Marstons Share Chat (MARS)

It's not really much of a rumour though tbf Wolfwatch. Only a hypothesis. Unless there is some kind of news from either made or c&c to say this is something they are considering, I wouldn't really expect much movement to be fair, but that's just me.

Well, not even a merger rumour seems to wake up this dog of a share.. but we've still got the world cup and a hopefully a hot summer to save us !

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2018/06/17/merger-could-nectar-marstons-needs/

Oh, thanks. My mistake. I reviewed this a while ago, they seemed safe but it was close. Hopefully they won't drop too much tomorrow.

Nope, it's demoted to the Small Cap index with effect from open tomorrow. Hence the volume at close on Friday. http://www.ftse.com/products/index-notices/home/GetAttachment?id=caa07742-3765-4202-88bb-faddcf758866&title=FTSE_UK_Review_June_2018_Amendment.xlsx

MARS is still in the FTSE 250, it missed demotion by 3 or 4 places. This should boost the price as those funds won't be dumping the share PLUS it is undervalued. Hopefully we will see a boost from the World Cup if England can manage to survive the first round.

The big trades at close on Friday were due index funds - demotion from the FTSE 250 to the Small Cap.

I hope a tie up with Magners doesn't happen. I would prefer the integration of the Charles Wells business be successfully completed before hand. Companies that grow to quick tend to fall harder

Couple of massive trades shown up , hopefully they were buys Gla even the screamers

Market report... Pub group Marston’s fizzed higher as Shore Capital said in a note that an all-share merger, especially with a comparable drinks business, "arguably provides the best solution to addressing the issues". The brokerage said it sees "significant value" in a tie-up with Magners owner C&C, for example. HTTPS://uk.webfg.com/news/market-report-midday/london-midday-stocks-turn-lower-as-trade-war-fears-resurface--3349368.html

Well if I'm wrong then so is the Companies Act ... CA 2006 s658(1) states ... "A limited company must not acquire its own shares, whether by purchase, subscription or otherwise, except in accordance with the provisions of this Part." If you care to read the rest of the Act you will see that any funds used for such a buy back must come from a) Capital (defined in the CA as those monies raised by the issuance of shares) or b) distributable profits (defined in the CA as those monies arising from profits that could have been distributable to shareholders as dividends). If you can post some definitive link to statute that supports your case ... then you would have a case ... in the meantime the law is what it is. For the sake of clarification and for others ... your use of the word 'premium' corresponds to the general English use of the word, meaning "price in excess of the current market price" ... the CA does not use the word in that way. Premium on share price is the difference between the price paid and the nominal, designated value of the share on the certificate. For Marstons that is 7.375p ... would you let the company buy your shares at that price? Shares can be held in Treasury for a variety of reasons ... if they are created but not issued for example. They do not have to have been purchased in the market place. Finally what price the company pays for the shares in the case of a buy back is not regulated in any way whatsoever. They can pay under or over the odds it's entirely up to them and what we as shareholders will let them get away with. So, if you can find a linkable source that supports your view that companies can take on debt and use it to buy back their own shares I'd be very interested to see it ... otherwise we'll just have to make do with the law of the land! Mike

Since the acquisition and ongoing integration of Charles Wells, the company hasn't said or done anything adverse to negatively impact the share price. Many stocks very British have suffered as a direct consequence of Brexit, real or imagined. This will unravel over the next year or two. NAV is presently 142p per share. So, dependent upon how you calculate there is a 40% discount (if Marstons were a REIT). With the World Cup being held in a far away (and possibly unsafe) country, the UK brewers should fare very well over the next four weeks. C'mon England..

Upto 104+ must be a big buyer out there

Looks set to jump backup to 110p , world cup must have started or something. A few choice press comments and busy pubs on the news . Interesting times , share price did not dip down as much as expected prior to world cup, only got to 95p not 85p as I thought would happen. This was a good sign . Divvy payment due soon as well , GLA

Chart is now starting to take shape.

No you are wrong the company can buy its own shares in the market at any time and if the investment case is pressing they are able to borrow to do this as for any other asset . How can companies hold treasury shares if they are prohibited from buying shares . They can not inflate the price and have to buy not at a premium .

It looks like the market might be at last recognizing the value here against a background of a good summer and thw world cup - how it dropped to mid -90s at one point seems in retrospect ludicrous

Champers isnt really my thing to be fair. Its just posh cider to me. More of a pint man myself, but if im feeling a little flush, or celebrating something I like a nice malt & a Cohiba cigar. A treat for Christmas day night is my usual indulgence.

I like champagne. And, on occasion, I like Wetherspoons. But I very much doubt the two go together!

One would hope he is is also hoping to support breweries at home, like ourselves too.

Wetherspoon said its new wheat beers brewed in the UK will include Blue Moon Belgian White, Thornbridge Versa Weisse Beer and SA Brains Atlantic White. Alcohol-free Adnams Ghost Ship will replace Erdinger alcohol-free beer from Germany. Wetherspoon will continue to serve Kopparberg cider from Sweden, as the company has said it will transfer production to the UK post-Brexit. "In similar situations we will work closely with suppliers of niche products," Mr Martin said. The pubs sell 6 million bottles of Kopparberg each year.

Looks like I was right (for once yesterday). From BBC news yesterday: JD Wetherspoon plans to replace champagne and prosecco with non-European Union sparkling wines. Company founder Tim Martin, who campaigned for Brexit, said it was part of a transition away from products made in the EU. Wetherspoon sells two million bottles of sparkling wine each year, most of which is prosecco. The pub chain aims to replace the Italian fizz with UK or "new world" alternatives in the next year or two. Champagne will no longer be available at Wetherspoon's pubs from next month. There will also be changes to the beer line up. Wheat beer and alcohol-free beer from the UK, will replace the current options brewed in Germany. Mr Martin said the new drinks would be cheaper than the EU products they are replacing. "There will be an inevitable transfer of trade post-Brexit to countries outside the EU, which will reduce prices in shops and pubs," he said. The move was part of a review all products over the next six to 24 months, he said, adding: "We intend to honour existing contracts with EU suppliers, some of which have several years to run. "However, we are starting to make the transition to non-EU trade now." Wetherspoon, which has 880 pubs, will replace champagne with sparkling wines from the UK, such as from the Denbies vineyard, and Hardy's Sparkling Pinot Chardonnay from Australia. The chain sells fewer than 100,000 bottles of champagne a year and stocks only Moët & Chandon. "Champagne has lost market share to lower price sparkling wines," Mr Martin said. He said that he intends to find a replacement for prosecco from the UK or new world countries which include Argentina, Australia, Chile, New Zealand, South Africa and the US. "The general message is that sparkling wine is a growth product," said Mr Martin. Wine of choice A representative of France's champagne industry was unconcerned by the decision. "It seems to be economically driven, combined with Mr Martin's strong expressed feeling about European products," said Francoise Peretti, director of the Champange Bureau UK. "UK consumers have clearly voted it [champagne] its sparkling wine of choice, making the UK the leading export market for champagne," Mr Peretti said.

Au contraire Appleby ... buy backs can not be funded from debt ... "Originally it was prohibited by the common law, but now although the general rule remains in section 658 there are two exceptions. First, a company may issue shares on terms that they may be redeemed, though only if there is express authority in the constitution of a public company, and the re-purchase can only be made from distributable profits. [CA 2006 ss 684-690 & 735] Second, since 1980 shares can simply be bought back from shareholders if, again this is done out of distributable profits. Crucially, the directors must also state that the company will be able to pay all its debts and continue for the next year, and shareholders must approve this by special resolution. [CA 2006 ss 714-717]" And that's what the Companies Act says ... specifically ... s692(2)(b) ... "any premium payable on the purchase by a limited company of its own shares must be paid out of distributable profits of the company," And the reason is as I said, without this provision, it would extend limited liability to shareholders in companies that were explicitly formed for the purpose of defrauding loaners of money etc. (The first exception to the rule is currently being used by SLA to issue B-Shares for redemption.) Now it is possible to fund buy backs from debt in the sense that taking on debt may release other funds that it would have been prudent to hold back for contingency etc ... however, the Act is clear ... just as dividends can only be paid from distributable profits, buy backs too can only be made from distributable profits. Borrowing money and buying back ... unless you have the distributable profits to book it against ... is not legal. :( Mike

Interesting reading your visit to Aylesbury and the Marstons pubs, lucky you didn't come to one of the ones I use in Worcester on a Monday can't get a seat half price steak and chips, not a big pub though but once all the diners have gone it fills back up with drinkers. I've been with Sound energy for 8 years when it was a dead duck then James Parsons took over, best ceo I've ever come across . I've every faith in him to get me a 4 digit price on any sale:)) next favourite ceo is Leo Koot of CERP and thirdly our Ralph Findlay and Peter Redfern of TW By the way talking about the debt levels Ralph assured us all at the agm that the debt levels were manageable and their plan was to dramatically reduce the debt by 2022 from memory. It's over 6 months since the agm nearly time for the next one , not driving this time catching the train, £1 a pint

Trent700, sadly I left my Marston's discount card in Scotland, where, as I said earlier, I have no use for it. As an investor it was interesting to check out a Marston's and try and get a sense of the business. In summary, I came away with a good impression and feel confident that with a good summer the share price will get out of its current dive returning to the giddy heights above 100p ;-)