Punch Taverns fires gun on debt swap talk May 20, 2012 PUNCH Taverns is said to have started talks with its lenders over a debt-for-equity swap that would give the pub group a much-needed lifeline. Britain’s biggest pub operator is bearing a £2.3bn debt mountain, amassed from a string of acquisitions over the past few years. Under the proposed plans, Punch Taverns’ lenders would forgive the [...]
Geronimo acquisition helps revenue growth at Young’s May 24, 2012 PUB chain Young’s yesterday posted revenue growth of 25 per cent following the integration of Geronimo, the inns group it bought in late 2010. Revenues surged to £179m, boosting adjusted operating profit by a fifth to £26.2m and driving adjusted pre-tax profits up by 17.4 per cent to £21.3m. But Young’s fell to a £7.5m [...]
BEST of the BROKERS June 20, 2012 CHEMRING JP Morgan rates the defence firm “overweight” and has trimmed its target price from 512p to 491p after weaker than expected first half results. The broker points out that Chemring needs to make 67 per cent of its earnings in the next half in order to meet targets – though its order book, up [...]
BEST of the BROKERS June 13, 2012 RESOLUTION UBS has upgraded the life insurance group from “hold” to “buy” on valuation grounds, and lowers its target price on the company to 240p from 250p. The broker says Resolution’s business model of UK life consolidation makes strategic sense in a shrinking market, and sees the company as increasingly attractive for risk-averse investors, as [...]
RBS sells pubs business to Heineken for £422m December 2, 2011 Royal Bank of Scotland said it had sold its tenanted pub business to Scottish & Newcastle Pub Company, a unit of the world’s third-largest brewer Heineken, for £422m. The business, which comprises 918 pubs across Britain, has been operated by Scottish & Newcastle since 1999 under a management agreement.
Booker sales slow July 18, 2012 Britain’s biggest cash and carry wholesaler Booker (BOK.L) said it was on course to make profit expectations for the 2012-13 year even though sales growth slowed in its first quarter, dragged back by falling tobacco sales. The firm, which runs over 170 branches supplying convenience stores, restaurants, pubs, schools and prisons, said on Wednesday its [...]
Enterprise Inns nears end of its mass disposal May 29, 2012 ENTERPRISE Inns yesterday reported a 25 per cent drop in profits but said it was well underway with its accelerated disposal programme. The pub group posted a £53m profit for the six months to 31 March, compared to £71m for the same period last year, while revenues dropped slightly to £342m from £346m in 2011. Enterprise [...]
Marston’s to create 1,000 new pub jobs November 30, 2011 BREWER and pub chain Marston’s announced it will create another 1,000 jobs next year through its continued expansion, as the group reported a 9.4 per cent rise in full year pre-tax profits. Chief executive Ralph Findlay told City AM that the government needed to be “constructive” and “make the link” between its taxation policy, particularly [...]
Enterprise Inns cuts debt load in face of challenging trading May 15, 2012 DEBT-LADEN pub group Enterprise Inns yesterday announced it has reduced net borrowing by seven per cent to £2.9bn during the six months to 31 March, helped by the sales of loss-making properties. The company, which owns around 6,100 pubs across Britain, also said that income across its total estate dropped by 1.6 per cent for [...]
Enterprise Inns cuts debt load in face of challenging trading May 15, 2012 DEBT-LADEN pub group Enterprise Inns yesterday announced it has reduced net borrowing by seven per cent to £2.9bn during the six months to 31 March, helped by the sales of loss-making properties. The company, which owns around 6,100 pubs across Britain, also said that income across its total estate dropped by 1.6 per cent for [...]