Safestay PLC Trading Update (9913O)
February 15 2016 - 2:00AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMSSTY
RNS Number : 9913O
Safestay PLC
15 February 2016
Safestay plc
("Safestay", the "Company" or the "Group")
Trading Update
Safestay (AIM: SSTY), the owner and operator of a new brand of
contemporary hostel, is pleased to announce the following trading
update for the year ended 31 December 2015.
2015 was a successful year for Safestay. The Company
significantly increased the total number of beds across the Group's
hostel portfolio from 560 to 1500 beds and can now offer over
500,000 bed nights per annum. Demand from the traditional customer
base of young travellers and school/college groups was good,
augmented by growing interest from new hostel customers, such as
business travellers and young families.
As a result, the Company expects to report results for the year
ended 31 December 2015 in line with market expectations.
Key highlights of 2015 include:
-- Acquisition of Safestay Edinburgh in September 2015 for
GBP14.9 million. Situated in the heart of the old town, this
freehold site is a well-established hostel with the potential to
capitalise further on the popularity of Edinburgh. Following a
light refurbishment, the first few months of trading under the
Safestay brand have been positive with early signs of the potential
to increase occupancy.
-- Opening of Safestay Holland Park in August 2015. Following
major refurbishment, this unique grade 1 listed building offers 368
beds in the centre of Holland Park and is attracting strong
interest amongst the customer base.
-- Improving performance at Safestay York. Occupancy at the York
hostel improved in the year ended 31 December 2015 with strong
demand over the weekends with the potential for further bed rate
increases and better demand for beds during the week.
-- Safestay Elephant & Castle, which is an excellent site
delivering good year on year growth in occupancy, has had another
strong year and is now demonstrating the momentum expected of a
more mature site.
-- To manage the growing scale of the business, the Company has
invested in people and infrastructure. In the second half of the
year, Mark Beveridge joined as Finance Director and a new booking
system was successfully introduced across the Group which has
significantly advanced Safestay's ability to price dynamically.
The Company expects to announce its final results for the year
ended 31 December in early April 2016 when it will provide an
update on trading and outlook.
Commenting on the trading update, Chairman, Larry Lipman, said:
"2015 was a successful and very active year which saw the Company
more than double in size. We are very focused on continuing to
improve the performance of our four existing sites whilst looking
for new sites in the UK and Europe. The concept of the modern
hostel is increasingly becoming more mainstream as people recognise
the opportunity to stay in attractive, safe and clean surroundings
for around GBP20 per night. We are looking forward to 2016 with
confidence."
- ENDS -
For further information:
Safestay
Larry Lipman, Chairman Tel: 020 8815 1600
Stockdale Securities (Nomad and Broker)
Tom Griffiths Tel: 020 7601 6100
David Coaten
Novella
Tim Robertson Tel: 020 3151 7008
Ben Heath
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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