Wagamama owner The Restaurant Group raises £57m amid coronavirus crisis
Wagamama owner The Restaurant Group has raised £57m through a share placing to shore up its finances amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Restaurant Group completed the equity raise this morning after announcing it last night.
In a statement the company said: “The placing is expected to provide sufficient liquidity for the Company to deal with this challenging environment and enable it to continue to operate, where possible, through this extraordinary period whilst ensuring that it is well positioned for the eventual normalisation.”
The casual dining chain yesterday said it is operating on the basis that all of its restaurants will remain closed until the end of June, with social distancing measures expected to be in force after the lockdown is lifted.
The company said it assumed it will be “extremely disciplined” in the phased reopening of its restaurants between July and December.
Restaurant Group said it expects to open around 400 of its 600 sites within that time frame, “potentially with some restrictions on operations immediately following lockdown”.
On that basis, the group expects a decline in like-for-like sales of around 45 per cent in FY2020, down 60 per cent in the first half and around 30 per cent in the second half.
Restaurant Group, which has furloughed more than 20,000 employees, said it had reduced costs to around £3m a month and forecast cash liquidity of around £60m for the rest of 2020.
“Clearly the situation continues to evolve rapidly and there is no certainty around the severity and duration of the impact on the business,” the company said.
“However, the Restaurant Group is fundamentally a resilient business with a strong asset base, substantial cash liquidity and strong cash flow.”