Snoozebox plans £10m share placing as losses widen to £9.4m
Portable hotel accommodation provider Snoozebox has seen its pre-tax losses widen to £9.4m for the year to 31 December 2013, up from £4.4m in the previous year.
The news came as the company announced it would attempt to raise up to £11m through a share placing, to fund a new generation of rooms after the business re-examined its strategy.
Revenue at the firm, which sells rooms at major events like Glastonbury, the Edinburgh Festival, and at Silverstone motor racing circuit, was up to just over £6.7m, from just under £3.8m in the previous year.
It is the second time in the past year that Snoozebox has attempted to raise money through a placing, having proposed in May last year to raise £10.1m to shore up the business.
Snoozebox pointed to some positives in its most recent results, including the fact that it has increased its room stock by 11% to 578 rooms, and has sold 32,000 room nights - 15,000 at events (through its "Eventz" division) and 17,000 for "longer deployments" (through its "Hotelz" division).
It also highlighted its 78% year-on-year growth in revenue and an increase in gross margin to 73%, and said it had moved to a more variable cost structure and reduced its staff headcount by 60%.
And chairman David Morrison said the company would shift its strategy following a review of the business: "The latter part of 2013 saw an assessment of all aspects of the company including a review of market sectors and opportunities and the strengths and weaknesses of the existing Snoozebox offering. This review resulted in the realisation that the opportunities for the company include the provision of accommodation and related services not only at events but also for longer term deployments to address demand in other sectors.
"It also gave rise to a recognition that, whilst the first generation of Snoozebox units have been well received by our customers, in order to open up a broader market, it is necessary to develop a new generation of units capable of more rapid and lower cost deployment."
The most recent results come after a difficult period for the company, which saw its founder, the late Robert Breare, resign from the company in April 2013 and the company issue a profits warning. His departure followed a board reshuffle after the company reported a £4.4m loss in 2012 having failed to capitalise on its London Olympic Games village contract.
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