Sharp revenue decrease reveals pandemic result for Paul UK in 2020 888011000 110888 Sales at Paul UK dropped by more than half in 2020 compared to 2019, exposing the degree of disruption caused by Covid-19 for the bakeshop and café chain. The company’s newest annual report shows complete profits for the 12 months as much as 31 December 2020 was ₤ 19.4 m, standing for a web sales decrease of 52.9% on the previous year. The loss for the year after tax totaled up to ₤ 5,496,282, compared to simply ₤ 494,491 in 2019. The record acknowledges the significant impact of Covid-19 on Paul UK in 2020. When the government introduced the initial lockdown on 23 March 2020, all of the company’s 37 shops were shut. Four shops were resumed 2 weeks later and after that a more tranche of two to four shops were opened up every couple of weeks afterwards, with the estate selling bread and various other products to support their neighborhood neighborhoods in London as well as Oxford. Paul UK’s sales were particularly affected in the City, West End and central London shops as offices closed and also visitor numbers declined, the firm stated. In an meeting with British Baker in 2021, Paul UK CEO Mark Hilton stressed the significance of the firm remaining to run throughout the pandemic as a result of the brand’s positioning as a neighbourhood bakeshop. “We existed to support our areas as well as the communities that we operate in,” Hilton stated. During 2020 the firm decided not to continue the lease on the Paul store in High Holborn, but a brand-new store in Putney was opening up in August 2020. One more opening in West Hampstead adhered to in January 2021 as well as Hilton informed British Baker that the business is wanting to expand its geographical impact beyond London by proactively looking for franchise business companions. In the yearly record the Paul UK board recognized that business trades in a “very affordable industry” and that the primary dangers and also uncertainties it deals with “continue to be the continuous cost pressures which are continually monitored and also addressed”. The directors included that the company “supplies a special top quality item” and that its shop areas “play a crucial role in the success of business”.