Buzz Bingo posts 14.4% revenue rise in 2021 as retail returns
Operator also records reductions in losses and slashes top director’s renumeration package by nigh-on 50%
Buzz Venus Group, the holding company for Buzz Bingo, has posted revenue of £139.8m for the year to 15 January 2022, a 14.4% year-on-year (YoY) increase from the £122.2m posted in 2020.
Of this revenue total, retail operations came back strongly in 2021, rising to £112.3m from £82.1m.
Online-derived revenue dropped from £40m to £27.6m, driven mainly by the reopening of Buzz Bingo’s retail sites.
Operating profit before exceptional items improved dramatically, rising from a £11m loss in 2020 to a £10.2m profit in 2021.
Elsewhere, the company reported post-tax losses of £51.9m for 2021, a reduction from the severe losses of £141.9m in 2020.
All of the firm’s clubs were closed until May 2021 due to social distancing measures implemented by the UK government. In addition, due to other Covid-related restrictions, the company’s retail sites were only open for around two-thirds of the year.
Due to the effects of the pandemic, the company did have to take two refinancing transactions, one during the financial period in March 2021 and another following the period of results in February 2022.
The first of the new funds were from the group’s lenders, ICG and Barclays, for an additional £20m to help support the business. ICG further supported the business in February with £10.25m in extra funding.
When the results period ended, Buzz Bingo employed 2,573 people across its land-based and online offerings.
In terms of director’s renumeration, Buzz Bingo reduced its total pay package from £1.7m in 2020 to £1.1m in 2021.
The highest paid director, who remained unnamed, took a 49.9% pay cut in 2021, falling from £886,000 to £444,000.
The firm noted that the online side of the business invested heavily in improving player protection systems and it restructured away from having a focus on high rollers.
These measures impacted the growth of the online division, but the company noted these changes were a positive move for the future of the business.
A board statement said: “The effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on the leisure industry has been catastrophic and the group has not escaped the impacts of this.
“On reopening, the business maintained its strong Covid-19 measures for both colleagues and customers, which it had first introduced in the prior year, and repositioned the core product offerings to better match the expected new trading dynamics.
“The business had a successful reopening phase, which is testament to the skill and dedication of our colleagues. The reopening itself exceeded expectations, with the club environment and the underlying changes to the products being well received by both customers and colleagues.”