement/targets (% of suppliers engaged) to measure the engagement of our supply chain in managing our climate change 

risks/opportunities

•  Energy efficiency (like-for-like kWh usage) to measure the effectiveness of our energy conservation
•  Renewables/Power Purchase Agreements (% renewables/% self-generated) to measure our transition to renewable energy
•  Waste targets (% recycled/landfill avoidance) to measure the effectiveness of our approach to waste management

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
Emissions data in respect of the 2021-22 reporting period, based on Operational Control, are disclosed as follows:

Scope

Category

Scope 1

Combustion

Scope 1

TOTAL

Scope 2

Electricity/heat/steam/cooling

Scope 2

TOTAL

Scope 3

Business travel

Scope 3

Employee commuting

Scope 3

Fuel and energy-related activities

Scope 3

Purchased goods and services

Scope 3

Capital goods

Scope 3 Waste generated in operations

Scope 3

TOTAL

All

TOTAL

tCO2e  
(Location)

tCO2e  
(Market)

Previous year 
(Location)

Baseline year 
(Location)

Variance (+/-)
Variance (+/-) 
Prev year  
(S1 &2), 
Baseline (S3)

Variance (%) 
Prev year  
(S1 &2), 
Baseline (S3)

1,193

1,193

4,160

4,160

174

1,360

1,384

20,401

1,715

218

25,252

30,605

1,193

0

0

715

715

2,352

2,352

25,252

26,445

10,238

13,305

1,580

1,580

4,912

4,912

94

1,360

1,160

478

478

1,808

1,808

80

0

224

27,088

(6,687)

716

944

31,362

37,854

999

(726)

(6,110)

(3,824)

66.9%

66.9%

76.9%

76.9%

85.1%

0.0%

19.3%

(24.7)%

139.5%

(76.9)%

146.6%

130.0%

(Location)	refers	to	location-based	reporting;	(Market)	refers	to	market-based	reporting.	Both	definitions	are	in	line	with	the	Greenhouse	Gas	
Protocol. All stated variances are of our location-based emissions.

Energy use statement

Scope

Category

Scope 1

Combustion

Scope 1

TOTAL

Scope 2

Electricity/heat/steam/cooling

Scope 2

TOTAL

Scope 3

Business travel

Scope 3

TOTAL

All

TOTAL

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Intensity Ratio

Current  
kWh

Previous  
kWh

6,513,431

3,789,991

6,513,431

3,789,991

19,542,144

10,088,994

19,542,144

10,088,994

290,624

290,624

–

–

26,346,199

13,878,98

Turnover (£) 

Intensity Ratio (tCO2e/£100,000)

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

Current Year (2021-22)

Previous Year (2020-21)

Year on Year Variance

140.8 m

21.737

39.4 m

33.771

257.3%

(35.6)%

 
Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

39

Emission reporting notes
•  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.

•  The period of our report is 01/07/2021 – 30/06/2022.
•  This report includes emissions under Scope 1 and 2, except where stated, and includes emissions from Scope 3 sources relating to business 

travel, purchased good 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 2021-22.

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

Statement of exclusions
•  Emissions in relation to fugitive emissions are excluded from the scope of reporting due to lack of quality data records in this area. This is not  

a material carbon emission.

Energy efficiency action
In this year we have:
•  Almost	completed	LED	rollout	to	our	entire	estate,	with	a	few	sites	remaining.	
•  Created a test energy efficiency site at Revolución de Cuba Reading to see how low we can drive energy usage in a single site, with initial 

results positive.

•  Delivered exceptional results through our Zero Hero programme, with a huge reduction in overnight usage waste. 
•  Now adopted a minimum standard specification for our sites to define what equipment is required in refurbishment/installations, as well as 

being used by our Property team to identify areas of opportunity for immediate improvement during maintenance work.

•  Made substantial progress in delivering our Net Zero/Sustainability strategy which can be seen in our reduced carbon emissions.

OUR TARGETS
Our sustainability strategy has the below targets, against which we have declared our progress to date:

Target

Baseline

Progress

To achieve carbon neutral status by the end of 
the decade and commit to a Science-Based 
Target as soon as practicable

To reduce our carbon intensity by 40%  
by 2030

To achieve a further 20% energy efficiency 
improvement by 2025

To commit to working towards and maintaining 
thereafter 100% renewable electricity supply

FY20 (adjusted for COVID impacts in Q4)

To achieve a 30% reduction in water 
consumption by 2030

To reduce supply chain emissions by 30%  
by 2030

To reduce waste to landfill by 50% by 2030

To reduce overall waste volumes by 15%  
by 2030

On target, we are in the process of validation  
of our Science-Based Target and our cocktail 
menu is carbon neutral

Ahead of target for FY22

Ahead of target for FY22

All sites except landlord sites (two) now 
renewable energy supply

On target, monitoring being improved

On target

On target

On target

like-for-like reduction of energy 
consumption since 2017

reduction in carbon footprint since 
the 2019-20 baseline

32%

19%

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview40

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS CONTINUED

NEXT STEPS
We will continue to drive forward through our Sustainability programme to deliver significant carbon reductions. We are on track for all of  
the targets we have set at this point and will continue to reduce our impact on the environment across all three emission scopes in line with  
climate science.

APPENDIX

THEMATIC AREA
GOVERNANCE

RECOMMENDATION

How has disclosure been met

a)  Describe the Board’s oversight of climate-related risks and opportunities.

Role of Risk Committee described

b)  Describe Management’s role in assessing and managing climate-related 

Role of pillar working groups described

risks and opportunities.

STRATEGY

a)  Describe the climate-related risks and opportunities the organisation  

Refer to risks and opportunities section

has identified over the short, medium, and long term.

b)  Describe the impact of climate-related risks and opportunities on the 

organisation’s businesses, strategy, and financial planning

The risks are not a material change  
to the Company’s financial strategy  
at this time, so the operational risks  
are highlighted. Organisational  
strategy is integrated through Board 
Oversight, Risk Committee and pillar 
working groups.

c)  Describe the resilience of the organisation’s strategy, taking into 

consideration different climate-related scenarios, including a 2°C  
or lower scenario.

Understanding of risks and 
opportunities available and described. 
Net Zero strategy outlined.

RISK MANAGEMENT

a)  Describe the organisation’s processes for identifying and assessing 

climate-related risks.

Cyclical risk management process 
outlined.

b)  Describe the organisation’s processes for managing climate-related risks. Cyclical risk management process 

c)  Describe how processes for identifying, assessing, and managing 
climate-related risks are integrated into the organisation’s overall  
risk management.

METRICS & TARGETS

a)  Disclose the metrics used by the organisation to assess climate- 
related risks and opportunities in line with its strategy and risk 
management process

outlined.

Cyclical risk management process 
outlined.

Metrics outlined with explanation  
of reason

b)  Disclose Scope 1, Scope 2, and, if appropriate, Scope 3 greenhouse gas 

Emissions included

(GHG) emissions, and the related risks.

c)  Describe the targets used by the organisation to manage climate-related 

Targets declared

risks and opportunities and performance against targets.

By order of the Board

Danielle Davies
Company Secretary
18 October 2022

Case Study:  
Pub & Bar – Bar Brand of the 
Year 2022
In June 2022 we were immensely proud to 
be awarded the Bar Brand of the Year by 
Pub & Bar Magazine for our Revolution 
brand. This was a huge achievement and 
we are incredibly proud of our Revolution 
family who have worked tirelessly to create 
a brand that empowers its people and lives 
by all of its values, all whilst delivering the 
best party on the high street. We’ve taken 
the time to understand not only who we are, 
but also who our guest is and this has 
obviously delivered some exceptional 
results and successes.

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

41

Case Study:  
British Business Excellence 
Awards – Employer of the Year
In July 2022 we found out that we had been 
shortlisted for the 2022 British Business 
Excellence Awards as Employer of the Year. 
This coveted award celebrates businesses 
that go the extra mile to support colleagues 
and promote welfare and engagement. 
Specifically, the award looks at investment  
in people, initiatives, collaborative culture,  
and the impact this has had on commercial 
performance and how resources have been 
optimised to sustainably achieve commercial 
goals. We are incredibly proud to have been 
made finalists, and are excited for the awards 
ceremony in November 2022 where we will 
find out the results.

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview42

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS CONTINUED

Case Study:  
Reading – A Kitchen to 
challenge the status quo
RDC Reading was chosen as our Centre of 
Excellence site for sustainable equipment 
trials in seeing “how low we can go”  
with our carbon footprint and impact on 
sustainability. So far at Reading we have 
held successful trials of: 

• Cellarcoolingequipment–withplans 

to roll out this equipment to at least 50% 
of the RBG estate in FY23.

• Smartwatermetering–thissmartmeter
shows us when we have water leaks at 
site, and the live dashboard allows us to 
fix the problem straight away. We plan to 
fit 25 bars across the estate with a smart 
water meter in FY23.

• Removalofgasfromourkitchen–we

have successfully removed gas from our 
kitchen and have started using the new 
electrical kit in new sites opening in 
FY22/23.

RDC Reading has great metering, which 
allows us to accurately track the results  
of the equipment trials and a fantastically 
engaged team who give us valuable 
feedback in how equipment is performing 
operationally. Throughout FY23 we will 
continue to look at opportunities within RDC 
Reading to see how much lower we can go!

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

43

Case Study:  
Playhouse and Pitsford Bees
In May 2022, Playhouse, one of our new 
concepts, teamed up with local honey 
producer Pitsford Bees to house its very  
own colony of bees on the Playhouse  
rooftop. Pitsford were no stranger to 
Playhouse, already supplying the honey  
used on the Pitsford Bee Sting pizza and  
Hot Honey dipping sauce. Playhouse has 
cemented itself in the local community with  
a focus on quality, local ingredients and 
sustainable business. The partnership will 
eventually see Playhouse receiving some of 
the honey produced on its very own rooftop 
–youdon’tgetmuchmorelocalthanthat!

Case Study:  
Leaving our footprint  
on the world
The Group was thrilled to win the  
On-Trade Company of the Year award at  
the Footprint Drinks Sustainability Awards in 
September 2022. These awards recognise 
the annual celebration of businesses who 
are genuinely implementing change and 
building a better world, and we couldn’t be 
more proud to have been recognised for 
the Group’s efforts.

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview44

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

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
Date appointed to Board
16 February 2015
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). 

Rob Pitcher 
Chief Executive Officer
Date appointed to Board
25 June 2018
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 Headlam Group plc. He is also Chairman  
of	Jewellery	Quarter	Bullion	Limited.

Other appointments
None.

Danielle Davies

Chief Financial Officer

Date appointed to Board

22 December 2020

Relevant past experience

Jemima Bird 

William Tuffy

Senior Independent Non-Executive Director

Independent Non-Executive Director

Date appointed to Board

19 December 2016

Relevant past experience

Date appointed to Board

26 November 2018

Relevant past experience

Danielle is a Chartered Accountant with 

Jemima is a marketer with more than  

William Tuffy is a Chartered and Certified 

extensive corporate finance and hands-on 

25 years’ experience working with many of  

Accountant with over 35 years’ experience 

financial and commercial management 

the UK’s leading high street brands including 

in senior general and financial management 

experience gained in senior positions at large 

The Co-op, where she most recently led the 

roles in retail, FMCG and property 

multi-site retail businesses. Most recently, she 

rebrand of their food business. She formed 

investment and management. He has also 

was Chief Financial Officer at Footasylum plc. 

Hello Finch, a strategic brand consultancy,  

been involved with business transformation 

Prior to that she was Director of Finance at  

in 2013. Specialising in early-stage businesses, 

and turnaround projects in companies 

Pets at Home where she worked on a number 

Hello Finch supports raising seed finance  

ranging from large multi-nationals to 

of refinancing activities and acquisitions under 

for entrepreneurs. 

private equity ownership, prior to supporting its 

public offering in 2014. She has also performed 

senior financial roles at Matalan, Royal and Sun 

Alliance and the Co-operative Group.

Other appointments

None.

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

Other appointments

Jemima	is	a	Director	of	Hello	Finch	Limited,	a	

William is also a Director of Miromore 

Non-Executive Director of Headlam Group plc, 

Limited	and	Structadene	Limited.

and a Board Trustee for the Football 

Foundation, the UK’s largest sports charity.

Key

  Audit Committee
  Remuneration Committee

  Nomination Committee
  Chair

Principal skills and experience

Leisure

Retail

Marketing

Operational

People

Finance

Keith Edelman 
Non-Executive Chairman

Rob Pitcher 
Chief Executive Officer

Danielle Davies 
Chief Financial Officer

Jemima Bird 
Senior Non-Executive Director

William Tuffy 
Non-Executive Director

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

 
 
 
 
 
 
Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

45

Keith Edelman 

Non-Executive Chairman

Date appointed to Board

16 February 2015

Relevant past experience

Rob Pitcher 

Chief Executive Officer

Date appointed to Board

25 June 2018

Relevant past experience

Keith has served on the boards of public 

Rob has over 25 years’ experience  

companies for over 30 years across a wide 

within the hospitality sector, most recently 

range of businesses and markets, with 

extensive experience in the retail and 

as Divisional Director of Restaurants at 

Mitchells & Butlers responsible for the 

consumer sectors. Keith’s previous executive 

Harvester, Toby Carvery and Stonehouse 

roles include being Managing Director of 

brands. Prior to joining M&B, Rob held 

Arsenal Holdings plc from 2000 to 2008 and 

senior positions at many other leading 

Chief Executive Officer of Storehouse plc 

hospitality companies, including Stonegate, 

(encompassing BHS and Mothercare) from 

Laurel	Pub	Company,	Spirit	Group,	 

1993 to 1999. Keith has a BSc in management 

and Scottish & Newcastle Retail.

studies from the University of Manchester 

(Institute of Science and Technology). 

Other appointments

Other appointments

Keith is currently Non-Executive Chairman  

None.

of Headlam Group plc. He is also Chairman  

of	Jewellery	Quarter	Bullion	Limited.

Danielle Davies
Chief Financial Officer
Date appointed to Board
22 December 2020
Relevant past experience
Danielle 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 businesses. Most recently, she 
was Chief Financial Officer at Footasylum plc. 
Prior to that she was Director of Finance at  
Pets at Home where she worked on a number 
of refinancing activities and acquisitions under 
private equity ownership, prior to supporting its 
public offering in 2014. She has also performed 
senior financial roles at Matalan, Royal and Sun 
Alliance and the Co-operative Group.

Other appointments
None.

Jemima Bird 
Senior Independent Non-Executive Director
Date appointed to Board
19 December 2016
Relevant past experience
Jemima is a marketer with more than  
25 years’ experience working with many of  
the UK’s leading high street brands including 
The Co-op, where she most recently led the 
rebrand of their food business. She formed 
Hello Finch, a strategic brand consultancy,  
in 2013. Specialising in early-stage businesses, 
Hello Finch supports raising seed finance  
for entrepreneurs. 

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

William Tuffy
Independent Non-Executive Director
Date appointed to Board
26 November 2018
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	and	Structadene	Limited.

length of service

Gender analysis

Executive/non-executive analysis

20%

20%

60%

60%

40%

40%

60%

 0–2	years   2–4	years   4+	years

 Male   Female

 Executive   Non-Executive

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview 
 
 
 
 
 
46

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

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 the day-to-day direction and decision-making of the business.

Beth Anderson 
People Director

Andy Dyson 
Business Development 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, then being 
promoted to Head of People in the summer of 2019 and most recently 
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	last	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 became Business Development Director  
and his many responsibilities are primarily associated with ensuring 
process efficiency for those services that cross all brands, including 
sustainability, and ensuring that the many and varied workstreams 
driving change and innovation, including the development of new 
brands, get the required focus.

Alex Young 
Sales & Marketing Director

Fiona Hall 
commercial director

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. 
In December 2020 Alex joined the Group permanently, managing the 
sales and marketing teams. A CIM qualified marketer, Alex began her 
career working in software and logistics, expanding to include business 
development when she moved into the festivals and events industry.

Fiona worked with the business as a Hospitality Consultant in both 2018 
and 2019 focusing on pricing and margin optimisation. In December 
2020 Fiona joined the Group permanently, managing the Commercial 
and Food teams, and was recently promoted in August 2021 to the 
position of Commercial Director. With over 15 years’ experience in  
the industry, Fiona’s focus has been on driving margin across multiple 
companies, such as the Stonegate Pub Company, The Alchemist,  
The Deltic Group, Town and City Pubs, Bay Restaurant Group and 
Laurel.	Fiona	began	her	career	working	in	various	blue-chip	companies	
including Banks, Telecoms and Tech. She is a qualified Chef with an 
enormous passion for food.

ALEX MCMILLAN 
Brand Operations Director – Revolución De Cuba

Mark Walter 
Brand Operations Director – Revolution

Alex joined the team as Brand Operations Director in March 2022. She 
has over 25 years’ experience in the hospitality industry having worked 
in operational roles for Mitchells & Butlers, Welcome Break, KFC and 
Forte. Most recently she fulfilled a senior operations role in Harvester 
restaurants which involved menu redevelopment and brand design 
enhancements, as well as delivering revenue in excess of £120 million 
per annum. 

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	is	now	responsible	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.

WILL STELLING
Head of Property

Will joined the team as Head of Property in June 2020 from OYO 
Rooms, where he held the role of Midlands Hub Head. During this  
time, he was responsible for leading a regional team of Business 
Development, Infrastructure and Construction managers. Prior to this, 
he was a Building Development Manager at Mitchells and Butlers for 
over 5 years, where his main responsibilities included the successful 
delivery of all brand projects and the management of capital budgets. 
Will was promoted to the Executive Senior Management team in 2022.

Will is a chartered Project Manager (CIOB) and a qualified Quantity 
Surveyor (GradDipQS); he is responsible for the delivery of capital 
expenditure throughout the Group including new properties and 
refurbishments, as well as the management of the estate and 
maintenance requirements.

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

47

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Chairman’s
introduction 
to governance

The Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Revolution Bars  
Group plc (the “Company”) recognises the importance of,  
and is committed to, high standards of corporate governance. 
We believe strong corporate governance is key to delivering 
high performance as a business and ensuring success for its 
shareholders. Accountability to our stakeholders, including 
shareholders, guest, suppliers and employees is key to our 
governance approach.

Therefore, and in compliance with the updated AIM Rules for 
Companies, the Company has chosen to formalise its governance 
policies by complying with the UK’s Quoted Companies Alliance 
Corporate Governance Guidelines for Small and Mid-Size Quoted 
Companies (the “QCA Code”). The annual financial statements of the 
Company for the financial year ending 2 July 2022 will be prepared  
in accordance with the Company’s obligations as an AIM company  
and the requirements of the QCA Corporate Governance Code.

All Directors are fully aware of their duties and responsibilities under 
the QCA Code. As at the date of report, we consider we are in full 
compliance with the QCA Code, which is made up of ten principles. 
Below, we explain how we have complied with each principle. We 
continue to review for best practice and will update this report 
accordingly as we do so, at least annually.

Keith Edelman
Chairman
18 October 2022

Revolution Bars Group plc Board

Chairman:

Keith Edelman

Chief  
Executive Officer:

Rob Pitcher

Chief  
Financial Officer:

Danielle Davies

Senior Independent  
Non-Executive Director:

Independent  
Non-Executive Director:

Jemima Bird

William Tuffy

Audit committee

Chair: William Tuffy

Jemima Bird 
Keith Edelman 

remuneration committee

Chair: Jemima Bird

Keith Edelman 
William Tuffy 

Audit committee

Chair: Keith Edelman

Jemima Bird 
Rob Pitcher 
William Tuffy

Governance ReportStrategic ReportCompany Overview48

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

GOVERNANCE SECTION 

Quoted Companies
Alliance code (“QCA”)

Feedback from investors is also delivered to the Executive Board and 
key management to ensure it is at the heart of our strategies. The Board 
believes the Annual Report and Interim Report, and the accompanying 
presentations, provide necessary information to influence investor 
assessments on performance, business model and strategy. Hard 
copies are available to all shareholders who request one, and copies 
are also available on the Group’s website at the following link:  
https://www.revolutionbarsgroup.com/investors/results-centre/

Shareholders or investors may contact the Company or the 
management team via our investor relations email address, 
shareholderhelp@revolutionbarsgroup.com. We also welcome any 
written correspondence, which our Chief Financial Officer or Financial 
Controller will respond to, as well as contact via our Company’s registrar, 
Link	Group.

The Board particularly supports the use of the Annual General  
Meeting (“AGM”) to communicate, in particular, with private investors. 
All shareholders are given the opportunity to ask questions and raise 
issues; this can be done formally during the meeting or informally with 
the Directors afterwards. Where the AGM has been a closed meeting 
due to COVID-19, shareholders have been given the opportunity to 
raise questions in advance via the email address above.

The voting record at the Company’s General Meetings is monitored, 
and we are pleased that all resolutions were passed by shareholders  
at the 2021 AGM. The 2022 AGM will be held on 2 December 2022.

3.  Take into account wider stakeholder and social 
responsibilities and their implications for long-term 
success
The Board considers engagement with its stakeholders as fundamental 
to the Group’s success, as well as helping the Board and management 
make key decisions. The s172 Statement provides detailed information 
as to our engagement with key stakeholders and can be found on 
pages 30 to 31.

In addition, Revolution Bars Group prides itself on being a market 
leader with its sustainability agenda. We recently removed passion  
fruit garnishes from our cocktails saving approximately 100 tonnes of 
carbon and providing a significant reduction in waste; we have used  
the financial savings from this to offset all other cocktails making our 
cocktail menu carbon neutral. The Group scored a B in CDP reporting, 
meaning Management are taking coordinated action on climate issues 
and is higher than the bars, hotels & restaurants sector average. We 
continue to invest in our energy-efficient kitchen in Reading and are 
soon to be validated for our science-based targets. More information 
can be found on pages 34 to 40.

Quoted Companies Alliance Code Compliance
The following sets out the 10 QCA Code principles and either how 
Revolution Bars Group plc has complied with those principles or where a 
more detailed discussion can be found on the Group’s website following 
the disclosure guidance in the QCA Corporate Governance Code:

1.  Establish a strategy and business model which promote 
long-term value for shareholders
The Group’s strategy and business model is discussed within the Chief 
Executive’s Review on pages 14 to 17. A further review of the business 
model can also be found on pages 12 to 13, and further information on 
our strategic framework on pages 18 to 19.

Our five key strategic pillars are:
•  Maximising Revenue & Profit;
•  Brand Awareness and ESG including Sustainability and EVP;
•  Guest Experience;
•  Cost Control; and
•  Diversification of Sales.

Following recent fundraisings, our focus has been on the expansion of 
the estate through acquisition of new sites or groups, and refurbishment 
of our estate. We continue to deleverage the business and have enjoyed 
strong cash positions allowing us to deliver our strategies. We are 
currently running an enhanced refurbishment programme, to ensure our 
estate is at its best, and have launched two new concepts in the last year 
which are enjoying growing success.

We continue to focus on our team, recently becoming an above-
minimum wage employer as well as focusing on a portfolio of other 
staff-benefits to ensure we retain our position as an employer of choice. 
Our Inclusion & Diversity (“I&D”) champions were recruited from across 
the entire workforce to set up an advisory board to drive developments 
in this area. We have also invested heavily in our staff welfare, partnering 
with “Wiser” and “So let’s talk”.

Our investment in guest experience technology allows us to respond  
to guest needs quickly and adapt our strategy accordingly. We continue 
to drive technology forwards to enhance our guest experience and drive 
sales, including a party booking system and Apps allowing pay-at-table 
service.

The key risks we face as a business are discussed in section 4 below 
but can also be found on pages 28 to 29.

2.  Seek to understand and meet shareholder needs  
and expectations
The Group prides itself on open communication and strong relationships 
with its key investors and shareholders. The Executive Directors are in 
regular contact with the Company’s shareholders and brief the Board on 
feedback and any shareholder issues. In FY21 and FY22 interim, investor 
briefings and roadshows were held at regular intervals, including 
following announcement of the preliminary and interim results, and other 
ad-hoc one-to-one meetings with key investors and potential investors 
were also held through the year to discuss the Group’s strategy and 
shareholder expectations, amongst other things. FY22 roadshows  
will be held after release of the preliminary results in October.

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

49

G
o
v
e
r
n
a
n
c
e
R
e
p
o
r
t

4.  Embed effective risk management, considering both 
opportunities and threats, throughout the organisation
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  
whilst enabling the Board to keep risk management under review.

The risk factors set in the Risk Report on pages 28 to 29 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. 

5.  Maintain the board as a well-functioning, balanced 
team led by the chair
The Board consists of five Directors: three Non-Executive Directors  
and two Executive Directors. The three Non-Executive Directors are 
independent, in line with the QCA Code guidance. The Group believes 
the balance and experience of the Board is suitable for the business. 
The Non-Executive Directors of the Board have been selected with the 
objective to further support the breadth of skills and experience of the 
Board and bring constructive challenge to the Executive Directors. The 
Non-Executive Directors are also responsible for the effective running 
of the Board’s Committees and ensuring that the Committees support 
the strategic priorities of the Board.

The Board members are as follows:
•  Keith Edelman – Non-Executive Chairman and Chair of the 

Nomination Committee;

•  Rob Pitcher – Chief Executive Officer;
•  Danielle Davies – Chief Financial Officer;
•  Jemima Bird – Senior Independent Non-Executive Director and 

Chair of the Remuneration Committee; and

•  William Tuffy – Independent Non-Executive Director and Chair of 

the Audit Committee.

The Executive Directors of the Company are employed on a full-time 
basis. Non-Executive Directors are required to devote such time to the 
Group’s affairs as necessary to discharge their duties, and this may 
change from time to time. Members are required to attend all Board 
meetings and Sub-Committee meetings as necessary.

The Board’s intention is to meet at least eight times per year for 
structured Board meetings covering all aspects of the business. 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. 
The Board meet through a variety of virtual and in-person meetings.

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

Board

Audit Remuneration

Nomination

Number of meetings
Keith Edelman
Rob Pitcher
Danielle Davies
Jemima Bird
William Tuffy

12*
11
12
12
9
9

3
3
3
3
3
3

6
6
6
6
6
6

1
1
1
–
1
1

* 

Including Sub-Committee meetings of the Board which all Non-Executive Directors were 
not required to attend 

Attendance of Executive Directors to Remuneration and Audit 
Committee meetings are by invitation only.

The Board has overall responsibility for the Group’s system of internal 
control and reviewing its effectiveness. Key elements of the system  
of internal control include clearly defined levels of responsibility and 
delegation, together with well-structured reporting lines up to the Board; 
the preparation of comprehensive budgets for each bar and head office, 
approved by the Board; a review of period results against budget, 
together with commentary on significant variances and updates of both 
profit and cash flow expectations for the period; Board authorisation of 
all major purchases and disposals and regular reporting of legal and 
accounting developments to the Board.

Further details on the composition and experience of the Board can be 
found on pages 44 to 45.

Financial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview 
50

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

GOVERNANCE SECTION CONTINUED

6.  Ensure that between them the directors have the 
necessary up-to-date experience, skills and capabilities
The Board considers that it has sufficient skills and experience to 
enable it to execute its duties and responsibilities effectively given  
the nature and size of the Group. The Directors have a wide range of 
skills	in	Leisure,	Retail,	Marketing,	Operational,	People	and	Finance	
backgrounds, and continue to develop their skills and knowledge  
either through other Directorships (for Non-Executives) or via time  
and experience and attending industry body events.

Where the Board considers that it does not possess the necessary 
expertise or experience, it will engage the services of professional 
advisors and consultants. The Directors receive regular updates from 
external advisors on legal requirements and regulations, remuneration 
matters and corporate governance best practice.

Further details of Board experience can be found on pages 44 to 45.

7.  Evaluate board performance based on clear and 
relevant objectives, seeking continuous improvement
The Board completed a Board evaluation in summer 2022. This assessed 
the Board effectiveness, and any recommendations were implemented; 
the questions were reviewed and approved by the Group’s corporate 
lawyers to ensure they were independently verified and were found to be 
robust and conclusive of the QCA Code principles. The questionnaire 
was then shared with the Board, asking them to participate and respond 
to questions designed to elicit honest feedback about Board dynamics, 
operations, structure, performance, and composition.

A key output from the review found that the Board has identified a 
requirement for more timely and focused information in advance of 
meetings to allow them to come well-prepared. The evaluation also 
identified the key strategy and concentration of the Board in the  
next year, with a focus on continued growth plans and forensic and 
relentless reviews of cost headwinds. It was noted that to succeed in 
these areas the Board must also ensure a strong succession plan.

In line with best practice and the newly applicable requirements of  
the QCA Code, the Board intends to undertake regular evaluations of 
the Board, the Chairman and the individual Committees and Directors. 
The Board will utilise the results of the evaluation process when 
considering the adequacy of the composition of the Board and for 
succession planning.

Personal objectives and targets are determined each year for the 
Executive Directors and Executive team, and performance is measured 
against these metrics. The Independent Non-Executive Chairman 
undertakes the responsibility of assessing and monitoring the 
performance of the Executive Directors.

8.  Promote a corporate culture that is based on ethical 
values and behaviours
The business is built on a core purpose, vision, and values. These are:
•  Purpose – We create fun and memorable experiences with our 

Teams & 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.

Our purpose, vision and values are at the core of what we do and how 
we expect our people to behave. We believe these values will drive the 
success of the business, whilst ensuring we have happy and cared for 
teams and guests.

The Group has a strong People Development team who are committed to 
the welfare and development of the bar teams and the Support Centre. 

 
 
Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

51

We recently became an above-minimum wage paying employer and 
introduced a new portfolio of staff benefits to ensure we retain and 
attract the best talent in the industry, as well as enhancing our long 
service awards to demonstrate our commitment back to our wonderful 
people and to celebrate their long-standing contributions to the Group.

We were excited to introduce the “Rev U” training academy, including 
new career pathways for all operational roles. We also launched our 
first ever high potential programme for our General Managers, an Area 
Manager Development programme, management level apprenticeships 
and implemented a mentoring programme.

I&D champions were recruited from across the entire workforce to  
set up a new I&D Advisory Board, to ensure we’re always doing the 
right thing for our people. We recently implemented our “Inclusion 
Revolution” strategy to support this, and partner with “Wiser” to drive 
insight and research, to ensure we are a truly inclusive place to work.

We are aware of the pressures faced by all our team members in 
everyday life and we offer Mental Health First Aid training to all 
management across the business and have nominated Area Wellbeing 
Champions to drive insight and inform actions in wellbeing across  
the estate.

People are at the core of what we do; we strive to operate with ethics 
and integrity with all our stakeholders. We see many of our bar staff stay 
with us for long careers, working their way to senior operational roles 
such as General and Area managers, or alternative careers.

Where people have joined us with future aspirations, potentially as  
a student, we aim to support this either through flexible working or 
opportunities in our Support Centre departments. We pride ourselves 
on the length of service of our staff and home-grown abilities.

The culture and satisfaction of our people is monitored through a 
twice-yearly satisfaction and engagement survey called the “Quality  
of	Life”	survey,	which	is	expected	to	be	completed	by	the	entire	Group.	
We recently enjoyed our highest ever participation rate and our highest 
ever Employee Net Promoter Score, which was very exciting with the 
backdrop of the recent extremely challenging trading conditions.

9.  Maintain governance structures and processes that 
are fit for purpose and support good decision-making by 
the board
The Group has established a clear division between the respective 
responsibilities of the Non-Executive Chairman of the Board and the 
Chief Executive Officer. 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 Chief Executive Officer 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.

The Board meets monthly, with further meetings for the Committees and 
any ad-hoc matters. Further details of attendance at these meetings can 
be found in section 5 above. It is deemed that the independence and 
experience of the Non-Executive Directors allow the Committees to run 
effectively, as follows:

Nomination Committee – The responsibility of the Committee  
includes reviewing the Board composition, appointing new Directors, 
the 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.

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview52

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

GOVERNANCE SECTION CONTINUED

Audit Committee – The responsibility of the Committee includes 
reviewing annual and half-year results, external auditing, internal 
controls, and advising on the independence, appointment of the 
external auditor, reviewing the impact of any upcoming changes  
in accounting treatment as a result of new or modified IFRS, and 
considering matters the external auditor consider to be a significant 
audit risk.

Remuneration Committee – The responsibility of the Committee 
includes determining the Chairman’s fee, the framework and policy  
for the remuneration of Executive Directors and other members of the 
Executive team, advising, determining and agreeing the total individual 
remuneration package of each of the Executive Directors and Executive 
team, considering and approving appropriate targets for the annual 
bonus and long-term share schemes operated for the Executive 
Directors and Executive Team, and overseeing remuneration and 
benefit structures and policies throughout the Group’s business.

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 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, which are made up of relevant 
management and department heads, were focused on the health and 
safety aspects of COVID-19 to ensure that when trading was allowed to 
recommence, the Group could provide a safe environment for colleagues 
and guests. 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.

Further details on key activities of the Board can be viewed on page 53. 
These include business reviews and strategy, financial updates, 
assessment of internal control and risk management, governance 
updates, and any other ad-hoc matters.

10.   Communicate how the company is governed and is 
performing by maintaining a dialogue with shareholders 
and other relevant stakeholders
The Group welcomes questions from shareholders and  
potential investors via its shareholder inbox, shareholderhelp@
revolutionbarsgroup.com, where a member of the senior team will 
respond quickly to any queries or concerns.

The Group’s main communication channels with shareholders for 
immediate	messages,	such	as	trading	updates,	will	be	the	London	
Stock Exchange’s Regulatory News Service (“RNS”), and the investor 
section of our corporate website.

The Company reports formally to shareholders twice a year via the 
release of its interim and full-year results, including the preliminary 
announcement for year-end, and the annual financial statements 
following shortly afterwards. These financial results are communicated 
to the markets and shareholders through a roadshow attended by the 
Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, where both will 
make themselves available for questions. The AGM is also a key 
opportunity, where the Board will make themselves available for 
questions by shareholders and investors.

An internal call for colleagues is also held after the release of key 
financial information by the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial 
Officer, where the information will be communicated at a high level and 
the floor is opened for questions. The Group ensures its people are 
appropriately communicated with and kept abreast of current affairs,  
in order to maintain operational integrity.

Danielle Davies
Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary
18 October 2022

BOARD ACTIVITY

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

53

BUSINESS REVIEW AND STRATEGY
•  Reviewed the Group’s strategy and vision
•  Reviewed the Group’s operations, ensuring competent and prudent 
management, sound planning, adequate accounting and other 
records, and compliance with statutory and regulatory obligations
•  Received regular presentations from operating division Directors 

and business function Directors to consolidate the understanding  
of trading performance, opportunities and challenges

•  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 team members 
and guests

OTHER
•  Reviewed and approved changes to the Executive Management 

structure

•  Reviewed progress reports on major workstreams, new concepts 

•  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

•  Reviewed and approved major supply contract proposals with major 

drink and food 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
•  Reviewed and approved salary increases for employees at all levels
•  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

and business plans in pursuance of strategy

•  Reviewed and monitored progress on the Group’s sustainability 

agenda

•  Reviewed and debated acquisition strategy
•  Agreed Board agenda programme for the year
•  Challenged and approved new site business cases and review 

refurbishment performance to ensure in line with payback targets

FINANCIAL
•  Received regular financial performance updates from the Chief 

Financial Officer

•  Approved 2021 Annual Report and Accounts and Annual General 

Meeting (AGM) business

•  Approved 2022 interim report and trading updates
•  Reviewed and approved 2022 Forecast updates and the annual 

budget

•  Reviewed and approved three-year financial model update
•  Approved revised authorisation policy and authorisation limits

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

•  Reviewed all insurance arrangements ahead of June 2022 renewal

GOVERNANCE AND SHAREHOLDERS
•  Executive Director virtual meetings with individual institutional 

shareholders following publication of FY21 results and FY22 interims

•  Reviewed feedback from institutional shareholders following 

Executive Director meetings

•  Review of shareholder register (quarterly)
•  Approved 2021 Modern Slavery Statement
•  Received regular updates on health and safety
•  Approved	the	transition	from	the	UKLA	code	of	conduct	to	the	QCA	

Corporate Governance Code

COVID-19
•  Reviewed and approved several market updates on trading and 

measures to improve liquidity and access to funding

•  Reviewed and approved extension to bank lending facilities, 

including an extension to June 2023, and changes to interest rates 
and deleveraging

•  Regular progress reviews of measures taken to minimise the Group’s 

cost base during the enforced closure period

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview54

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

NOMINATIONS COMMITTEE REPORT

Dear shareholder
I am pleased to introduce the report of the Nomination Committee for 
the 52 weeks to 2 July 2022. 

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,  
the 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
Best practice 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. 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 2 July 2022, the Nomination Committee 
met on one occasion. The Committee formally reviews 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, per the articles of association, 
each of the Company’s serving Directors 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 pages 44 to 45. 

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

55

Gender pay gap
The Group published its April 2021 Gender Pay Gap report in early 2022. 
Following the significant impact of COVID-19 on the 2020 report findings, 
the Group is pleased to have seen a large reduction in the gap during 
2021 reporting. The Group is committed to closing the gap further, and all 
bar staff have recently benefitted from the Group becoming an above-
minimum wage employer. 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 Annual General Meeting on 
2 December 2022.

Keith Edelman
Chairman of the Nomination Committee
18 October 2022

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	strives	 
to increase the number of women on the Board and in other senior 
management positions. The Board endeavours 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. Following the recent 
appointment of the new Revolución de Cuba Business Operations 
Director, the Executive Management team is now at a female majority, 
and as at the end of the reporting period, 50% (2021: 45%) of the 
positions at Board and senior management level were 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 2,827 employees, females represented approximately 48% of the 
workforce as at 2 July 2022 (3 July 2021: 46%), and 40% of the Board  
of Directors. 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 continued our Inclusion & Diversity strategy, 
focused solely on driving the right behaviours and actions across every 
part of the business. We have created a I&D Board represented by 
individuals across the workforce to bring a voice to our colleagues and 
have invested significant training resource to ensure that everyone 
understands and is fully engaged with the principles.

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview56

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT

Dear Shareholder
I am pleased to introduce the report of the Audit Committee for the  
52 weeks ended 2 July 2022. 

Best practice 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 complimentary sectors 
and am therefore suitably experienced to lead the Committee.

Regular Committee meetings are also normally attended by the Chief 
Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and our external auditors, 
PricewaterhouseCoopers	LLP	(“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 
auditors 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 auditors. 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 auditors to be of significant audit risk.

PwC was appointed as the Group’s external auditors on 29 January 
2018; the period under review represents their fifth year of audit. The 
Committee is satisfied that PwC has undertaken its responsibilities  
as the Group’s external auditors to a high standard and therefore the 
Committee will be recommending that PwC be reappointed as auditors 
at the 2022 Annual General Meeting (“AGM”). The PwC audit partner 
responsible for the Group is Jonathan Studholme, who became the 
Group’s audit partner for the first time in FY22 following Randal 
Casson’s retirement.

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, as well as the appropriateness of going 
concern conclusions and stress testing;

•  complex transactions, and the accounting for a number of unique 

circumstances, including reliefs provided by stakeholders as a result 
of COVID-19;
information systems; and

• 
•  budgeting and forecasting procedures and controls.

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

57

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.

• 

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.

I hope to be able to take any questions from shareholders at the AGM 
on 2 December 2022, at which the Annual Report 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 
auditors, it regards the breadth and quality of the work performed  
by the external auditors as contributing significantly to several of the 
Committee’s objectives, particularly regarding assurance relating to  
the accuracy and reliability of its external reporting. For that reason, 
planning meetings are held with the external auditors to review their 
proposed work programmes and any recommendations made by the 
external auditors are reviewed in depth, as are their findings from their 
review of the interim and year-end financial statements. The Committee 
meets to discuss the performance of the external auditors and to 
consider priority areas for future work.

For the auditors 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 auditors so that their 
independence is not compromised. There were no non-audit services 
provided in the current or prior year.

• 

FRC Review
The Financial Reporting Council (“FRC”) contacted the Group in March 
2022 to request information on the following three areas:
•  Exceptional items;
•  Carrying value of property, plant and equipment and right of use 

assets; and

•  Supplier rebates.

The FRC review was based on our annual financial statements and did 
not benefit from detailed knowledge of our business or an understanding 
of the underlying transactions entered into. It is, however, conducted by 
staff of the FRC who have an understanding of the relevant legal and 
accounting framework. The review provides no assurance that our 
financial statements are correct in all material respects; the FRC’s role is 
not to verify the information provided but to consider compliance with 
reporting requirements. The letters from the FRC are written on the basis 
that the FRC accepts no liability for reliance on them by the Company or 
any third party, including but not limited to investors and shareholders.

The Group provided a detailed response into the queries and have 
adopted the minimal recommended changes into this set of financial 
statements. The FRC was satisfied by our response and the review is 
now concluded.

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; 

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.

•  Coordination 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. 

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview58

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT CONTINUED

Role and responsibilities continued
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 including going concern; 
 – the methods used to account for significant or unusual 

transactions where different approaches may give materially 
different outcomes;

 – 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 Financial Statements: 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’s Quoted Companies 
Alliance Corporate Governance Guidelines for Small and Mid-Size 
Quoted Companies (the “QCA 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 2 July 2022, the Audit Committee met 
formally on three occasions, with all members attending. At all of the 
meetings, the Committee had access to the external auditor without 
management present. 

Work performed by the Committee during the financial year has 
included:
• 

reviewing the Annual Report and Accounts for 2021 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 
2021, which included internal verification processes and content 
approval procedures;
reviewing the Group’s accounting policies and critical judgements 
and sources of estimation and uncertainty including the 
appropriateness of going concern; 
reviewing the designation of certain items of income and expenditure 
as Exceptional and the appropriateness of alternative performance 
measures;

• 

• 

•  approving the transfer to the QCA Code and reviewing compliance 

• 

• 
• 

• 

• 

with and explaining any exceptions from the Code;
reviewing the independence and objectivity of PwC as external 
auditor, together with its effectiveness, following the 2021 audit  
and recommending its appointment to shareholders at the Annual 
General Meeting in December 2021;
reviewing the auditor comments during FY22 planning;
reviewing and approving the external audit plan for the 52 weeks 
ended 2 July 2022;
reviewing the FRC Review letter, discussing the response with the 
Audit Committee Chair and Committee members, and agreeing on 
required changes and responses to the FRC;
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 two 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 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. 

 
Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

59

•  Capitalisation of employment costs: 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 £0.6 

million (2021: £5.4 million) usually represent a material item in the 
profit and loss account but have seen a significant decrease in the 
year due to lower impairment. The charge in the reporting period 
comprises a lower-than-usual impairment of property, plant and 
equipment and right-of-use assets offset by an exceptional 
modification gain to a lease. The Committee considered the 
appropriateness of presenting these items as exceptional.

•  Going concern: The Committee recognises that with the degree  
of uncertainty in the trading outlook, 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
18 October 2022

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, Finance and People. The purpose of the 
Committee, which is not a Board 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 can be found on the Company’s website at 
www.revolutionbarsgroup.com.

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 colleagues or guests 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 monitor the risks surrounding sustainability and the environment 
and ensure the Group’s sustainability agenda is being applied 
thoughtfully and with the support of the Group’s Net Zero partners;
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 
items that require particular judgement or have significant impact on 
the interpretation of the Annual Report and Accounts for 2022:
•  Recoverable amount of property, plant and equipment and 

right-of-use 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. 
Impairment calculations are based upon assumptions that were 
considered reasonable as at the balance sheet date. However,  
given the timing to publishing the financial statements, 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 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.

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview60

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

DIRECTORS’ REMUNERATION REPORT

ANNUAL STATEMENT
Dear shareholder
I am pleased to present, on behalf of the Board, the Directors’ 
Remuneration Report of the Remuneration Committee. As an AIM-listed 
company,	we	are	not	required	to	comply	with	the	Listing	Rules	of	 
the Financial Conduct Authority, or the requirements of Schedule 8 
(Quoted Companies Directors Remuneration Report) as amended  
by	the	provisions	of	The	Large	and	Medium-sized	Companies	and	
Groups (Accounts and Report) Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/410) (the 
“Regulations”) or the UK Corporate Governance Code. However, noting 
the Company has chosen to comply with the UK’s Quoted Companies 
Alliance Corporate Governance Guidelines for Small and Mid-Size 
Quoted Companies (the “QCA Code”), the Board considers it 
appropriate for the Company to provide shareholders with additional 
information in respect of executive remuneration where appropriate. 

Performance and reward in relation to the 52 weeks 
ended 2 July 2022
Trade has significantly improved in the year following the release of 
restrictions in England two weeks into the financial year, and devolved 
nations in the weeks after that; however, we were disappointed with 
Christmas trade due to the severe impact of Omicron on restrictions 
and consumer confidence. When not impacted by restrictions of 
Omicron, the Group is delighted to have traded positively in the year.

Following Management focus on survival of the business in FY20 and 
FY21, following COVID-19, we have entered a new, dynamic period 
where we have returned to normal trading. This has allowed focus to 
realign to new workflows in order to drive sales and performance across 
all our brands. Our two new brands are operating well and remain a 
Management priority, and we are currently looking to expand these 
brands further.

COVID-19 gave rise to unprecedented trading conditions and demands 
on our team; rarely does such good underlying business progress and 
high personal performance go without rewards, however we felt it not 
appropriate to operate an annual bonus plan in FY21. Because of that, 
the Remuneration Committee is delighted to have operated a bonus 
scheme for bar staff and support centre colleagues in FY22. It is only 
right that the fantastic performance in the year is shared between our 
people, as both a reflection of the excellent return to normal trading but 
also their dedication to the business throughout the hardest times we 
have ever faced.

Implementation of the policy in FY22
As a result of performance in the year, annual bonus awards of 95%  
of salary were awarded to the Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and  
Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”). Details of the targets, performance and 
the bonus awards are set out in the Annual Report on Remuneration 
below. No share awards vested in respect of three-year performance  
to 2 July 2022.

Implementation of the policy in FY23
In respect of operating the Remuneration Policy in FY23:
•  no changes, aside from a cost-of-living increase, will be made to base 
salaries of the Executive Directors, benefits or pension provisions. 
Any new executive Board appointments would receive a workforce-
aligned pension provision;

•  annual bonus provision for FY23 will be capped at 100% of salary  
for Executive Directors with a majority based on sliding scale 
profit-related targets and a minority based on strategic targets. 
While the profit and strategic targets are currently commercially 
sensitive, details of the targets and performance against the targets 
will be disclosed in next year’s Directors’ Remuneration Report;
the Committee intends to grant Restricted Share Awards (“RSAs”) in 
line with the Remuneration Policy approved by shareholders in 2020 
which will: 

• 

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

61

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 is committed to consulting with its major shareholders 
and the main shareholder representatives, both when material changes 
are being made to the Remuneration Policy and in respect of the 
implementation of the Policy.

On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank shareholders for their 
continued support, and I look forward to your approval of our Directors’ 
Remuneration Report at the forthcoming AGM.

Jemima Bird
Chair of the Remuneration Committee
18 October 2022

 – be set at no more than 50% of salary for the CEO and 40% of 
salary for the CFO (with lower levels cascaded below Board);
 – vest after three years from the grant date, subject to continued 
employment, satisfactory individual performance and a positive 
assessment against a performance underpin. 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.

Further details in respect of the RSA grant for 2022 are set out in the 
Annual Report on Remuneration:

•  shareholding guidelines will continue to operate at 100% of salary; 

and

•  no changes were made to the fees for the Chairman and Non-

Executive Directors for FY23.

Committee activities in FY22
The Committee met six times during the year. The Committee’s main 
activities were to:
• 

review the Chairman’s fee and the framework and policy for the 
remuneration of the Executive Directors and other members of the 
Executive Committee;

•  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, the annual 
bonus for FY22 and share schemes operated for the Executive 
Directors and other members of the Executive Committee; and

•  oversee remuneration and benefit structures and policies throughout 

the Group’s business and to give advice on any major changes.

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview 
62

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

DIRECTORS’ REMUNERATION POLICY

The Directors’ Remuneration Policy (as can be found at https://www.revolutionbarsgroup.com/media/1319/revbars_notice_agm_2020_final_for-
website.pdf) was approved by shareholders at the 2020 Annual General Meeting by way of an advisory vote.

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”) may be invited to attend meetings, although are not present when matters 
affecting their own remuneration is discussed. The Company Secretary or their nominee acts as secretary to the Committee.

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 52 weeks ending 2 July 2022 (unaudited)
Base Annual Salary
Current Executive Director salary levels are as follows:

Role

Director

From 1 April 2022

From 1 April 2021

% Increase

Chief Executive Officer
Chief Financial Officer

Rob Pitcher
Danielle Davies

£367,710
£236,385

£350,000
£225,000

5%
5%

Consistent with the cost-of-living base salary increases awarded to the general workforce, Executive Directors received a 2% increase from 
12 September 2021 and a 3% increase from 27 March 2022. The 2% rise was delayed from April 2021, when the business was still facing heavy 
restrictions and a rise was not appropriate.

Annual Bonus
Annual bonus provision for FY23 will be capped at 100% of salary for Executive Directors with a majority based on sliding scale profit-related 
targets and a minority based on strategic targets. While the profit and strategic targets are currently commercially sensitive, details of the targets 
and performance against the targets will be disclosed in next year’s Directors’ Remuneration Report.

Share Awards
The Committee intends to grant Restricted Share Awards (“RSAs”) in 2022 in line with the Remuneration Policy approved by shareholders in 2020 
which will:
•  be set at no more than 50% of salary for the CEO and 40% of salary for the CFO (with lower levels cascaded below Board); and
•  vest after three years from the grant date, subject to continued employment, satisfactory individual performance and a positive assessment of 

performance against an underpin (i.e. the Committee must be satisfied that Revolution’s underlying performance and delivery against its strategy 
and recovery plans is 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)). 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.

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

63

Non-Executive Directors’ fees and incentives
No changes were made to the fees for the Chairman and Non-Executive Directors for FY23.

Directors’ remuneration for the 52 weeks ended 2 July 2022 (audited)

Fees/  
Salary1  
£’000

Taxable 
Benefits2 
£’000

Pension3  
£’000

Total Fixed 
Benefits 
£’000

Annual  
Bonus4  
£’000

Long-term 
Incentives5 
£’000

Executive Directors
Rob Pitcher

Danielle Davies6

Non-Executive Directors
Keith Edelman

Jemima Bird

William Tuffy

Former Directors
Mike Foster

Aggregate emoluments 

2022
2021

2022
2021

2022
2021

2022
2021

2022
2021

2022
2021

2022
2021

358
272

230
85

91
69

39
27

39
27

–
85

757
565

18
18

16
8

–
–

–
–

–
–

–
13

34
39

49
45

7
3

–
–

–
–

–
–

–
–

425
335

253
96

91
69

39
27

39
27

–
98

56
48

847
652

–
–

–
–

–
–

–
–

–
–

–
–

–
–

Total 
Variable 
Benefits 
£’000

334
107

172
55

–
–

–
–

–
–

–
–

Total  
£’000

759
442

425
151

91
69

39
27

39
27

–
98

334
107

172
55

–
–

–
–

–
–

–
–

506
162

506
162

1,353
814

1  As disclosed in last year’s Directors’ Remuneration Report, salary/fees for 2021 include a number of voluntary reductions in response to COVID-19 related trading restrictions.
2  Taxable benefits comprise medical insurance policies and car allowances.
3  Rob Pitcher received a pension provision/salary supplement of 15% of salary. Danielle Davies received a pension provision/salary supplement of 3% of salary from appointment. 
4  Details of the annual bonus awards for FY22 are set out below. No annual bonus plan was operated for Executive Directors in respect of FY21 as a result of the impact of COVID-19  

on the Company.

5  Based on the face value of Restricted Share Awards granted to Executive Directors on 23 November 2021 in respect of 2022 (see below) and 24 December 2020 in respect of 2021.
6  Danielle Davies was appointed to the Board as CFO from 22 December 2020.

Annual bonus (audited) for FY22
As a result of performance in the year, annual bonus awards of 95% of salary were awarded to the Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and Chief 
Financial Officer (“CFO”). No share awards vested in respect of three-year performance to 2 July 2022.

Share awards granted in FY22 (audited)
The following share awards were granted to Executive Directors in the 52 weeks to 2 July 2022:

Executive

Type of Award

Exercise Price (p)

Rob Pitcher
Danielle Davies

RSA
RSA

0.1
0.1

Number of  
Awards Granted

1,519,149
781,277

Basis of Award

100% of salary
80% of salary

Face Value1

£357,000
£183,600

1 

Based on a share price of 23.5 pence being the five-day average prior to the grant date.

The awards, which were granted on 23 November 2021, will vest and become exercisable on the later of: (i) three years from the date of grant, 
being 23 November 2024; and (ii) the preliminary announcement of the results for the 52 weeks ending 29 June 2024. Vesting will be subject to 
the Remuneration Committee being satisfied that the Group’s underlying performance and delivery against its strategy and plans is sufficient to 
justify the level of vesting having regard to such factors as the Remuneration Committee considers to be appropriate in the round (including, inter 
alia, revenue, earnings and share price performance) and the shareholder experience more generally (including windfall gains).

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview 
 
64

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

DIRECTORS’ REMUNERATION POLICY CONTINUED

Outstanding executive share awards (audited)

Executive Director

Scheme

Grant date

Exercise 
price (p)

No. of 
Shares at 
3 July 2021

Granted 
during the 
year 
Number

Vested 
during the 
year 
Number

Lapsed 
during the  
Year 
Number

No. of 
Shares at 
2 July 2022

Rob Pitcher

Danielle Davies

Total

PSP
CSOP
PSP
RSA
RSA

RSA
RSA

18.10.18
18.10.18
23.10.19
24.12.20
23.11.21

0.1
114.5
0.1
0.1
0.1

585,154
26,200
531,269
475,759
–

–
–
–
–
1,519,149

1,618,382

1,519,149

24.12.20
23.11.21

0.1
0.1

244,676
–

–
781,277

244,676

781,277

1,863,058 2,300,426 

–
–
–
–
–

–

–
–

–

–

Payments made for loss of office and payments to past Directors (audited)
No payments were made for loss of office and no payments were made to past Directors.

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

Vesting  
Date

18.10.21
18.10.21
23.10.22
24.12.23
23.11.24

(585,154)
(26,200)
–
–
–

–
–
531,269
475,759
1,519,149

(611,354)

2,526,177

–
–

244,676
781,277

24.12.23
23.11.24

– 1,025,953

(611,354)

3,552,130

Director

Rob Pitcher
Danielle Davies
Keith Edelman
William Tuffy
Jemima Bird

Beneficially 
owned at  
2 July 2022  
Number

Outstanding 
Share Awards 
Number

775,000
75,000
370,000
100,000
7,500

2.526,177
1.025,953
– 
– 
– 

Outstanding 
Share Awards 
under all 
Employee  
Share Plans  
Number

Total interest  
in Shares  
Number

Shareholding as 
a % of Base 
Salary at  
2 July 2022

Prospective 
Shareholding*  
as a % of Base 
Salary at  
2 July 2022

–
–
– 
– 
– 

3,301,177
1,100,953
370,000
100,000
7,500

30%
5%
n/a
n/a
n/a

77%
34%
n/a
n/a
n/a

* 

The Prospective Shareholding shows the position if all outstanding options to date were to mature at the current share price at current salaries, applying the “net of tax” equivalent number 
which assumes shares would be sold to pay the tax impact.

Executive Directors are expected to build and then hold shares equal in value to 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 held as at 2 July 2022.

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
18 October 2022

DIRECTORS’ REPORT

Introduction
The Directors present their Annual Report and the audited consolidated 
financial statements of the Company and Group for the 52 weeks ended 
2 July 2022. This Directors’ Report includes additional information 
required to be disclosed under the Companies Act 2006 and the QCA 
Code. 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 43 sets out a review of the Group’s 
business during the 52 weeks ended 2 July 2022 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;
the Corporate Governance Statement on pages 47 to 52; 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 43 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 76. The Directors are not recommending 
a final dividend in respect of the 52 weeks ended 2 July 2022 (2021: nil 
pence per share issued). There was no interim dividend during the period 
(2021: nil pence per share), and thus the total dividend for the 52 weeks 
ended 2 July 2022 is nil pence per share (2021: 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. The Ordinary Shares are listed 
on the official list and are traded on AIM as at the date of this report, 
following the cancellation of the admission of the Company’s shares to 
listing	on	the	Official	List	(premium	segment)	of	the	Financial	Conduct	
Authority	and	to	trading	on	the	London	Stock	Exchange’s	main	market	
for	listed	securities	and	their	admission	to	trading	on	the	London	Stock	
Exchange’s AIM market 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 2022.

At 2 July 2022, the issued share capital of the Company was 
230,048,520 Ordinary Shares of £0.001 each.

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

65

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 other than in relation to certain restrictions imposed from 
time to time by laws and regulations (for example, insider trading laws).

The Company has in place certain share incentive plans; details of 
these can be found on page 62. As at the financial period end on 2 July 
2022 and up to the date of this report, 2,526,177 share options have 
been granted to the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, Rob Pitcher 
and 1,025,953 share options have been granted to the Company’s 
Chief Financial Officer, Danielle Davies.

Directors
The Directors of the Company and their biographies are set out on 
pages 44 to 45. Their interests in the Ordinary Shares of the Company 
are shown in the Directors’ Remuneration Report on page 64.

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 QCA 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 their 
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 
in place throughout the year and at the date of approval of the financial 
statements. The Group has 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 2 July 2022. 

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.

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview66

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

DIRECTORS’ REPORT CONTINUED

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.

Post-balance sheet events
The Group announced that on 18 October 2022 it has completed the 
acquisition of the entire issued share capital of The Peach Pub Company 
(Holdings)	Limited	and	its	subsidiaries	(“Peach”),	the	operator	of	a	
collection of 21 award-winning, premium food-led pubs for a cash 
consideration of £16.5 million on a debt and cash-free basis. £0.5 million 
of this is due as a deferred consideration contingent upon the future 
performance of the business. This is tested at each of September 2023, 
March 2024 and September 2024. If the hurdle has not been passed by 
the third of these dates, then the deferred consideration will not be paid.

The acquisition will create a more balanced and diversified business 
with scale and compelling growth potential across multiple trading 
segments of drinks, food and accommodation.

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,  
as a result of ongoing inflationary cost rises, as well as potential  
future restrictions imposed by the UK Government and the devolved 
authorities in response to COVID-19. The going concern status of the 
Company and subsidiaries is intrinsically linked to that of the Group.

Liquidity
At the end of the reporting period, the Group had net cash of £4.1 
million (2021: net debt of (£3.6) million). In FY21, the Group took out 
three	separate	Coronavirus	Large	Business	Interruption	Loan	Scheme	
(“CLBILS”)	term	loans	to	a	sum	of	£20.0	million,	of	which	£14.8	million	
(2021: £15.8 million) was still outstanding as at year-end. The Group 
maintained a £16.3 million Revolving Credit Facility (“RCF”) of which  
no amounts were drawn down as at year-end.

In FY21, the Group completed two equity fundraisings to support 
liquidity. The first completed on 27 July 2020 for gross £15.0 million,  
net £14.1 million, and all funds were fully received by 3 August 2020  
and used to repay the remaining outstanding balance of the RCF.  
A second equity fundraising was completed on 15 June 2021 for gross 
£21.0 million, net £19.9 million, and all funds were fully received by 
17 June 2021. The second fundraising was also used to strengthen  
the Group’s balance sheet via deleveraging, whilst retaining sufficient 
funds to allow the Group to start an enhanced refurbishment 
programme of its bars, and also be in a position to take advantage  
of any good acquisition and expansion opportunities.

The RCF was reduced from £21.0 million in June 2021, to £17.3 million 
following £3.7 million of amortisation, and amortised a further £1.0 
million to £16.3 million at the end of June 2022. The RCF was due to 
expire 30 June 2023; the Group has, however, undergone a refinancing 
of all facilities, completing in October 2022.

Following the refinancing on 10 October 2022, a new RCF was 
committed at a total facility level of £30.0 million expiring October 
2025. The RCF was sought with the purposes of repaying all other 
indebtedness, general working capital requirements, and for the 
acquisition	of	The	Peach	Pub	Company	(Holdings)	Limited	and	its	
subsidiaries	(“Peach”).	Therefore,	all	outstanding	CLBILS	term	loans	
were repaid on 13 October 2022, with just the RCF making up total 
facilities going forwards. Interest is charged on the utilised RCF at a 
margin determined by leveraging plus SONIA, with unutilised RCF 
values having interest charged at 40% of margin. The new RCF is 
secured via a cross guarantee against certain properties within the 
business across the trading subsidiaries.

The RCF will amortise by £1.0 million on 30 June 2023, £2.0 million  
on 30 June 2024 and £2.0 million on 30 June 2025. In accordance  
with these arrangements and subject to compliance with financial 
covenants, the Group will therefore have committed funding facilities 
available during the going concern assessment period as follows:

31 December 2022
30 June 2023
31 December 2023
30 June 2024

RCF  
£m

30.0
29.0
29.0
27.0

Current Net bank debt and available liquidity
As at 17 October 2022, the Group’s net cash position was £0.7 million 
and therefore the Group has available liquidity of £30.7 million.  
However, consideration of £16.0 million is due after this point towards 
the acquisition of Peach, and a further £0.5 million of deferred payment 
is due on the acquisition at a later date contingent upon the future 
performance of the business. This is tested at each of September 2023, 
March 2024 and September 2024. If the hurdle has not been passed by 
the third of these dates, then the deferred consideration will not be paid.

Covenants
The new facilities are subject to covenants including: interest cover,  
net leverage and fixed charge cover. Management are also required  
to provide typical financial information at quarterly and annual periods 
to the bank, as is to be expected. Covenants are built into long-term 
forecasting to allow Management to review and manage covenant 
compliance; covenant compliance certificates will be issued as required 
under the agreement, with an annual certificate reviewed by the 
Company auditors. 

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 challenging trading conditions that face the UK Hospitality industry 
this year, including softened guest confidence, higher input and energy 
costs, as well as potentially reduced Christmas footfall compared to 
pre-COVID-19 levels due to the impact of increased cost-of-living,  
with some price increases assumed to mitigate the earnings impact of 
these challenges. During FY22 the Group was subject to restrictions or 
reduced consumer confidence from Government messaging during the 
first two weeks and over the winter months, which severely impacted 
performance during those periods. Although the Group is hopeful of 
the continued normality in trading, it is not clear what level of trade may 
be possible should the UK Government impose further restrictions.

Both base and severe but plausible downside scenarios were 
considered with the inclusion of the newly acquired business,  
Peach, with appropriate sensitivities applied.

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

67

The level of sales that the Group generates drives EBITDA and cash 
generation, which in turn drives compliance with the covenant tests.  
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 a continued impact of the 
cost-of-living crisis on the business with reduced performance from that 
previously expected. Under the base case forecast, liquidity is sufficient 
and there is no forecast breach of the banking covenants.

Notwithstanding the material uncertainty, after due consideration  
the Directors have a reasonable expectation that the Group and the 
Company 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.

Severe but plausible downside scenario
The Directors have also reviewed a severe but plausible downside  
case which takes the base case and assumes a further significant 
reduction in Christmas trading, as well as reduced volumes of sales 
following the first quarter. Softer trading is then continued into FY24.  
No further Government assistance is assumed, and Capex is reduced 
with postponed refurbishments and new-site openings, compared  
to the original Board-approved budget prepared May-June 2022.  
This remains an area of flexibility should it be required, whereby the 
programme, if necessary, could be adjusted to enhance liquidity in the 
business through deferred or reduced refurbishments or new openings. 
The severe but plausible downside case shows sufficient liquidity and 
no forecast breach of the banking covenants.

Whilst there are currently no indications that further lockdowns and 
restrictions would occur, and indeed the new Prime Minister committed 
to this position in the leadership campaign, the Directors note the 
unprecedented decisions that have previously been taken and could 
again be imposed by the UK Government. However, the Directors also 
believe that if severe operating restrictions or lockdowns occurred above 
those already assumed 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 case, but which are not all wholly 
within the control of the Directors, including reintroduction of the 
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, further rent mitigation, 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.

The material uncertainty caused by COVID-19, guest confidence, and 
higher input costs, coupled with forecasting difficulties as a result of  
the constantly changing economic environment means that the Group 
cannot be assured that it will not breach covenants. A breach of covenant 
would require the bank to grant a waiver or for the Group 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 non-current borrowings to current 
borrowings.

The Directors have assessed, however, that given a strong underlying 
business, particularly when allowed to trade without restriction or 
significant economic disturbance, the Group’s existing relationships  
with its main creditors, its success in recent years in obtaining covenant 
waivers and renegotiating its banking facilities and recent equity 
fundraisings, that a request for a waiver of a covenant breach or 
renegotiation of the banking facilities would be more than likely.

Going concern statement
Despite a return to normal trading in England since July 2021, the 
severe disruption to the Group’s trade in the last few years caused by 
COVID-19 and the potential for changing operating restrictions imposed 
by the UK Government and the devolved authorities, as well as the 
continued cost-of-living narrative and economic effects including the 
impact on consumer confidence, means that a material uncertainty 
exists that may cast significant doubt on the Group’s and Company’s 
ability to continue as a going concern. These factors 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.

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 
2 December 2022. The Notice of Annual General Meeting is set out in 
the explanatory circular that accompanies these 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 23. The Group’s risk management policies and 
procedures and principal risks and mitigations can be found on pages 
28 to 29.

Independent auditors and disclosure of information  
to auditors
PricewaterhouseCoopers	LLP	(“PwC”)	have	expressed	their	 
willingness to be reappointed as independent auditors 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 
2 December 2022.

By order of the Board

Danielle Davies
Company Secretary
18 October 2022

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview68

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

STATEMENT OF DIRECTORS’ RESPONSIBILITIES IN RESPECT  
OF THE ANNUAL REPORT AND THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Directors’ confirmations
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’s 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’s and Company’s 
auditors are aware of that information.

• 

Rob Pitcher
Chief Executive Officer

Danielle Davies
Chief Financial Officer
18 October 2022

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

Company law requires the Directors to prepare financial statements  
for each financial year. Under that law the Directors have prepared  
the Group and the Company financial statements in accordance with 
UK-adopted international accounting standards.

Under company law, 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 
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 UK-adopted international accounting 

standards have been followed, 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.

The Directors are 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 also responsible for keeping adequate accounting 
records that are sufficient to show and explain the Group’s 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 comply with the 
Companies Act 2006.

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.

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

69

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview70

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

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 2 July 2022 and of the group’s profit and the group’s and 

company’s cash flows for the 52 week period then ended;

•  have been properly prepared in accordance with UK-adopted international accounting standards; and
•  have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

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 2 July 2022; the Consolidated statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income, the 
Consolidated and Company statements of changes in equity, and the Consolidated and Company statements of cash flow for the period then ended; 
and the notes to the financial statements, which include a description of the significant accounting policies.

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 entities, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance 
with these requirements.

Material uncertainty related to going concern
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 group financial statements and note 1 to the company financial statements concerning the group’s and the company’s ability to continue as a 
going concern. The severe disruption to the group’s trade since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, 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 the next 12 months and beyond. It is uncertain how this, in addition to the ongoing cost of living crisis and associated 
economic effect, will impact consumer confidence and, in turn, the group’s operational performance and ability to comply with banking facility 
covenants. 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 those notes to the financial statements, 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 include the adjustments that would result if 
the group and the company were unable to continue as a going concern.

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the directors’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the 
financial statements is appropriate.

Our evaluation of the directors’ assessment of the group’s and the company’s ability to continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting 
included:
•  we obtained management’s forecasts and information, which included the ongoing impact of COVID-19 and the cost-of-living crisis;
•  we evaluated 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 and cost assumptions over at least the next 12 months;

•  we obtained the terms of the group’s financing facility and the covenants in place in relation to this facility, and determined that the group cash 

flow forecasts show compliance with all covenant conditions;

•  we agreed the opening position of the group’s cash flow forecasts to the August 2022 management accounts. We also agreed the gross debt 

and cash per the August 2022 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.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the directors with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Our audit approach
Overview
Audit scope
•  The group includes six statutory entities, four of which are included within scope to support the group and company audit opinion. All components 
are managed by the same finance team and operate entirely within the UK. Full scope audits were performed on four trading entities within the 
group, which together comprise 100 per cent of revenue and adjusted EBITDA. The remaining entities were not included within group scope, 
however statutory audits of these entities are performed.

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

71

Our audit approach continued
Overview continued
Key audit matters
•  Material uncertainty related to going concern (group and company)
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 and company)

Materiality
•  Overall group materiality: £263,000 (2020: £253,000) based on 2.5% of Adjusted EBITDA, on an IFRS 16 basis less lease payments (2020: 4 year 

average of Adjusted EBITDA, on an IFRS 16 basis less lease payments).

•  Overall company materiality: £237,000 (2020: £180,000) based on 1% of total assets, capped at approximately 90% of the overall materiality for 

the group.

•  Performance materiality: £197,250 (2020: £189,750) (group) and £177,750 (2020: £134,000) (company).

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.

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.

The key audit matters below are consistent with last year.

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 59 of the Audit Committee Report and notes 1 and 11  
of the Notes to the Consolidated financial information. 

The property, plant and equipment balance of £36,375k and right-of-
use asset balance of £62,744k 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 £637k, of which £261k relates to property, 
plant and equipment and £376k 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.

To review the impairment assessment performed by the Directors’ 
based on a value in use model, 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, 
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 as exceptional was appropriate. 

Based on our work performed, we concluded that the carrying values 
of these assets have been appropriately reduced to their recoverable 
amounts as at 2 July 2022 and that appropriate disclosures have 
been made in the financial statements.

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview72

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT  
TO THE MEMBERS OF REVOLUTION BARS GROUP PLC CONTINUED
REPORT	ON	THE	AUDIT	OF	THE	FINANCIAL	STATEMENTS CONTINUED

Our audit approach continued
Key audit matters continued

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 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 focused on this area as the assessment of impairment of 
investments requires the use of estimates in the value in use 
calculation, including future forecast cash flows, a discount rate  
and long-term growth rate.

Recognition of supplier rebates (group)

Refer note 1 of the Notes to the Consolidated financial information. 

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 note, however, that the recognition criteria is simple in 
nature and does not contain significant judgement. 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)

To review the impairment assessment performed by the Directors’, 
based on value in use model, 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 carrying value against the level of the market 

capitalisation of the group.

Based on our work performed, we concluded that the recoverable 
amount supports the carrying value of the investment as at 2 July 
2022 and that appropriate disclosures have been made in the 
financial statements.

To test supplier rebates, we performed the following for a sample  
of suppliers: 
•  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 2 July 2021;

•  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 2 July 2021: in respect  
of those receivables;

•  we tested whether rebate arrangements recognised as income  
in the period ended 2 July 2022, had been accounted for in the 
right period; and

•  we agreed amounts paid by suppliers post 2 July 2022 to source 

documentation to check amounts were recoverable. 

Based on our work performed, we concluded that the no material 
issues have been noted with the recognition and disclosure of the 
supplier rebate balances as at 2 July 2022.

Refer to page 66 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 an adverse impact on the performance of the group following  
the restrictions at the start of the financial year and over the festive 
period. The key areas of the financial statements most impacted by 
the increased uncertainty are detailed below:
i)   The Directors have considered the appropriateness of the going 
concern basis of preparation in the group’s financial statements;
ii)   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 

iii)  Impairment of £637k 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)   Our work and conclusions in respect of going concern are  

set out in the “material uncertainty related to going concern” 
section above;

ii)   Refer to the third key audit matter above for details of how we 

considered the recoverability of supplier rebate receivables; and 

iii)  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. Based on our work performed 
we concluded that appropriate disclosures have been made in the 
financial statements.

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

73

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 and company audit opinion. All components 
are managed by the same finance team and operate entirely within the UK. Full scope audits were performed on four trading entities within the 
group, which together comprise 100 per cent of revenue and adjusted EBITDA. The remaining entities were not included within group scope, 
however statutory audits of these entities are performed.

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:

Financial statements – Group

Financial statements – Company

Overall materiality

£263,000 (2020: £253,000).

£237,000 (2020: £180,000).

How we determined it

Rationale for benchmark 
applied

2.5% of Adjusted EBITDA, on an IFRS 16 basis less lease 
payments (2020: 4 year average of Adjusted EBITDA, 
on an IFRS 16 basis less lease payments)

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 approximately 90% 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 approximately 90% 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 £145,000 and £237,000. Certain components were audited to a local statutory audit 
materiality that was also less than our overall group materiality.

We use performance materiality to reduce to an appropriately low level the probability that the aggregate of uncorrected and undetected 
misstatements exceeds overall materiality. Specifically, we use performance materiality in determining the scope of our audit and the nature and 
extent of our testing of account balances, classes of transactions and disclosures, for example in determining sample sizes. Our performance 
materiality was 75% (2020: 75%) of overall materiality, amounting to £197,250 (2020: £189,750) for the group financial statements and £177,750 
(2020: £134,000) for the company financial statements.

In determining the performance materiality, we considered a number of factors – the history of misstatements, risk assessment and aggregation 
risk and the effectiveness of controls – and concluded that an amount at the upper end of our normal range was appropriate.

We agreed with those charged with governance that we would report to them misstatements identified during our audit above £13,000 (group 
audit) (2020: £11,000) and £11,850 (company audit) (2020: £9,000) as well as misstatements below those amounts that, in our view, warranted 
reporting for qualitative reasons.

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview74

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT  
TO THE MEMBERS OF REVOLUTION BARS GROUP PLC CONTINUED
REPORT	ON	THE	AUDIT	OF	THE	FINANCIAL	STATEMENTS CONTINUED

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, which includes reporting based on the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures 
(TCFD) recommendations. 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 our work undertaken in the course of the audit, the Companies Act 2006 requires us also to report certain opinions and matters as 
described below.

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 2 July 2022 is consistent with the financial statements and has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

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.

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.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, 
outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of 
detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.

Based on our understanding of the group and industry, we identified that the principal risks of non-compliance with laws and regulations related to 
UK tax legislation, employment legislation and health and safety laws, 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 financial statements such as the 
Companies Act 2006. 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. Audit procedures performed by the engagement team 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, right-of-use asset and investments (see related key audit matters); 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. We are less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance with 
laws and regulations that are not closely related to events and transactions reflected in the financial statements. 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.

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

75

Responsibilities for the financial statements and the audit CONTINUED
Auditors’ responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements CONTINUED
Our audit testing might include testing complete populations of certain transactions and balances, possibly using data auditing techniques. 
However, it typically involves selecting a limited number of items for testing, rather than testing complete populations. We will often seek to target 
particular items for testing based on their size or risk characteristics. In other cases, we will use audit sampling to enable us to draw a conclusion 
about the population from which the sample is selected.

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 obtained 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 are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns.

We have no exceptions to report arising from this responsibility.

Jonathan Studholme (Senior Statutory Auditor)
for	and	on	behalf	of	PricewaterhouseCoopers	LLP

Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditors
Manchester
18 October 2022

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview76

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF PROFIT OR LOSS  
AND OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

FOR	THE	52	WEEKS	ENDED	2	JULY	2022

Revenue
Cost of sales

Gross profit

Operating expenses:
– operating expenses, excluding exceptional items
– exceptional items
– grant income

Total operating expenses

Operating profit/(loss)
Finance expense

Profit/(loss) before taxation
Income tax

Profit/(loss) and total comprehensive income/(expense) for the period

Earnings per share:
– basic (pence)
– diluted (pence)

Dividend declared per share (pence)

Note

2

3
3
4

5
8

9

10
10

52 weeks 
ended
2 July 2022
£’000

140,821
(30,695)

110,126

(102,721)
(561)
568

(102,714)

7,412
(5,280)

2,132
–

2,132

0.9
0.9

–

53 weeks 
ended
3 July 2021
£’000

39,417
(11,352)

28,065

(47,217)
(5,361)
3,357

(49,221)

(21,156)
(5,140)

(26,296)
–

(26,296)

(21.2)
(21.2)

–

There were no items of other comprehensive income and therefore a separate statement of other comprehensive income is not presented.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT  
OF FINANCIAL POSITION

AT	2	JULY	2022

Assets
Non-current assets
Property, plant and equipment
Right-of-use assets
Intangible assets

Current assets
Inventories
Trade and other receivables
Cash and cash equivalents

Total assets

Liabilities
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables
Provisions
Lease	liabilities

Net current liabilities

Non-current liabilities
Lease	liabilities
Interest-bearing loans and borrowings
Provisions 

Total liabilities

Net liabilities

Equity attributable to equity holders of the parent
Share capital
Share premium
Merger reserve
Accumulated losses

Total equity

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

77

Note

2 July 2022
£’000

3 July 2021
£’000

11
11
12

13
14
15

16
19
17

17
18
19

21

36,375
62,744
28

99,147

3,487
8,777
18,815

31,079

130,226

(30,618)
(1,314)
(5,437)

(37,369)

(6,290)

(99,545)
(14,751)
(1,582)

(115,878)

(153,247)

(23,021)

230
33,794
11,645
(68,690)

(23,021)

33,945
64,044
24

98,013

2,956
5,218
12,118

20,292

118,305

(20,361)
(842)
(5,143)

(26,346)

(6,054)

(100,034)
(15,751)
(1,404)

(117,189)

(143,535)

(25,230)

230
33,794
11,645
(70,899)

(25,230)

These financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors on 18 October 2022 and signed on its behalf by

Danielle Davies
Director

Registered number: 08838504

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview78

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT  
OF CHANGES IN EQUITY

FOR	THE	52	WEEKS	ENDED	2	JULY	2022

At 27 June 2020
Loss	and	total	comprehensive	expense	for	the	period
Fundraising (note 21)
Charge arising from long-term incentive plans (note 22)

At 3 July 2021
Profit and total comprehensive income for the period
Charge arising from long-term incentive plans (note 22)

At 2 July 2022

Share 
capital
£’000

50
–
180
–

230
–
–

230

Share 
premium
£’000

–
–
33,794
–

33,794
–
–

33,794

Reserves

Merger
reserve
£’000

11,645
–
–
–

11,645
–
–

Accumulated 
losses
£’000

(44,667)
(26,296)
–
64

(70,899)
2,132
77

11,645

(68,690)

Total
equity
£’000

(32,972)
(26,296)
33,974
64

(25,230)
2,132
77

(23,021)

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT  
OF CASH FLOW

FOR	THE	52	WEEKS	ENDED	2	JULY	2022

Cash flow from operating activities
Profit/(loss) before tax
Adjustments for:
Net finance expense
Exceptional gain on disposal
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
Amortisation of intangibles
Charges arising from long-term incentive plans

Operating cash flows before movement in working capital

(Increase)/decrease in inventories
Increase in trade and other receivables
Increase in trade and other payables
Increase in provisions

Net cash flow generated from/(used in) 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
Net proceeds from equity fundraising
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 (used in)/generated from financing activities

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents
Opening cash and cash equivalents

Closing cash and cash equivalents

Reconciliation of net bank debt
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents
Cash inflow from increase in borrowings
Cash outflow from repayment of borrowings

Opening net bank debt

Closing net bank cash/(debt)

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

79

52 weeks 
ended
2 July 2022
£’000

53 weeks 
ended
3 July 2021
£’000

Note

2,132

(26,296)

8 
3
11 
11
3
3
3
12
22

12
11

21
8 

17
17

15

5,280
–
5,630
5,437
261
376
(76)
3
77

19,120

(532)
(3,559)
10,170
650

25,849

(7)
(8,321)

(8,328)

–
(917)
–
(4,544)
(4,363)
(1,000)
–

(10,824)

6,697
12,118

18,815

6,697
–
1,000

(3.633)

4,064

5,140
(8,388)
6,045
5,770
3,273
8,315
(28)
1
64

(6,104)

637
(2,908)
4,859
1,228

(2,288)

(5)
(2,038)

(2,043)

33,974
(1,133)
(1,700)
(4,438)
(4,007)
(52,749)
44,000

13,947

9,616
2,502

12,118

9,616
(44,000)
52,749

(21.998)

(3,633)

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview80

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL INFORMATION

FOR	THE	52	WEEKS	ENDED	2	JULY	2022

1. General information
Corporate Information
The consolidated financial statements of Revolution Bars Group plc for the 52 weeks ended 2 July 2022 were authorised for issue by the Board of 
Directors on 18 October 2022. Revolution Bars Group plc is a public limited company whose shares are publicly traded on the Alternative Investment 
Market	(“AIM”)	of	the	London	Stock	Exchange	and	is	incorporated	in	the	United	Kingdom	and	registered	in	England	and	Wales.

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 UK-adopted International Accounting Standards (“IFRS”) and with the 
requirements of the Companies Act 2006 applicable to companies reporting under those standards, and they apply to the financial statements  
of the Group for the 52 weeks ended 2 July 2022 (prior period 53 weeks ended 3 July 2021).

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 2 July 2022 is a 52-week period; the period ended 3 July 2021 was 
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 International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”). References to 2022  
or FY22 relate to the 52-week period ended 2 July 2022 and references to 2021 or FY21 relate to the 53-week period ended 3 July 2021 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, as a result of ongoing inflationary 
cost rises, as well as potential future restrictions imposed by the UK Government and the devolved authorities in response to COVID-19. The going 
concern status of the Company and subsidiaries is intrinsically linked to that of the Group.

Liquidity
At the end of the reporting period, the Group had net cash of £4.1 million (2021: net debt of (£3.6) million). In FY21, the Group took out three separate 
Coronavirus	Large	Business	Interruption	Loan	Scheme	(“CLBILS”)	term	loans	to	a	sum	of	£20.0	million,	of	which	£14.8	million	(2021:	£15.8	million)	
was still outstanding as at year-end. The Group maintained a £16.3 million Revolving Credit Facility (“RCF”) of which no amounts were drawn down 
as at year-end.

In FY21, the Group completed two equity fundraisings to support liquidity. The first completed on 27 July 2020 for gross £15.0 million, net £14.1 million, 
and all funds were fully received by 3 August 2020 and used to repay the remaining outstanding balance of the RCF. A second equity fundraising was 
completed on 15 June 2021 for gross £21.0 million, net £19.9 million, and all funds were fully received by 17 June 2021. The second fundraising was also 
used to strengthen the Group’s balance sheet via deleveraging, whilst retaining sufficient funds to allow the Group to start an enhanced refurbishment 
programme of its bars, and also be in a position to take advantage of any good acquisition and expansion opportunities.

The RCF was reduced from £21.0 million in June 2021, to £17.3 million following £3.7 million of amortisation, and amortised a further £1.0 million to 
£16.3 million at the end of June 2022. The RCF was due to expire 30 June 2023; the Group has, however, undergone a refinancing of all facilities, 
completing in October 2022.

Following the refinancing on 10 October 2022, a new RCF was committed at a total facility level of £30.0 million expiring October 2025. The RCF 
was sought with the purposes of repaying all other indebtedness, general working capital requirements, and for the acquisition of The Peach Pub 
Company	(Holdings)	Limited	and	its	subsidiaries	(“Peach”).	Therefore,	all	outstanding	CLBILS	term	loans	were	repaid	on	13	October	2022,	with	just	
the RCF making up total facilities going forwards. Interest is charged on the utilised RCF at a margin determined by leveraging plus SONIA, with 
unutilised RCF values having interest charged at 40% of margin. The new RCF is secured via a cross guarantee against certain properties within the 
business across the trading subsidiaries.

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

81

1. General information continued
Going concern continued
Liquidity continued
The RCF will amortise by £1.0 million on 30 June 2023, £2.0 million on 30 June 2024 and £2.0 million on 30 June 2025. In accordance with these 
arrangements and subject to compliance with financial covenants, the Group will therefore have committed funding facilities available during the 
going concern assessment period as follows:

31 December 2022

30 June 2023

31 December 2023

30 June 2024

RCF 
£m

30.0

29.0

29.0

27.0

Current Net debt and available liquidity
As at 17 October 2022, the Group’s net cash position was £0.7 million and therefore the Group has available liquidity of £30.7 million. However, 
consideration of £16.0 million is due after this point towards the acquisition of Peach, and a further £0.5 million of deferred payment is due on the 
acquisition at a later date contingent upon the future performance of the business. This is tested at each of September 2023, March 2024 and 
September 2024. If the hurdle has not been passed by the third of these dates, then the deferred consideration will not be paid.

Covenants
The new facilities are subject to covenants including: interest cover, net leverage and fixed charge cover. Management are also required to provide 
typical financial information at quarterly and annual periods to the bank, as is to be expected. Covenants are built into long-term forecasting to allow 
Management to review and manage covenant compliance; covenant compliance certificates will be issued as required under the agreement, with an 
annual certificate reviewed by the Company auditors. 

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 
challenging trading conditions that face the UK Hospitality industry this year, including softened guest confidence, higher input and energy costs, 
as well as potentially reduced Christmas footfall compared to pre-COVID-19 levels due to the impact of increased cost-of-living, with some price 
increases assumed to mitigate the earnings impact of these challenges. During FY22 the Group was subject to restrictions or reduced consumer 
confidence from Government messaging during the first two weeks and over the winter months, which severely impacted performance during 
those periods. Although the Group is hopeful of the continued normality in trading, it is not clear what level of trade may be possible should the UK 
Government impose further restrictions.

Both base and severe but plausible downside scenarios were considered with the inclusion of the newly acquired business, Peach, with appropriate 
sensitivities applied.

The level of sales that the Group generates drives EBITDA and cash generation, which in turn drives compliance with the covenant tests. 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 a continued impact of the cost-of-living crisis on the business with reduced performance from that previously expected. 
Under the base case forecast, liquidity is sufficient and there is no forecast breach of the banking covenants.

Severe but plausible downside scenario
The Directors have also reviewed a severe but plausible downside case which takes the base case and assumes a further significant reduction in 
Christmas trading, as well as reduced volumes of sales following the first quarter. Softer trading is then continued into FY24. No further Government 
assistance is assumed, and Capex is reduced with postponed refurbishments and new-site openings, compared to the original Board-approved 
budget prepared May-June 2022. This remains an area of flexibility should it be required, whereby the programme, if necessary, could be adjusted 
to enhance liquidity in the business through deferred or reduced refurbishments or new openings. The severe but plausible downside case shows 
sufficient liquidity and no forecast breach of the banking covenants.

Whilst there are currently no indications that further lockdowns and restrictions would occur, and indeed the new Prime Minister committed to  
this position in the leadership campaign, the Directors note the unprecedented decisions that have previously been taken and could again be 
imposed by the UK Government. However, the Directors also believe that if severe operating restrictions or lockdowns occurred above those 
already assumed 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 case, but which are not all wholly within the control of the Directors, including reintroduction of the Coronavirus Job 
Retention Scheme, further rent mitigation, 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.

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview82

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL INFORMATION CONTINUED

FOR	THE	52	WEEKS	ENDED	2	JULY	2022

1. General information continued
Going concern continued
Severe but plausible downside scenario continued
The material uncertainty caused by COVID-19, guest confidence, and higher input costs, coupled with forecasting difficulties as a result of the 
constantly changing economic environment means that the Group cannot be assured that it will not breach covenants. A breach of covenant would 
require the bank to grant a waiver or for the Group 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 non-current borrowings to current borrowings.

The Directors have assessed, however, that given a strong underlying business, particularly when allowed to trade without restriction or significant 
economic disturbance, the Group’s existing relationships with its main creditors, its success in recent years in obtaining covenant waivers and 
renegotiating its banking facilities and recent equity fundraisings, that a request for a waiver of a covenant breach or renegotiation of the banking 
facilities would be more than likely.

Going concern statement
Despite a return to normal trading in England since July 2021, the severe disruption to the Group’s trade in the last few years caused by COVID-19 and 
the potential for changing operating restrictions imposed by the UK Government and the devolved authorities, as well as the continued cost-of-living 
narrative and economic effects including the impact on consumer confidence, means that a material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt 
on the Group’s and Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. These factors 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 Group and the Company 
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 outlets and is recognised at the point of delivery to the customer. Other Revenue 
relates to photobooth income, retail sales, commission, rental and gaming income.

Revenue from the sale of discount cards is recognised consistent with customers’ usage of the cards. Party deposits are held as deferred revenue 
until the date of event, at which point it is recognised as revenue.

Expenses
Cost of sales
Cost of sales principally comprises the purchase cost of drinks and food sold.

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.	Listing	fees	are	earnt	for	stocking	particular	brands;	where	received	on	conditional,	contractual	terms	
the amounts are recognised over the 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.

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

83

1. General information continued
(a) 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 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 and restricted share awards to certain employees. Equity-settled share-based payments 
are revalued at each reporting period. 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. Transactions will be assessed as being 
either operational or financial depending on the terms and reasoning of the arrangement. 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 certain 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.

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. Other financial liabilities, including bank loans, are measured initially at fair value, and are subsequently measured at 
amortised cost using the effective interest method.

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview84

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL INFORMATION CONTINUED

FOR	THE	52	WEEKS	ENDED	2	JULY	2022

1. General information continued
(a) Accounting policies continued
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.

Share premium
Share premium is the amount subscribed for share capital in excess of nominal value.

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 
Fixtures and fittings in licensed premises 

– 3 to 4 years on a straight-line basis
– 5 to 10 years on a straight-line basis

Equipment replaced as part of a refurbishment is capitalised at the appropriate 3 to 10 year category, dependent on asset type.

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, 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 consolidated statement of profit or 
loss 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.

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

85

1. General information continued
(a) Accounting policies continued
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.

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 post-tax rate that reflects risks specific to the liability.

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 various UK 
Government enforced lockdowns since 20 March 2020, finally allowing outdoor trading to restart from 12 April 2021, indoor trading from 17 May 
2021, and the relief of further restrictions from 19 July 2021. During recent financial years, the Group has been unable to trade for periods of time, 
and been imposed under significant restrictions under others. Therefore, the Group has had the ability to generate varying levels of income. 
Recognising this, the UK Government has made available certain reliefs and support schemes from which the Company has been able to benefit. 
Given the temporary nature of these reliefs and their material impact on the reported performance of the Company, 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 -19 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 Company has utilised the CJRS extensively throughout the period of lockdown. The scheme has allowed a maximum of 80% of the normal 
earnings of individuals who have been furloughed up to a maximum cap of £2,500 per month per employee, with periods of reduction until it is 
phased out. The Company pays the furlough wages and then lodges a claim to Government for reimbursement. 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. The claim is netted against the corresponding payroll 
expense included in operating costs. The Group ended its use of the scheme in August 2021.

Rates holiday 
The Government provided relief for general rates by way of a rates holiday for hospitality businesses for the 2020/21 fiscal year; 2021/22 rates were 
discounted at 66% to a cap of £2.0 million for the Group. Smaller discounts have been made available for 2022/23 across England and the devolved 
nations which are not expected to have a material impact on the financial statements.

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview86

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL INFORMATION CONTINUED

FOR	THE	52	WEEKS	ENDED	2	JULY	2022

1. General information continued
(a) Accounting policies continued
Covid-19 accounting policies continued
Government grants
The	Government	have	provided	various	Local	Authority	grants	to	support	the	hospitality	industry,	particularly	for	periods	of	closure	or	severe	
restrictions. There have been various rules around claiming these, with the values predominantly based on the rateable value of the properties. 
This income has been recognised as Grant income within operating profit on a cash basis as it relates to the period that it is received.

Rent concessions
Given the level of uncertainty around trading and financing arrangements, the Group invested significant time agreeing rental concessions and 
re-gears that would allow both the Group and landlord to proceed through the tougher trading conditions. 

Only those rental concessions agreed with landlords prior to the end of the FY22 reporting period and relating to FY22, FY21 or FY20 where they 
were not agreed before the end of FY21 or FY20, 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 under IFRS 16 and taken as a credit 
to the income statement. 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 right-of-use asset and lease liability are modified for the new terms.

(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,	the	increased	Expected	Credit	Loss	rate	of	2%	remains	to	reflect	the	enhanced	risk	of	supplier	failure	(collecting	rebates).

• 
• 

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”);

•  converting profit measures back to IAS 17 from IFRS 16 through the inclusion of rental expense and other relevant adjustments; 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.

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

87

1. General information continued
(b) Critical judgements and key sources of estimation and uncertainty continued
Exceptional items, bar opening costs and share-based payments: adjusted profitability measures continued
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 and other transactions, such as legal and professional fees and stamp duty;
•  costs incurred in respect of termination of Director’s contracts; and
• 

impairment charges in respect of tangible assets as a result of bar underperformances.

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 11)
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 post-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. For further 
details of the sensitivity of the calculation of impairment provisions to these key assumptions, see note 11.

The key assumptions in the value in use calculation are the applicable post-tax discount rate of 11.0 per cent (2021: 9.0 per cent) and long-term 
revenue and cost base growth rates of 1 per cent (2021: 1 per cent).

(c) New and amended standards adopted by the Group
The Group has not applied any new or amended standards in the annual reporting period commencing 4 July 2021.

(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 2 July 2022 and 
have not been early adopted by the Group. These are not expected to have a material impact upon implementation.
•  Amendments to IFRS 3 the Conceptual Framework
•  Annual Improvements to IFRS Standards 2018-2020 Cycle (Amendments to IFRS 1, IFRS 9, IFRS 16, IAS 41)

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview88

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL INFORMATION CONTINUED

FOR	THE	52	WEEKS	ENDED	2	JULY	2022

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 APM IAS 17 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
– grant income

Total operating expenses

Operating profit/(loss)

Depreciation is disclosed in note 5.

52 weeks 
ended 
2 July 2022
£’000

140,821
(30,695)

110,126

(102,721)
(561)
568

(102,714)

7,412

53 weeks 
ended 
3 July 2021
£’000

39,417
(11,352)

28,065

(47,217)
(5,361)
3,357

(49,221)

(21,156)

Bar Revenue relates to food, drink and admission sales from the Group’s bars. Other Revenue includes photobooth income, as well as other smaller 
revenue streams including rental, commission, gaming and online revenue.

Bar Revenue
Other Revenue

Revenue

3. Operating expenses

Sales and distribution
Administrative expenses

Total operating expenses

52 weeks 
ended 
2 July 2022
£’000

53 weeks 
ended 
3 July 2021
£’000

139,581
1,240

140,821

39,180
237

39,417

52 weeks 
ended 
2 July 2022
£’000

91,696
11,586

103,282

53 weeks 
ended 
3 July 2021
£’000

43,639
8,939

52,578

The Group also received grant income of £0.6 million (2021: £3.4 million) which is included in operating expenses; please see note 4 for further 
information.

 
 
Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

89

3. Operating expenses continued
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 charges/(credits) comprised the following:

Administrative expenses:
– impairment of right-of-use assets
– impairment of property, plant and equipment
– lease modification
– gain on disposal
– property restructure

Total exceptional items

52 weeks 
ended 
2 July 2022
£’000

53 weeks 
ended 
3 July 2021
£’000

376
261
(76)
–
–

561

8,315
3,273
(28)
(8,388)
2,189

5,361

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 nine of the Group’s bars (2021: 30) was written down, including right-of-use asset write-downs at two bars (2021: 31). All 
bars had been subject to impairment previously (2021: four not subject to impairment previously). 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 credit for lease modification 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 exceptional administrative expenses.

In the prior period two loss-making leases were surrendered and a further six sites returned to their landlords through a Company Voluntary 
Arrangement	(“CVA”)	undertaken	by	the	Group’s	wholly	owned	subsidiary	entity,	Revolution	Bars	Limited.	The	Property	Restructure	costs	
predominantly comprise the associated CVA professional fees, alongside other legal and professional costs incurred through landlord negotiations 
and the relevant closure costs of the affected sites.

Exceptional gains on disposal occurred in respect of these prior year lease surrenders as a result of extinguishing IFRS 16 lease liabilities, and is net 
of surrender premiums paid and payable to landlords and other relevant exit costs; this net position is classified as an exceptional gain on disposal.

Gross gain on disposal
Surrender premiums paid in period
Related surrender costs paid in period
Impairment on exited properties

Total exceptional gain on disposal

52 weeks 
ended 
2 July 2022
£’000

53 weeks 
ended 
3 July 2021
£’000

–
–
–
–

–

(9,686)
450
71
777

(8,388)

Bar opening costs relate to costs incurred in getting new bars fully operation and primarily include costs incurred before the opening and preparing 
for launch, even if the bars do not open in the period. In the 52-week period ended 2 July 2022 two new bars were opened (2021: none opened).

Bar opening costs

4. Grant income

Local	authority	grants

52 weeks 
ended 
2 July 2022
£’000

306

53 weeks 
ended 
3 July 2021
£’000

–

52 weeks 
ended 
2 July 2022
£’000

53 weeks 
ended 
3 July 2021
£’000

568

3,357

The	Government	have	provided	various	Local	Authority	grants	to	support	the	hospitality	industry,	particularly	for	periods	of	closure	or	severe	
restrictions. There have been various rules around claiming these, with the values predominantly based on the rateable value of the properties. 
This income has been recognised as Other Income within operating profit.

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview90

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL INFORMATION CONTINUED

FOR	THE	52	WEEKS	ENDED	2	JULY	2022

5. operating profit/(loss)
Group operating profit/(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

6. 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 (note 22)

52 weeks 
ended 
2 July 2022
£’000

53 weeks 
ended 
3 July 2021
£’000

5,630
5,437
261
376
3

160

103

6,045
5,770
3,273
8,315
1

155

85

52 weeks 
ended 
2 July 2022
£’000

53 weeks 
ended 
3 July 2021
£’000

109
2,718

2,827

92
2,403

2,495

52 weeks 
ended 
2 July 2022
£’000

53 weeks 
ended 
3 July 2021
£’000

47,598
2,993
728
77

51,396

19,401
2,068
527
64

22,060

Aggregate payroll costs include £0.3 million (2021: £0.1 million) capitalised as property, plant and equipment, and are net of nil (2021: £14.5 million) 
of Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme grants received.

7. 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 
2 July 2022
£’000

53 weeks 
ended 
3 July 2021
£’000

1,297
56

1,353

710
49

759

766
48

814

397
45

442

1 

Includes salary enhancements made in lieu of pension contributions due to pension caps.

Two Directors (2021: two) were enrolled in a defined contribution pension scheme in the period. In addition to the above, £334k (2021: £107k) of 
long-term incentive share options were awarded to the highest paid Director in the period.

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

91

8. Finance expense

Interest payable on bank loans and overdrafts
Interest on lease liabilities

Interest payable

9. 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 profit/(loss) for the period

Deferred tax – Profit and loss account
Origination and reversal of timing differences

Deferred tax – Reserves
Tax impact of change in accounting policy

Total deferred tax

Total tax credit

Factors affecting current tax credit for the period
Profit/(loss) before taxation

Profit/(loss) at standard rate of UK corporation tax (2022: 19.0%; 2021: 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 
2 July 2022
£’000

53 weeks 
ended 
3 July 2021
£’000

917
4,363

5,280

1,133
4,007

5,140

52 weeks 
ended 
2 July 2022
£’000

53 weeks 
ended 
3 July 2021
£’000

–

–

–
–

–

–

–

–

–

–
–

–

–

–

2,132

405

54
–
145
(604)

–

(26,296)

(4,996)

386
(4)
(5,635)
10,249

–

At 2 July 2022, the Group has carried forward tax losses of £45.5 million (2021: £23.6 million) available to offset against future profits for which no 
deferred tax asset has been recognised (2021: no deferred tax asset 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% for the years 
starting 1 April 2020 and 2021. The Group has recognised deferred tax in relation to UK companies at 19% accordingly.

In the March 2021 Budget, it was announced that from 1 April 2023 the Corporation Tax Rate for non-ring fenced profits will be increased to 25% 
applying to profits over £250,000. Companies with profits between £50,000 and £250,000 will pay tax at the main rate reduced by a margin relief 
providing a gradual increase in the effective Corporation Tax rate, and a small profits rate will also be introduced for companies with profits of 
£50,000 or less so that they will continue to pay Corporation Tax at 19%.

10. Earnings per share
The calculation of profit/(loss) per Ordinary Share is based on the results for the period, as set out below.

Profit/(loss) for the period (£’000)

Weighted average number of shares – basic (’000)

Basic earnings per Ordinary Share (pence)

Weighted average number of shares –diluted (’000)

Diluted earnings per Ordinary Share (pence)

52 weeks 
ended 
2 July 2022

53 weeks 
ended 
3 July 2021

2,132

230,049

0.9

235,139

0.9

(26,296)

124,075

(21.2)

124,075

(21.2)

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview92

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL INFORMATION CONTINUED

FOR	THE	52	WEEKS	ENDED	2	JULY	2022

10. earnings per share continued
Diluted shares are calculated making an assumption of outstanding options expected to be awards. Profit/(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 earnings per share

Profit/(loss) on ordinary activities before taxation 
Exceptional items, share-based payments and bar opening costs 

Adjusted profit/(loss) on ordinary activities before taxation 
Taxation (charge)/credit on ordinary activities 
Taxation on exceptional items and bar opening costs

Adjusted profit/(loss) on ordinary activities after taxation 

Basic number of shares (‘000)
Adjusted basic earnings per share (pence)

Diluted number of shares (‘000)
Adjusted diluted earnings per share (pence)

52 weeks 
ended 
2 July 2022
£’000

53 weeks 
ended 
3 July 2021
£’000

2,132
944

3,076
–
(150)

2,926

230,049
1.3

235,139
1.2

(26,296)
5,425

(20,871)
–
(2,600)

(23,471)

124,075
(18.9)

124,075
(18.9)

Taxation on exceptional items and bar opening costs is calculated by applying the standard corporation tax rate of 19% against only taxable 
exceptional items.

On 27 July 2020 an additional 75,017,495 of shares were issued as part of the Group’s admission to AIM and Fundraising, and on 15 June 2021 an 
additional 105,001,866 of shares were issued as a further Fundraising, taking the total issued share capital to 230,048,520. The shares have been 
weighted accordingly in the prior year based on date of issue.

11. Property, plant and equipment and right-of-use assets

Property, plant and equipment

At 27 June 2020
Additions
Transfers

At 3 July 2021
Additions
Asset reclassification*

At 2 July 2022

Accumulated depreciation and impairment

At 27 June 2020
Provided in the period
Impairment charges
Transfers

At 3 July 2021
Provided in the period
Impairment charges
Asset reclassification*

At 2 July 2022

Net book value

At 2 July 2022

At 3 July 2021

At 27 June 2020

Freehold land
and buildings
£’000

Short leasehold
premises
£’000

Fixtures
and fittings
£’000

IT equipment 
and office 
furniture
£’000

1,426
–
–

1,426
–
–

1,426

(1,216)
–
–
–

(1,216)
–
–
–

82,740
1,133
15

83,888
3,846
(1,059)

86,675

(50,752)
(3,238)
(2,750)
–

(56,740)
(2,626)
(162)
148

56,246
641
–

56,887
3,881
1,066

61,834

(48,280)
(2,282)
(465)
(6)

(51,033)
(2,436)
(78)
(156)

8,891
264
–

9,155
594
(7)

9,742

(7,833)
(525)
(58)
(6)

(8,422)
(568)
(21)
8

Total
£’000

149,303
2,038
15

151,356
8,321
–

159,677

(108,081)
(6,045)
(3,273)
(12)

(117,411)
(5,630)
(261)
–

(1,216)

(59,380)

(53,703)

(9,003)

(123,302)

210

210

210

27,295

27,148

31,988

8,131

5,854

7,966

739

733

1,058

36,375

33,945

41,222

*  The above Asset reclassifications reflect a reclassification to cost and accumulated depreciation, with a net impact to net book value of nil. This is to align opening cost and accumulated 

depreciation to the consolidated Group basis.

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

93

11. Property, plant and equipment and right-of-use assets continued

Right-of-use assets 

Cost
At 27 June 2020
Reassessment/modification of assets previously recognised
Additions
Disposals

At 3 July 2021
Reassessment/modification of assets previously recognised
Additions

At 2 July 2022

Accumulated depreciation and impairment

At 27 June 2020
Provided in the period
Impairment charges

At 3 July 2021
Provided in the period

Impairment charges

At 2 July 2022

Net book value

At 2 July 2022

At 3 July 2021

At 27 June 2020

Short leasehold 
premises
£’000

Vehicles
£’000

Total
£’000

97,035
8,234
–
–

105,269
1,171
3,342

109,782

(26,601)
(5,625)
(9,092)

(41,318)
(5,348)

(376)

(47,042)

62,740

63,951

70,434

435
–
–
(17)

418
–
–

418

(180)
(145)
–

(325)
(89)

–

(414)

4

93

255

97,470
8,234
–
(17)

105,687
1,171
3,342

110,200

(26,781)
(5,770)
(9,092)

(41,643)
(5,437)

(376)

(47,456)

62,744

64,044 

70,689

Please see note 17 for details of lease liabilities.

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.

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.

During the 52 weeks ended 2 July 2022, the Group impaired the property, plant and equipment of nine CGUs (2021: 30 CGUs) and the right-of-use 
assets of two CGUs (2021: 31 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 of 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.

The Group has continued to apply a lower multiplier against earnings of seven to recognise the adverse trading impact of COVID-19, raising the 
prospect of more widespread CGU impairments that may only be revealed by detailed value in use reviews.

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 post-tax discount. The Budget for FY23 is based on the last twelve months of trading prior to COVID-19, being the last 
twelve months of normal trade, and then accordingly adjusted. Standard agreed long-term assumptions are then applied at revenue and cost levels 
to the end of the lease term. This is deemed the most suitable basis at the year-end for considering whether the assets were impaired at the balance 
sheet date and, therefore, management has adopted these assumptions in all of the detailed value in use reviews. 

•  The long-term growth rate has been applied from July 2022 at 1.0 per cent (2021: 1.0 per cent).
•  Post-tax discount rate: 11.0 per cent (2021: 9.0 per cent) based on the Group’s weighted average cost of capital.

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview94

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL INFORMATION CONTINUED

FOR	THE	52	WEEKS	ENDED	2	JULY	2022

11. Property, plant and equipment and right-of-use assets continued
Impairment testing methodology continued
Sensitivity analysis has been performed on each of the long-term growth rate and post-tax discount rate assumptions with other variables held 
constant. Increasing the post-tax discount rate by 1 per cent would result in additional impairments of £0.1 million. A 0.1 per cent decrease in the 
long-term growth rate would result in additional impairments of £0.1 million. Applying the most recent performance to the signing date, which 
therefore includes the impact of recent cost challenges, as well as latest trading amounting to a 3% reduction in site EBITDA, results in an increase 
in the impairment charge of approximately £0.5 million.

12. Intangible assets

Cost
At 3 July 2021
Additions

At 2 July 2022

Accumulated amortisation

At 3 July 2021
Provided in the period

At 2 July 2022

Net book value

At 2 July 2022

At 3 July 2021

Total
£’000

26
7

33

(2)
(3)

(5)

28

24

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.

13. Inventories

Goods held for resale
Sundry stocks

2 July 2022
£’000

3 July 2021
£’000

2,321
1,166

3,487

1,996
960

2,956

Sundry stocks include items such as glasses, packaging, uniform and drinks decorations. Inventory is net of provision of £0.23 million (2021: £0.54 
million). £0.11 million was written-down in the year as an expense (2021: £0.50 million).

The cost of inventories is recognised as an expense in cost of sales as follows:

Cost of inventories

14. Trade and other receivables

Amounts falling due within one year
Trade receivables
Accrued rebate income
Prepayments 
Other debtors

52 weeks 
ended 
2 July 2022
£’000

53 weeks 
ended 
3 July 2021
£’000

30,359

11,352

2 July 2022
£’000

3 July 2021
£’000

3,707
501
4,427
142

8,777

1,896
720
2,469
133

5,218

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

95

14. Trade and other receivables continued
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

2 July 2022
£’000

3 July 2021
£’000

3,207
298
42
160

3,707

1,816
17
10
53

1,896

The Directors are not aware of any factors affecting the recoverability of outstanding balances as at 2 July 2022 (2021: none).

All receivables are GBP denominated. The Group trade and other receivables is net of a specific provision for bad and doubtful debts of £23k 
(2021: £29k) and a provision for bad and doubtful debts of £73k (2021: £114k), and an IFRS 9 expected credit loss provision of £28k (2021: £23k). 

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. £4.2 million of prepayments relates to property rent and rates (2021: £0.8 million).

£2.3 million of Trade receivables relates to uncleared credit and debit card takings (2021: £1.5m).

15. Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents

2 July 2022
£’000

3 July 2021
£’000

18,815

12,118

Cash and cash equivalents consist entirely of cash at bank and on hand. Balances are denominated in Sterling. The Directors consider that the 
carrying value of cash and cash equivalents approximates to their fair value. 

16. Trade and other payables

Trade payables
Other payables
Accruals and deferred income
Other taxes and social security costs

2 July 2022
£’000

3 July 2021
£’000

11,801
142
15,434
3,241

30,618

7,526
122
10,197
2,516

20,361

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 higher at 2 July 2022; this is as a result of the Group’s return to trading.

17. Lease liabilities

At 3 July 2021
Reassessment/modification of liabilities previously recognised
Modifications taken as a credit to administrative expenses (note 3)
 Additions
Lease	liability	payments
Lease	concessions
Finance costs

At 2 July 2022

Short leasehold 
properties
£’000

Vehicles
£’000

105,079
1,171
(76)
3,483
(8,813)
(229)
4,361

104,976

98
–
–
–
(94)
–
2

6

Total
£’000

105,177
1,171
(76)
3,483
(8,907)
(229)
4,363

104,982

Cash payments in the period comprise interest of £4.4 million and principal of £4.6 million. Reassessment and modification of liabilities previously 
recognised predominantly relates to the re-gear of five bars (2021: 29 bars) where either the length of the lease has been extended or the rental 
charge has been increased.

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview 
96

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL INFORMATION CONTINUED

FOR	THE	52	WEEKS	ENDED	2	JULY	2022

17. Lease liabilities CONTINUED
Lease	liabilities	are	comprised	of	the	following	balance	sheet	amounts:

Amounts due within one year
Amounts due after more than one year

The	maturity	analysis	of	the	Lease	liabilities	is	as	follows:

Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
Year 7
Year 8
Year 9
Year 10
Year 11
Year 12
Year 13
Year 14
Year 15
After 15 years

Effect of discounting

Carrying amount of liability

Please see note 11 for details of right-of-use assets.

18. Interest-bearing loans and borrowings

Revolving credit facility
Coronavirus	Large	Business	Interruption	Loan	Scheme

2 July 2022
£’000

3 July 2021
£’000

5,437
99,545

104,982

5,143
100,034

105,177

2 July 2022
£’000

3 July 2021
£’000

9,629
9,781
9,787
9,601
9,285
8,626
8,424
8,372
8,334
8,208
7,630
6,963
6,277
5,878
5,214
25,299

(42,326)

104,982

9,243
9,436
9,504
9,443
9,159
8,820
8,005
7,803
7,764
7,725
7,637
7,082
6,500
5,796
5,398
27,968

(42,106)

105,177

2 July 2022
£’000

3 July 2021
£’000

–
14,751

14,751

–
15,751

15,751

As at the date of the consolidated financial position, the Group had an undrawn revolving credit facility (the “Facility”) of £16.3 million expiring June 
2023. A refinancing was completed on 10 October 2022; please refer to Going Concern in note 1 for further information.

In	the	prior	year,	the	Group	received	a	total	of	£20.0	million	of	Coronavirus	Large	Business	Interruption	Loan	Scheme	(“CLBILS”)	loans,	of	which	
£14.8	million	was	outstanding	at	year-end.	The	CLBILS	is	a	three-year	term	loan,	partially	expiring	in	July	2023	and	May	2024.

The	Facility	and	the	CLBILS	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 23.

 
Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

97

19. Provisions
The dilapidations provision relates to a provision for dilapidations due at the end of leases. The Group provides for unavoidable costs associated 
with lease terminations and expires against all leasehold properties across the entire estate, built up over the period until exit. Other provisions 
include provisions for various COVID-19 related items, which are uncertain of timing and therefore classified as less than one year. Dilapidations 
provisions are expected to be utilised over the next 5-15 years as leases come to an end.

At 3 July 2021
Movement on provision
Utilisation of provision

At 2 July 2022

Current
Non-current

Other 
provisions
£,000

Dilapidations 
provision
£’000

Total  
provisions
£’000

842
472
–

1,314

1,404
218
(40)

1,582

2,246
690
(40)

2,896

2 July 2022
£’000

3 July 2021
£’000

1,314
1,582

2,896

842
1,404

2,246

20. 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 27 June 2020
Charge to income

At 3 July 2021
Charge to income

At 2 July 2022

Deferred tax assets
Deferred tax liabilities

Total

Share-based
payments
£’000

Disclaimed or 
not used Capital 
Allowances
£’000

Brought-
forward losses
£’000

–
–

–
–

–

–
–

–
–

–

–
–

–
–

–

Total
£’000

–
–

–
–

–

2 July 2022
£’000

3 July 2021
£’000

–
–

–

–
–

–

As at the reporting date, the Group had unused tax losses of £45.5 million (2021: £23.6 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.

21. Share capital

Allotted, called up and fully paid
230,048,520 £0.001 Ordinary Shares (2021: 230,048,520 £0.001 Ordinary Shares)

Share capital at the start of the period
Share capital issued during the period

Share capital at the end of the period

2 July 2022
£’000

3 July 2021
£’000

230

230

230

230

2 July 2022
£’000

3 July 2021
£’000

230 
–

230

50 
180

230

On 27 July 2020 the Company issued 75,017,495 ordinary 0.1p shares at a price of 20p each, and on 15 June 2021 the Company issued a further 
105,001,866 ordinary 0.1p shares at a price of 20p each. The 19.9p premium per share less the costs was credited to the share premium account to 
a total of £33.8 million.

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview 
 
98

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL INFORMATION CONTINUED

FOR	THE	52	WEEKS	ENDED	2	JULY	2022

22. Share-based payments (equity settled)
The Group currently operates two share award plans, all of which are equity settled schemes. 

1. The Restricted Share Award scheme (“RSA)
Since FY21, the Group has adopted an RSA Scheme. Awards are made under the RSA to Executive Directors and other Senior Management. These 
awards vest over a period of the later of the preliminary announcement of results for the third financial year after issue (inclusive of the year in which 
granted) or three years from the date of grant.

The first RSA Scheme was issued on 24 December 2020, vesting over a period of the later of the preliminary announcement of results for the year 
ended 1 July 2023 and 24 December 2023 (being three years from the Date of Grant). These shares were awarded at £0.001 cost. The total charge 
in FY22 for this scheme was £0.04 million (2021: £0.05 million).

A second RSA Scheme was issued on 23 November 2021, vesting over a period of the later of the preliminary announcement of results for the year 
ended 30 June 2024 and 23 November 2024 (being three years from the Date of Grant). These shares were awarded at £0.001 cost. The total charge 
in FY22 for this scheme was £0.1 million.

The fair value of the schemes is calculated at the reporting date taking the closing share price and revaluing at each reporting date across the 
vesting period.

2. “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 a number of 

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 that the potential tax benefits justify the additional 
administration. Accordingly, the tables in this note do not include reference to the NCO scheme unless explicitly stated.

Where the NCO and CSOP options are linked, the nominal cost option can only be exercised if the related approved option is exercised  
(or waived). When an award is 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 PSP and CSOP plans are equity-settled share option schemes approved by HMRC. They were established in 2015. Awards are subject 
to performance conditions and require holders to remain employed throughout the vesting period. 

The newly created Restricted Share Award scheme was established in 2020 as a form of Management incentive; there are no specific performance 
conditions required other than satisfactory personal and company performance, and continued employment over the three-year vesting period.

Total share-based payment plans
The total charge for the period relating to employee share-based payment plans was £0.08 million (2021: £0.06 million), all of which related to 
equity-settled share-based payment transactions. A credit of £0.01 million (2021: charge of £0.04 million) was released in FY22, predominantly due to 
several management eligible for the scheme leaving in the year, and being the associated National Insurance (“NI”) at 13.8% on the new RSA scheme. 
Following the Government announcement in September 2021 of an increase in NI rate of 1.25% from April 2022, the calculations have been updated 
in FY22 to reflect the heightened rate from 13.8% to 15.05%, as the new expected prevailing rate when the awards are exercised. Following the 
Government announcement in September 2022 that this rise would be reversed, the calculations will be reduced in FY23 to remove this increase.

The table below summarises the amounts recognised in the consolidated statement of profit and loss and other comprehensive income during the 
period for all schemes:

IPO LTIP AWARD
– Tranche 3

2016 LTIP AWARD
– Tranche 3

2017 LTIP Award
2018 LTIP Award
2019 LTIP Award
2020 LTIP Award
2021 RSA Award
2022 RSA Award

52 weeks 
ended
2 July 2022
£’000

53 weeks 
ended
3 July 2021
£’000

–

–

–

–
–
(51)
(43)
20
36
115

77

(10)

(10)

(15)

(15)
20
(37)
33
22
51
–

64

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

99

22. Share-based payments (equity settled) CONTINUED
Total share-based payment plans continued
In the 52 weeks ended 2 July 2022, conditional awards of ordinary shares were granted as follows:

23 November 2021

Total

Restricted 
Share Award 
scheme (“RSA”)

Nominal cost 
option (“NCO”)

Company share 
option plan 
(“CSOP”)

4,155,290

4,155,290

–

–

–

–

The vesting of each NCO 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 10. 
The RSA is dependent upon satisfactory personal and company performance, and continued employment over the three-year vesting period; the 
shares can be vested on the later of the relevant preliminary announcement or three years from initial grant.

Under the NCO and RSA schemes, the number of shares and movements in options, as well as the performance conditions are detailed below. The 
2019	and	2020	LTIPs	are	not	expected	to	be	exercised.	

Award

Grant Date

Performance period

Movement in period

2019	LTIP

18-Oct-18 and 01-Apr-19

2020	LTIP

2021 RSA

2022 RSA

23-Oct-19

24-Dec-20

23-Nov-21

Start

Jun-19

Jun-19

n/a

n/a

End

Jun-22

Jun-22

n/a

n/a

At start

785,154

751,269

1,311,528

–

–

–

–

4,155,290

Granted

Lapsed

Forfeited

(775,154)

–

At end

10,000

–

–

–

(55,000)

696,269

(93,674)

1,217,854

(58,514)

4,096,776

2,847,951

4,155,290

(775,154)

(207,188)

6,020,899

PSP & CSOP 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”
Between 7% per annum and 13% per annum
At least 13% per annum “Target”

At least 27% per annum “Threshold”
Between 27% per annum and 50% per annum
At least 50% per annum “Target”

25%
Pro rata between 25% and 100%
100%

The EPS calculation is based on Adjusted EPS. The EPS actuals, thresholds and targets for the various performance periods are as follows. 

Scheme

Grant date

Performance period

2019	LTIP
2020	LTIP

01-Apr-19
23-Oct-19

Start

Jun-19
Jun-19

End

Jun-22
Jun-22

Start

3.4p
3.4p

Adjusted EPS

Threshold

7.0p
7.0p

Target

11.5p
11.5p

PSP & CSOP Part B – TSR targets
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
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.

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview 
 
 
 
 
 
100

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL INFORMATION CONTINUED

FOR	THE	52	WEEKS	ENDED	2	JULY	2022

22. Share-based payments (equity settled) CONTINUED
Information used in calculating the cost of granting each option 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 in the year:

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

20202 award

20191 award

67
–
34
–
0.1
–

57.4
45.0%
3.0
1.3
0.0%
0.5%

116
40
62
35
0.1
115

115
44.6%
3.0
1.3
0.0%
0.8%

1  Granted on 18 October 2018 and 1 April 2019
2  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.

23. 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, which are exposed to credit risk, are as follows:

Trade receivables
Cash and cash equivalents

2 July 2022
£’000

3 July 2021
£’000

3,707
18,815

22,522

1,896
12,118

14,014

 
Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

101

23. Financial instruments continued
Credit risk continued
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

2 July 2022
£’000

3 July 2021
£’000

3,207
298
42
160

3,707

1,816
17
10
53

1,896

The Directors are not aware of any factors affecting the recoverability of outstanding balances as at 2 July 2022.

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.

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 2 July 2022 and as at 3 July 2021 was determined as follows for both trade receivables and 
accrued rebate income:

Expected loss rate
Trade and other receivables
Accrued rebate income

2 July 2022
£’000

3 July 2021
£’000

2%
1,168
501

28

2%
433
720

23

The difference between trade receivables, as shown immediately above at £1.2 million (2021: £0.4 million), and the £3.7 million balance (2021: £1.9 
million) earlier in this note relates to uncleared credit and debit card takings, which have been determined as having no expected credit card loss 
due to their very short clearance period (two to three days at the balance sheet date), and the bad debt provision.

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	an	undrawn	revolving	credit	facility	due	to	expire	in	June	2023	and	Coronavirus	Large	
Business	Interruption	Loan	Scheme	(“CLBILS”)	loans	provided	by	Natwest,	of	which	£14.8	million	was	drawn	at	2	July	2022.	See	note	1	under	
sub-heading Going concern for further details of the Group’s funding arrangements.

The Group’s financial liabilities are as follows:

Trade payables
Other payables
Accruals and deferred income
Revolving credit facility
CLBILS	loans

2 July 2022
£’000

3 July 2021
£’000

11,801
142
15,434
–
14,751

42,128

7,526
122
10,197
–
15,751

33,596

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview102

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL INFORMATION CONTINUED

FOR	THE	52	WEEKS	ENDED	2	JULY	2022

23. Financial instruments continued
Liquidity risk continued
The maturity analysis of the financial liabilities is as follows:

As at 2 July 2022

Trade and other payables
Revolving credit facility
CLBILS	loans

As at 3 July 2021

Trade and other payables
Revolving credit facility
CLBILS	loans

< 1 year
£’000

11,943
–
–

< 1 year
£’000

7,648
–
–

1–5 years 
£’000

> 5 years 
£’000

–
–
14,751

–
–
–

1–5 years 
£’000

> 5 years 
£’000

–
–
15,751

–
–
–

Total 
£’000

11,943
–
14,751

Total 
£’000

7,648
–
15,751

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 2 July 2022, the Group’s interest-bearing financial assets consisted solely of cash and cash equivalents (see note 15). The Group has interest-
bearing	financial	liabilities	as	at	2	July	2022,	comprising	a	CLBILS	term	loan	of	£14.8	million	(2021:	£15.8	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. 

24. Dividends

Amounts recognised as distributions to equity holders in the period:
Final dividend for the 52 weeks ended 2 July 2022 of nil per share (53 weeks ended 3 July 2021 of nil per share)

52 weeks 
ended
2 July 2022
£’000

53 weeks 
ended
3 July 2021
£’000

–

–

–

–

 
Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

103

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
2 July 2022
£’000

53 weeks 
ended
3 July 2021
£’000

1,459
721
86

2,266

1,357
233
45

1,635

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 44 to 46. Details of the Directors’ 
remuneration is provided in the Board Report on Remuneration. The Group did not enter into any form of loan arrangement with any Director 
during any of the reporting periods presented.

26. 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 £16.3 million expiring in June 2023, and  
£14.8	million	remaining	across	three	Coronavirus	Large	Business	Interruption	Loan	Scheme	(“CLBILS”)	term	loans	expiring	across	2023	and	2024.	
On	10	October	2022	the	RCF	was	increased	to	£30.0	million	and	extended	to	June	2025,	and	the	CLBILS	loans	were	fully	repaid.	Interest	is	
charged on the utilised RCF at a margin determined by leveraging plus SONIA, with unutilised RCF values having interest charged at 40% of 
margin. The RCF is due to amortise by £1.0 million on 30 June 2023, £2.0 million on 30 June 2024 and £2.0 million on 30 June 2025. 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.

Acquisition of Peach Pub Group
The Group announced that on 18 October 2022 it has completed the acquisition of the entire issued share capital of The Peach Pub Company 
(Holdings)	Limited	and	its	subsidiaries	(“Peach”),	the	operator	of	a	collection	of	21	award-winning,	premium	food-led	pubs	for	a	cash	consideration	
of £16.5 million on a debt and cash-free basis. £0.5 million of this is due as a deferred consideration contingent upon the future performance of the 
business. This is tested at each of September 2023, March 2024 and September 2024. If the hurdle has not been passed by the third of these 
dates, then the deferred consideration will not be paid.

The acquisition will create a more balanced and diversified business with scale and compelling growth potential across multiple trading segments 
of drinks, food and accommodation.

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview104

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED  
FINANCIAL INFORMATION CONTINUED

FOR	THE	52	WEEKS	ENDED	2	JULY	2022

27. Alternative Performance Measures – Adjusted EBITDA – Non-IFRS 16 Basis
The Board’s preferred profit measures are Alternative Performance Measures (“APM”) adjusted EBITDA and APM adjusted pre-tax loss, 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. Non-GAAP measures are presented below which encompasses adjusted EBITDA on an IFRS 16 basis:

Non-GAAP measures
Revenue

Operating profit/(loss)
Exceptional items
Charge arising from long-term incentive plans
Bar opening costs

Adjusted operating profit/(loss)

Finance expense

Adjusted profit/(loss) before tax

Depreciation
Amortisation
Finance expense

Adjusted EBITDA

Note

2

5
3
22

8

5

8

52 weeks 
ended
2 July 2022
£’000

53 weeks 
ended
3 July 2021
£’000

140,821

7,412
561
77
306

8,356

(5,280)

3,076

11,067
3
5,280

19,426

39,417

(21,156)
5,361
64
–

(15,731)

(5,140)

(20,871)

11,815
1
5,140

(3,915)

The below table reconciles from the statutory non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA to the APM formats, which translates to a pre-IFRS 16 basis by inputting 
the rental charge and other relevant adjustments.

Adjusted profit before tax
Depreciation
Amortisation
Finance expense

Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted loss before tax
Depreciation
Amortisation
Finance expense

Adjusted EBITDA

52 weeks 
ended  
2 July 2022 

Reduction in 
depreciation

Reduction in 
interest

Onerous lease 
provision 
interest

Rent charge

52 weeks 
ended  
2 July 2022

IFRS 16

£’000

3,076
11,067
3
5,280

19,426 

£’000

6,218
(6,218)
–
–

–

£’000

4,393
–
–
(4,393)

–

£’000

(30)
–
–
30 

–

£’000

(9,189)
–
–
–

(9,189)

IFRS 17

£’000

4,468
4,849 
3 
917

10,237

53 weeks 
ended  
3 July 2021 

Reduction in 
depreciation

Reduction in 
interest

Onerous lease 
provision 
interest

Rent charge

53 weeks 
ended  
3 July 2021 

IFRS 16

£’000

(20,871) 
11,815 
1 
5,140 

(3,915) 

£’000

5,497 
(5,497)
–
–

– 

£’000

4,007 
–
–
(4,007)

– 

£’000

(37) 
–
–
37 

– 

£’000

(8,124) 

–
–
–

(8,124) 

IFRS 17

£’000

(19,528) 
6,318 
1 
1,170 

(12,039) 

The APM profit measures have been prepared using the reported results for the current period and replacing the accounting entries related to IFRS 
16	Leases	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.

The APM profit measures see a large reduction in depreciation due to the non-inclusion of IFRS 16 depreciation on the right-of-use assets, and 
similarly non-inclusion of the finance expense of interest on lease liabilities. The operating loss is impacted by the inclusion of rent expenditure 
from the income statement and inclusion of the onerous lease provision. Exceptionals are significant impacted by the change in impairment, gain 
on disposals recognised under IFRS 16, and the classification of certain cash closure exceptionals.

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

105

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview106

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

COMPANY STATEMENT  
OF FINANCIAL POSITION

AT	2	JULY	2022

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
Share premium
Merger reserve
Retained earnings

Total equity

Note

2 July 2022
£’000

3 July 2021
£’000

5

6

7

29,650

29,650

33,589

63,239

33,513

63,163

–

–

–

–

63,239

63,163

230
33,794
11,645
17,570

63,239

230
33,794
11,645
17,494

63,163

The Company made a £1,000 loss after tax in the 52 weeks ended 2 July 2022 (53 weeks ended 3 July 2021: £0.7 million loss). 

Signed on behalf of the Board on 18 October 2022

Danielle Davies
Director

COMPANY STATEMENT  
OF CHANGES IN EQUITY

FOR	THE	52	WEEKS	ENDED	2	JULY	2022

At 27 June 2020
Result and total comprehensive expense for the period
Fundraising
Charges arising from long-term incentive plans

At 3 July 2021
Loss	and	total	comprehensive	expense	for	the	period
Charges arising from long-term incentive plans

At 2 July 2022

COMPANY STATEMENT  
OF CASH FLOW

FOR	THE	52	WEEKS	ENDED	2	JULY	2022

Cash flow from operating activities
Loss	before	tax
Adjustments for:
Dividends received
Increase in trade and other receivables
Decrease in trade and other payables
Charge arising from share-based payments

Net cash flow used in 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
Fundraising

Net cash flow generated from financing activities

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents
Opening cash and cash equivalents

Closing cash and cash equivalents

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

107

Share  
capital 
£’000

Share  
premium  
£’000

50
–
180
–

230
–
–

230

–
–
33,794
–

33,794
–
–

33,794

Reserves

Merger
reserve
£’000

11,645
–
–
–

11,645
–
–

11,645

Retained
earnings
£’000

18,114
(684)
–
64

17,494
(1)
77

17,570

Total  
equity
£’000

29,809
(684)
33,974
64

63,163
(1)
77

63,239

2 July 2022
£’000

3 July 2021
£’000

(1)

–
(76)
–
77

–

–

–

–
–

–

–
–

–

(684)

–
(32,687)
(667)
64

(33,974)

–

–

–
33,974

33,974

–
–

–

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview108

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

NOTES TO THE COMPANY  
FINANCIAL INFORMATION

1. Accounting policies
Statement of compliance
The Company’s financial statements have been prepared in accordance with International Accounting Standards in conformity with the requirements 
of the Companies Act 2006, and they apply to the financial statements of the Group, for the 52 weeks ended 2 July 2022 (prior period 53 weeks 
ended 3 July 2021).

Basis of preparation
The Company financial statements have been prepared in accordance with UK-adopted International Accounting Standards (“IFRS”) and with  
the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 applicable to companies reporting under those standards. 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 Company going concern is reliant on Group performance; 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. Please refer to the Group going concern disclosure, which references a material uncertainty, for further information. 
This material uncertainty relates to both the Group and Company.

(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. 

 
Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

109

1. Accounting policies continued
(a) 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 consider the principal estimates made in the Financial Statements to be:
Recoverable amount of investments (note 5)
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 FY23 (based on the board approved budget), a post-tax discount rate of 11.0% (2021: 9%) and a long term growth rate of 1% (2021: 2%). If the WACC 
rate was changed by 1% this would change the VIU by £1.5 million. If the long-term discount rate was changed by 1% this would change the VIU by 
£0.7 million. If both were changed by 1% this would change the VIU by £2.1 million.

The Directors do not consider there to be any principal judgements.

(c) New and amended standards adopted by the Group
There are no relevant new standards and interpretations adopted or not yet adopted.

2. Result for the period
No profit or loss account is presented for the Company as permitted by section 408 of the Companies Act 2006. The loss after tax for the period 
was £1,000 (2021: £0.7 million), arising solely from the expected credit loss. 

3. Auditors’ remuneration
Auditors’ remuneration in respect of the Company audit was £2,000 (2021: £1,500). 

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 60 to 
64. 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.

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview110

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

NOTES TO THE COMPANY  
FINANCIAL INFORMATION CONTINUED

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

2 July 2022
£’000

3 July 2021
£’000

29,650
–

29,650

29,650
–

29,650

As at 2 July 2022 and at 3 July 2021, the Company owned 100 per cent of the Ordinary Share capital of the following UK companies:

Company name

Country of incorporation 

Class of shares

Holding

Status

Inventive	GuaranteeCo	Limited1
Revolution	Bars	(Number	Two)	Limited1
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

United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom

Ordinary
Ordinary
Ordinary
Ordinary
Ordinary
Ordinary
Ordinary
Ordinary
Ordinary

100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%

Holding company+
Trading+
Trading++
Trading++
Trading++
Dormant++
Dormant++
Dormant++
Dormant++

The	registered	address	of	each	company	is	21	Old	Street,	Ashton-under-Lyne,	Tameside	OL6	6LA.

1	
+  Direct holding
++ 

Indirect holding

6. Trade and other receivables

Amounts owed from subsidiary undertakings

2 July 2022
£’000

3 July 2021
£’000

33,589

33,589

33,513

33,513

Amounts owed from subsidiary undertakings are unsecured, interest free and repayable on demand. The amounts owed from subsidiary 
undertakings is net of an expected credit loss provision from IFRS 9 of £0.685 million (2021: £0.684 million). 

7. Share capital

Allotted, called up and fully paid
230,048,520 £0.001 Ordinary Shares (2021: 230,048,520 £0.001 Ordinary Shares)

Share capital at the start of the period
Share capital issued during the period

Share capital at the end of the period

2 July 2022
£’000

3 July 2021
£’000

230

230

230

230

2 July 2022
£’000

3 July 2021
£’000

230 
–

230

50 
180

230

On 27 July 2020 the Company issued 75,017,495 ordinary 0.1p shares at a price of 20p each, and on 15 June 2021 the Company issued a further 
105,001,866 ordinary 0.1p shares at a price of 20p each. The 19.9p premium per share less the costs was credited to the share premium account  
in the prior year to a total of £33.8 million.

8. post-balance sheet events
Acquisition of Peach Pub Group
The Group announced that on 18 October 2022 it has completed the acquisition of the entire issued share capital of The Peach Pub Company 
(Holdings)	Limited	and	its	subsidiaries	(“Peach”),	the	operator	of	a	collection	of	21	award-winning,	premium	food-led	pubs	for	a	cash	consideration	
of £16.5 million on a debt and cash-free basis. £0.5 million of this is due as a deferred consideration contingent upon the future performance of the 
business. This is tested at each of September 2023, March 2024 and September 2024. If the hurdle has not been passed by the third of these 
dates, then the deferred consideration will not be paid.

The acquisition will create a more balanced and diversified business with scale and compelling growth potential across multiple trading segments 
of drinks, food and accommodation.

GLOSSARY

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

111

Adjusted 

“Adjusted” before any performance measure denotes that it excludes exceptional items,  
share-based payment (credit)/charges and bar opening costs

Alternative Performance Measure (“APM”) 

Key performance measure reported on an IAS 17 basis

AGM 

CVA 

COVID 

Annual General Meeting

Company Voluntary Arrangement

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 

ENPS 

EPS 

EVP 

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation. Please refer to note 27 for an 
understanding of how this metric has been affected by the implementation of IFRS 16

Employee Net Promoter Score

Earnings per share

Employee Value Proposition

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

FY21 

FY22 

IAS 17 

Like-for-like	sales	

Net bank debt 

Operating Profit 

Profit before tax 

The financial reporting period ended 3 July 2021

The financial reporting period ended 2 July 2022

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	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 sales at only those venues that traded in both the current year  
and comparative reporting periods

Net bank debt is calculated as bank borrowings less cash at bank and other cash and  
cash equivalents

Earnings before interest and tax

Profit after taking account of all income and costs including interest but before tax

Governance ReportFinancial StatementsStrategic ReportCompany Overview112

Revolution Bars Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2022

CORPORATE INFORMATION

REVOLUTION	BARS	GROUP	PLC 
REGISTERED NUMBER 08838504

Registered address 
21 Old Street
Ashton-under-Lyne
Tameside
OL6	6LA

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 Group
10th Floor
Central Square
29 Wellington Street
Leeds
LS1	4DL

Financial PR
Instinctif Partners
65 Gresham Street
London
EC2V 7NQ

Independent auditors
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
1 Hardman Square
Spinningfields
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
100 Avebury Boulevard
Milton Keynes
MK9 1FH

Legal advisers (licensing)
Kuits
3 St Mary’s Parsonage
Manchester
M3 2RD

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Registered address

21 Old Street 
Ashton-under-Lyne 
Tameside 
OL6 6LA