Loungers plc

("Loungers" or the "Group")

Trading update for the 24 weeks ended 4 October 2020

Loungers, the operator of 168 café / bar / restaurants across England and Wales which trade under the Lounge and Cosy Club brands, announces a trading update for the 24 weeks ended 4 October 2020.

The significant outperformance of the market in the period post the commencement of reopening on 4 July has been maintained.  Over the 13 weeks to 4 October the Group delivered like for like sales growth of 25.1%.  Whilst the resurgence in Covid-19 cases increases the likelihood of additional trading restrictions, we remain very encouraged by the strength of our trading post reopening.  All 168 of our café/bar/restaurants remain open and trading.

Over the course of the period, the Group opened two new sites, comprising Ponto Lounge in Hull and Cosy Club in Brindleyplace in Birmingham, taking the portfolio to 167 sites as at 4 October 2020.  Sentado Lounge opened in Sittingbourne earlier this week, and whilst the Group remains cautious with regard to the pace of roll-out it expects to open a further three sites in the current financial year.

Nick Collins, CEO, commented:

"I am delighted with our continued excellent trading which reflects the resilience of our brands and fantastic performance of our team working in very difficult circumstances. Loungers, and the sector more broadly, have gone to considerable efforts to ensure the safety of our teams and customers. We anticipate further interruptions to trade in the coming weeks and months, but take confidence from our continued market out-performance. We remain well-positioned to accelerate our growth and to continue to lead the market once Covid-19 is behind us. "

16 October 2020

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