No Signboard closes its Esplanade outlet as Singapore reopens

Singapore

AFTER 2 years battling the Covid-19 pandemic, seafood restaurant No Signboard said in a bourse filing late on Thursday (Mar 31) that it would be shutting its Esplanade outlet, just when Singapore is reopening its borders.

The Catalist-listed company said that it had carefully considered keeping the outlet open until all Covid-19 restrictions are fully lifted. However, it may take several more months before travel returns to pre-pandemic levels, even though the government had recently eased restrictions, such as increasing the maximum group size for dine-ins from 5 to 10. This will continue to adversely affect the business of No Signboard's Esplanade outlet, said the company in the filing. Hence, the board believes closing the outlet to reduce operating costs would be in the best interests of the company in light of its current financial situation. No Signboard will continue to operate its other restaurant outlets, namely Little Sheep Hotpot at Orchard Gateway and No Signboard Sheng Jian at Northpoint City.

"The closure of the No Signboard Seafood Esplanade outlet will allow the group to focus its efforts and resources on operating the group's casual and quick-serve restaurant outlets until further review of the evolving Covid-19 situation," read the statement.

Given that the Esplanade outlet is making losses, the company said its closure is expected to contribute positively to its consolidated net tangible assets and earnings per share for the current financial year ending Sep 30 this year. Shares of No Signboard had been suspended from trading since Jan 24, when it last closed flat at S$0.031.