Live Company Group secures two new contracts as lockdown eases
(AIM:LVCG ) has inked two new contracts for its BRICKLIVE events in its second quarter as the group says ‘green shoots’ are emerging as lockdown is eased.
In an operational update for Q2 2020, the media group said it had agreed to display its BrickLive Ocean at the Da Vinci Science Centre in Pennsylvania while it has also signed an agreement to display its Paw Patrol tour at the Odysseum museum in Köln in Germany until August.
The company announced this morning that its BRICKLIVE Animal Paradise tour is now open at John Bull Zoo, Michigan, as well as its BRICKLIVE Supersized tour at Marwell Zoo.
Meanwhile, its BRICKLIVE Ocean exhibit is scheduled to open soon at the Bristol Zoo Gardens while BRICKLIVE Big Cats is due to open at the Banham Zoo in Norfolk at the end of July.
The group said the closure of all zoos as a result of COVID-19 lockdown measures meant its second quarter had been ‘extremely challenging’.
This was reflected in revenues which had otherwise been building over the quarter, the group said, but it added that a number of cost reductions had helped mitigate this decrease.
As a result of its measures, the group made total savings of £2.1m against its original budget for the year while making use of the government’s furlough scheme and extending a 50% pay cut for all staff earning above the £2,500 furlough scheme cut-off until the end of June.
Shares in Live Company Group have been hit hard over the past three months to open flat at 10.1p in early morning trading.
The company made 29 redundancies, representing an annualised saving of £0.7m while it also raised £1m from loans and a placing during the quarter to strengthen its balance sheet.
A number of events booked for the second quarter have been postponed to the second half of 2020 and the first half of 2021 as a result of COVID-19.
Despite the delay, the group highlighted that ‘green shoots are now emerging globally’ as zoos, exhibition centres and retail hubs begin to reopen across the world.
David Ciclitira, Chairman of LVCG said, "Q2 has been an extremely challenging quarter for all companies that have been involved in the sector with a global shutdown of all events, zoos and exhibition centres.
The board and the executive team used this time to review our business model, reduce costs and I believe we have emerged stronger and leaner with a core team of highly motivated individuals who are absolutely committed to take advantage of the green shoots emerging globally as we come out of lockdown.
Over recent weeks the conversations with existing and new clients and partners have been extremely positive and I look forward to updating shareholders in due course."
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