Arc Inspirations ‘set for record year of growth’

The Leeds-based business said the impact of the Omicron variant had meant it saw a drop in large corporate bookings but sales for smaller groups were stronger than expected.

The 12 months to 31 March this year represented the most challenging year in the company’s 22-year history, it said, with its sites effectively closed for eight of the 12 months due to the pandemic impact and Government-enforced closures.

Future predictions

As a result, revenues were £9.9m compared to £30.1m in the previous 12 months. On an underlying profit basis (EBITDA), Arc posted losses of £1.3m against profit of £2.9m in the previous year.

The company is expecting to produce a record year of sales and profit in the current financial year to March 2022.

Very challenging period

CEO Martin Wolstencroft said: “The period we are reporting was very challenging, clearly exceptional and one for the history books. However, I am extremely proud of how the team responded; not only did we take all necessary steps to successfully protect our business and people, we used the lockdown period to accelerate the transformation of our brands – on the high street and online – to digitalise our customer experience, strengthen our tech and operational platform and to build a pipeline of new sites.

“Alongside this commitment to relentlessly improve our business, we also saw and drew strength from our culture and our team; what we achieved in this period and since, is testament to the resilience and determination of everyone at Arc.   

“Since the year-end and the easing of restrictions in the summer, we have broken all sales records, and returned to site growth, opening two flagship sites.  Despite the current challenges, we expect to post a record year in terms of both revenue and profit in FY2022 and are extremely confident about the long-term future prospects of our business."