Poor site selection and ‘fierce competition’ led to collapse of Sixes, no buyer found as yet: Sixes, the cricket-based competitive socialising brand that included England international cricketers Ben Stokes, Stuart Broad and Jofra Archer as investors, fell into administration on the back of poor site selection, “fierce competition” and from being severely impacted by “external macro-economic factors”. Propel revealed in December that Sixes, which operated 16 cricket-themed social entertainment venues (including franchised venues) across England and one in the West Indies, had been placed into administration. FRP was administrators of the business, which was founded by Calum Mackinnon and Andy Waugh, with its debut site opening in Fulham, London in December 2020. In June 2023, the business secured investment from 4CAST Investment Group – that includes England international cricketers Stokes, Broad and Archer. It previously operated a site in the US, in Dallas. At the time of the appointment of the administrators, the business immediately closed its site in Southampton. The business has now also closed its sites in Birmingham, Guildford, Westfield London, and its original site in Fulham. It has also closed the sole site under baseball-themed concept Moonshot in Westfield London. It has recently added a concessions site in the new Mulligans bar in Romford, to leave the business with 12 sites, including three with TeamSports. The business is currently under the control of two of its secured lenders – Aurora Leasing and Vantage Capital – with its franchise sites still trading and its company-owned sites in London Bridge, Fitzrovia, Manchester and Oxford, still trading. Consolidated financials between FY23 and FY25 showed total revenues of £7.1m, £12.3m and £11.1m, across the three years. The cost of sales averaged £1.5m per year. Retained profits across the three-year period, were recorded as (£933,000). (£2.04m) and (£2.78m) respectively. The administrators report said: “Overall, the business has been unable to achieve a sustainable operating model amid fierce competition for experiential venues and sector competitors such as Flight Club and other competitive social leisure providers, and reduced consumer spending in the area. Similar to other operators in the leisure and hospitality industry, the group, specifically Sixes, has been severely affected by external micro-economic factors, which have included, but are not limited to, the cost-of-living crisis, the increase in operating costs with regards to food and utilities, and the rise in employment costs. In the immediate months prior to the administrators appointment, Sixes was unable to meet key supplier payments. Further, Sixes had historically entered several lease agreements with undesirable terms, which had a negative impact on the viability and performance of those specific sites. Further, the location of several of the Sixes sites were not suitable to the particulars and requirements of the business. The undesirable lease terms further compounded the effects of the poor site selection, as group management was not in the position to renegotiate lease terms or indeed affect early vacation of the sites in question. This meant that significant lease liabilities needed to be met by sites that were not producing the required operating/turnover profits. Whilst the trade for all sites decreased significantly in early 2026 it was clear that four of the Sixes sites were best placed to weather the downturn in trade, were expected to generate reasonable Christmas and New Year revenues, and were most likely to be of appeal to any purchaser during the sales process. These four sites also had historically stronger trading figures and were better geography located. At the date of the report, a sale of the company's business and assets has not been completed, and sales discussions continue.”

 

Caffé Nero reports brand Ebitda exceeding £60m for first time, paid £13m for 200 Degrees and £2m for FCB: Caffé Nero has reported its brand Ebitda exceeded £60m for first time in the year to 31 May 2025, driven by growth in like for like sales and new stores and acquisitions. The group acquired two UK brands during the year – the 21-strong 200 Degrees and 11-strong FCB businesses. The company’s accounts for the year show that Nero Group paid £13,335,000 for 200 Degrees (with further payments believed to be based on future performance) and £2,283,000 for FCB. Total brand Ebitda grew from £50,059,000 in 2024 to £60,191,000, with £45,244,000 coming from Cafe Nero UK (2024: £38,505,000), £4,576,000 from Café Nero International (2024: £1,763,000) and £10,371,000 from other UK brands including acquisitions (2024: £9,791,000). 200 Degrees contributed revenue of £11,891,000 and a profit of £253,000 since the acquisition, and revenue of £19,880,000 and a profit of £1,113,000 since the annual reporting date. FCB contributed revenue of £3,860,000 and a loss of £11,000 since the acquisition, and revenue of £6,859,000 and a profit of £198,000 since the reporting date. The company, in its accounts for the year, said: “Brand Ebitda increased by 20% to £60.2m driven by growth in like for like sales and new stores in al territories, acquisitions and careful management of cost increases.” The group’s UK sales grew from £519,841,000 in 2024 to £587,626,000, while its pre-tax loss widended from £34,630,000 to £41,592,000. The company said: “It should be noted that the group's income statement includes only the post-acquisition results of the new brands acquired during the year (which represents a little over half a year's trading for each of these). Revenue increased by 13%. This was the result of i) strong like for like sales growth, ii) the full year effect of 61 stores opened in FY24, ili) 62 new stores contributing revenue in FY25, and iv) post-acquisition revenue of the 32 stores acquired with 200 Degrees and FCB. Both operating profit and the loss before tax are significantly affected by non-cash adjustments. Pre-tax earnings moved from a loss of £34.6m to a loss of £41.5m. The main components of the £7m decline were higher finance charges of £8.5m compared to the prior year, attributable to additional borrowings, and a higher average interest rate during the year as well as a higher non-cash IFRS 16 charge. Group sales increased by 6.6% (13% total), with this key metric being positive across all brands and territories. The first and last quarters of the financial year were particularly strong. This strong performance was even more notable given that the group weathered some macro-economic uncertainty and challenges in much of the financial year. Inflation continued to be above long-term norms in most countries, but cost management was generally pro-active and effective. Overall, the group delivered very good results in line with management expectations. We enter FY26 with positive momentum.” During the year, 53 new Caffé Nero sites were opened, and at the year end, there were 964 Caffè Nero stores trading worldwide, including transport hubs, where the business trades as Nero Express. One Harris + Hoole site was rebranded to Caffe Nero during the year, and at the year-end there were 15 H+H sites. “The directors believe it has strong potential alongside Caffè Nero, fulfilling a distinct demand,” the report said. Coffee #1 opened eight new stores during the year, bringing its total number of stores to 127 at the year-end. 60 new concession Aroma locations were opened by selected third parties, bringing the total of these to 143. The company said: “A key part of the group's strategy is to increase revenue by increasing in scale through opening new stores. In normal times, the group targets 70-100 new stores worldwide per annum. The group opened 62 sites in FY25 but also acquired 32 new sites through its acquisitions of 20 Degrees and FCB, meaning a total of 94 new sites were added in the year. The directors expect to continue progressing the recent store growth schedule with a roll-out programme for FY26 of 70-80 stores worldwide.”