Harvester owner exploring fundraising options as sales plummet 67%

The owner of a national restaurant chain has announced that it is aiming to raise money from investors as its first quarter sales plummet.

Mitchells & Butlers, which owns the Harvester chain of restaurants, has reported a 67.1 per cent drop in sales compared to the first quarter last year.

This comes following the second national lockdown and the announcement of the latest lockdown.

The group currently has cash balances of £125m, with all facilities drawn, and is exploring the idea of an equity capital raise.

Phil Urban, chief executive, commented: “We are now in a third national lockdown. I am consistently impressed by the resilience and energy of our teams as we repeatedly open and close businesses that we have invested in to make Covid secure and urge the government to better understand the huge impact these restrictions are having on the hospitality sector.

“The Job Retention Scheme is temporarily protecting some employment but there is a real and pressing need for support for businesses themselves if we are to return to being the vibrant sector and important employers that we were.

“Mitchells & Butlers was a high performing business going into the pandemic and with the support of our main stakeholders I have every confidence that we can emerge in a strong competitive position once the current restrictions on us are lifted.”