Revolution Bars Group has raised £21m to reduce its debt and continue refurbishing and expanding its venues.
The Manchester-headquartered listed group, which is behind the Revolution and Revolución de Cuba brands, secured the additional capital through placing new shares on the London Stock Exchange.
In a statement, the group revealed that its net bank debt stood at £28.5m on May 10, 2021, which the board considers a level which "will limit its ability to invest in the refurbishment and expansion of its estate".
A total of £11m will go towards strengthening the group's balance sheet and cover the costs of the fundraising, £2.5m will be used to refurbish an additional 15 bars over the next 18 months and £7.5m will be used to expand the estate by eight venues into new towns and regions.
Chief executive Rob Pitcher said: "Thanks to the support of our shareholders and new investors, this successful fundraising will allow Revolution Bars to emerge from this period of disruption in a strong position with a fit for purpose balance sheet which provides us with ongoing financial flexibility and an excellent platform from which to deliver for all our shareholders.
"We now have the firepower to deliver strong proven returns from the refurbishment of the remainder of our uninvested bars and the ability to take advantage of opportunities that undoubtedly will arise from a very dislocated market.
"We have traded outstandingly since the initial restrictions have been lifted. We are now looking forward to the end of all restrictions and are excited about the next part of the journey delivering best in class entertainment and hospitality to our guests."
A statement issued to the London Stock Exchange added: "Prior to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Group was demonstrating signs that the turnaround strategy put in place by the board was successful, with the group achieving growth in both like-for-like sales and adjusted EBITDA and making significant progress on debt reduction.
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"However, the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a significant increase in the group's indebtedness, notwithstanding the measures taken by management to reduce the group's costs and cash burn during a period of significant disruption to the business including several extensive periods of estate closure during 海角视频 Government enforced lockdowns, and the support provided by shareholders via the equity fundraising completed in July 2020.
"The board was excited to be able to recommence trading outside on 12 April 2021 in 20 bars, ready to bounce back to capture the pent-up demand and to take advantage of the improvements made to its brands over the past year.
"The board is delighted with the performance of the 20 bars within this group since reopening, with the group delivering 48% of same period 2019 sales in the 4 weeks to 9 May 2021 from only 15% of the total capacity of bars that were able to trade, substantially exceeding expectations.
"The board believes that, with a more appropriate capital structure, the group is well positioned for strong trading in a market environment driven by strong pent-up consumer demand, aided by a significant increase in household savings.
"The board further believes that such consumer demand will provide the opportunity for strong returns from its estate refurbishment plans with the group also benefiting from favourable market conditions for the expansion of its estate.
"In addition, the directors believe that there may also be opportunistic M&A prospects when Government support and the rent moratorium ends over the summer months."
The firm placing and the placing was conducted by finnCap and Peel Hunt through an accelerated bookbuilding process.