The owner of Brighton Palace Pier has lost more than a quarter of its value as slowing sales and inflationary pressures took a bite out of profit.
Brighton Pier Group, which also owns the Lightwater Valley theme park in North Yorkshire, also blamed rail strikes, “unseasonably poor weather” during the key month of July and, “most significantly”, the impact of a fire this month at the Royal Albion Hotel, opposite the entrance to the pier.
The company cut its half-year sales forecast by 7% to £16.2m.
The profit warning marks a sharp turnaround in fortunes for the company, which at the end of March had delivered its second profit upgrade in less than six months amid resilient trading.
