American Golf reveals half-year pre-tax loss as restructuring costs bite

• Half-year pre-tax losses of £952,000 due to restructuring
• Sales of £45,798 in 26 weeks to end of January 2015
• EBITDA pre exceptionals of £1.3m

The private equity-owned retailer, which revealed a management shake-up in March, disclosed that pre-tax losses in the 26 weeks to the end of January hit £952,000, as it also pointed to the “highly competitive” golf retail market.

The group, which has 105 stores across the UK and Ireland, was hit by exceptional costs of £975,000. These came primarily from “management and other restructuring costs”, the retailer said in a filing with Companies House. The restructuring has resulted in a new reporting system by the retailer, which means no comparable figure was given for the prior year.

Half-year sales came in at £45,798 as the group was impacted by “heavy discounting of excess and old stock”.

EBITDA in the half year, without the exceptional cost, was £1.3m.

American Golf’s majority shareholder, Sun Capital Partners, is understood to have injected an undisclosed amount of extra cash into the business to satisfy its suppliers, credit insurance and other “key” stakeholders. The group said it added no new stores during the six months.

American Golf is being run by Alan Fort, who has gained a reputation for being parachuted into troubled companies. He was brought on board on an interim basis following the departure of former boss Kevin Styles, who left to head Vue Cinemas in the UK and Ireland.