London’s second tier AIM stock market suffered another setback today when Luke Johnson’s struggling leisure group Brighton Pier said it is cancelling its listing.
The company, owner and operator of the Sussex resort’s famous 126 year old Brighton Palace Pier, said it had carried out “a careful review of the benefits and drawbacks” of its listing and decided that it no longer made sense to carry on as a publicly quoted business.
Factors in the decision included the “disproportionate” £250,000 to £300,000 annual cost and red tape burden in maintaining the listing; lack of liquidity in the shares; extreme volatility in the share price; changes in the small cap market since the company’s flotation in 2013, including “a lack of visibility amongst analysts, media and potential investors,” and greater flexibility as an unquoted company.
It follows a similar move last month by model railway and Scalextric company Hornby.
The cancellation of the listing requires the approval of 75 per cent of the votes cast by shareholders a special meeting on 22 April. If that is achieved it will take effect on 2 May.
Shareholders are given the options of keeping hold of their shares, but in a private company, selling their shares on AIM before 2 May, or attempting to sell through a matched bargain arrangement from 2 May onwards.
In its statement Brighton Pier, which also owns bars, mini golf courses, and the Lightwater Valley Family Adventure Park in Yorkshire, said it has faced “persistent challenging trading conditions, impacted by the pandemic, years of bad weather during peak summer trading periods, recent significant Budget increases in National Insurance to commence from 6 April 2025, pressures on consumer discretionary spending and a change in consumer behaviours.”
In an update for for the 12 month period to 29 December the company, chaired by the TV entrepreneur, said results would be in line with current market expectations.
It went on to say that warm weather in March, combined with the introduction of the higher £2 admissions charge for non-residents, resulted in total sales at the Pier of £1.8 million so far this year, up £0.1 million on 2024.
However the bars and golf divisions had suffered slower starts to the year.
