Marstons Share Chat (MARS)

Very good idea, Marston's need to do this:
London 'pub-on-wheels' pulls pints on people's doorsteps - https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-britain-mobile-bee/london-pub-on-wheels-pulls-pints-on-peoples-doorsteps-idUKKBN22Q0TE

barchid/trent

Agree it comes as no surprise to read the additional facility which completely undoes the debt reduction achieved by the asset sale to Admiral. It remains to be seen what technical waivers Bondholders agree.
Many Pubs were just managing to keep afloat before Covid-19, it is likely a significant number will never re-open. No doubt the viability of that group is being focused on as the asset value may need to be released, in some way or other. Sentimentality is all very fine, but not at the risk of Corporate survival.

The BOD is trying to wrestle with a Financial disaster of which the eventual outcome is still unknown. It is to their credit to have taken a remuneration hit....a pity more company's are not following suit.

The dividend yield here was a big attraction for many Shareholders, it is unlikely profits will allow a return to the dividend list for a considerable time.

Next major support at 25p. I will be filling my boots at that level

Trent
Correct, not at all unexpected. I still fancy a takeover for the brewery part at least.
You saw that Youngs recently arranged financing to allow their pubs to be closed for a year ?
That was the indicator, whether or not pubs are the future for investing in I suspect is rather doubtful, but there are opportunities everywhere at present, the difficulty is sorting out the wheat from the chaff.
Still I've time to spare whilst waiting for SA airports to reopen !

Barchid.

I can't really say that this is unexpected to be fair. Its the same all round.

This is a good buying opportunity for those with cash to investl and build up a nice portfolio for yourself if you can hold on to it.

Not just in Marstons, but across the board.

Covid19 Infection Rates:
Prime Ministers 100%
Scientific Advisers ( and their married lovers) 100%
Health Experts 60%
Bus Drivers 10%
Football Supporters 2%
Pub Regulars 0%
Who do they shut down first and reopen last?

Great news to secure company's future in medium term... Quite an important RNS.

fairdealer/trent
Gents another RNS alert;
Marstons were so happy with their liquidity that they have just arranged a further £70m ! Funny that eh ?
I am posting in case vampiresquid doesn't spot this RNS and has probably been announced after the Herald went to press so he/she won't see it in there today.
Not the most uplifting of RNS today I must admit.

Well there you go to throw something else into the mix liberium gives marstons a price target of 65p a cracking 116% upside potential from 30p.
Pub sale wise better to have sold pre covid than post covid .
Could well be one to stick down the sofa and find in a year or two

I have a few thousand shares brought at around 35p. I get the risks here with the debt load, asset writedowns, ect hence the 75% discount, but judging by the noise the bod are making, we may just escape an equity placement as cash from brewing (around a third of revenue) should cover debt costs & overheads. Although I suspect plans for debt reduction which they really need to do will be pushed back.

If pubs do reopen in july, surely at this level you can double your money. Dare I dream, in 2-3 years if all goes well we could be back to 100p with divi reinstated. Its companies like this, albeit risky at pesent that are the millionaire makers. One to keep an eye on for sure.

giantsquid
So if a line of pubs are sold at a significant discount to their book value in the accounts you do not think that could happen again wrt statements of liquidity ?
DYOR !
But as yours appears to be from that trusty old rag, Scottish Herald, I'll give you a helping hand; check out RNS on Nov 4 where you will see that Admiral bought pubs for £44.9m which were in the books at £62.6m.
Draw your conclusions from that please, possibly more reliable than your Herald ?
Otherwise if you find the accounts a tad stretching why not just concentrate on the "Spelling Bees" you seem rather good at ?

giantsquid

Some of us have been invested here a very long time. How long have you been invested?
When a Poster makes statements he/she is unable to validate, readers will draw there own conclusions.

Being sarcastic adds nothing to an intelligent debate.
Remember you linked an Old Newspaper report which has absolutely NO bearing on the present situation, for what reason?

Shorter eh??

fairdealer, my suggestion to you would be to contact the company with your questions. Tell them you're a small time shorter who believes he knows better than those running the company. I'm sure they'd appreciate a good laugh in these difficult times. Perhaps you could ask them if they've encountered any problems ordering "consumerables"?

giantsquid

I deal in facts not aspirations.
You published a link ( Scottish Herald) which was written last November (pre-virus) which gave information which is completely out of date and bears BO relevance to the current situation. Now, why would a poster do that?

The question " sufficient liquidity" has not been answered. Can you please state what you understand sufficient liquidity means in respect of MARS? Is it cash in hand, free asset value within the Estate or what?
As pointed out the Company have sold some of it's estate at a considerable discount and the current climate will have an adverse effect of all Public Houses.
Can you now identify where I have mis-represented posts? I'd be grateful.

There is no argument fairdealer. In future, please read what's written in the RNS and don't attempt to misquote from it, or misquote other posters, or make out certain key wording such as "sufficient liquidity" doesn't exist or exists only in "pre-virus press reports". I suggest you read the FCA footnote on this page regarding the posting of false and misleading information.

giantsquid

Barchid's post clearly states the situation. I rest my case.

Thanks for the spelling lesson, a rather churlish comment!!

You would do well to conduct an in-depth research of MARS, not just a superficial overview.

barchild. It isn't my "sufficient liquidity" it was written just a few days ago by the company in an RNS. Not pre covid. A few days ago. Are you trying to claim you know better than the insiders running the company? Are you really that stupid?

giantsquid
It may perhaps be wise to note that when Mars sold a collection of pubs late last year they were all sold at a discount to book value.
You certainly don't need to be brain of Britain to appreciate that post covid pub estates are worth rather less than before, so when the lenders start acting on this, as logically they will, what happens to your "sufficient liquidity" then ?
I would be interested to know, please.

The words "sufficient liquidity" are clearly written in the last RNS, dated 7th May 2020.
I know you can't spell "consumerables" (your post @ 9:59) but I assume you can read what's written in an RNS?

The word is consumables by the way.

What is sufficient liquidity?

Using pre-virus press reports is hardly appropriate given the events of the last 3 months, and is of little use in the current fiscal downturn.

Loan installments are being paid. The BoD clearly state in the last RNS they have sufficient liquidity and headroom to see them through the crisis.

The problem of being asset rich and cash poor requires little explanation when loan instalments aren't payed.

"The company has declared borrowings circa £1.3billion"

Ralph Findley, CEO, Marstons (28th November 2019) "bearing in mind that the value of our pub estate is about £2.4bn, so it is a relatively small adjustment on a big number"

https://www.heraldscotland.com/business_hq/18064356.marstons-writes-estate-value-beer-growth-signalled/

@ Barchid.

Yes, it can be difficult keeping young children busy. That said there's always something an "old school" character like myself can muster for them to do, our youngest lad is at an age where he wants little jobs to do all the time. Needless to say our house is almost spotless. Well, if he wants his pocket money........

Then of course theres my old friend Facebook. Stirring up the gentle souls. who are offended at everything do give the mind a moderate work out. Happy days.

Trent
Good to hear you are bearing up, bored kids can be a s*dding nightmare.
Rather like RF's job at present I fancy !