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And I'm settling down to a tinny of hobgoblin
And its only a Tuesday !!!
What does that tell you ?
Should boost the share price at least
Your comment is fair enough Trent...I don't think they should have acted so quickly...but it is good to know that Marstons will be able to make such moves...if and when they decide to ?
Which I think was actually Claires point
Kind Regards
The Tinster ( see what I did there ? )
@Clairesmith.
I'm not convinced that buying more pubs would be a good idea at this time. Although I can see some merit in the Brain's deal, I'm not 100% convinced that it was all that bright or shrewd move to be fair. If Fairdealer's theory on this subject is correct,had it been me, I would have been more inclined to leave the company to it's demise and picked it up for next to nothing, and spend the saved money on doing them up.
On the flip side of that,I'd say that Marston's need to conserve as much cash as it can for now,and concentrate more on bringing down it's debt mountain.
Weddings do not have limited nos -something that RF wanted to come back - well it has.
The weather has been very hot here in the South -helping home beer sales.
The UK Govt. has said that they expect us to come out in July -just one month away.
Many of the Marston's pubs are now open in any case.
More people will now stay in the Uk and so the Uk customer base during the holiday season will be strong Uk home sales. Stronger than previous years where large nos go abroad.
The situation here is far better than last year and the Company is getting stronger that it was. A great opportunity for the next month as if the lockdown is released in July this share will rise.
Youve got it Claire...I'm with you on this
My response to the rest is straight forward
If you are on your knees there are two possbile strategies
1. Stay down
2. Get back up
Martons is a 'get back up again' kindah deal
I think Mars has the resources to survive ( after a close scrutiny of accounts )
The rest may well go under...I hope not...but thats the reality of things
Kind Regards
The Jim
if anything during this period the fact that marstons are still making money from retail sales puts them at a massive advantage compared to their rivals.
in turn this will mean more available resources to purchase pub chains that crash during this time and Marstons can expand their empire.
All of this is not helpful. I can see why there are those that can see a drop in sp. We can all see that coming. But 77p is a bit optimistic I think. Pubs will as I understand it can still operate, albeit if limited capacity, we'll still have income from supermarket off sales. This to me offers the edge on say, Spoons that can only draw income from their pubs.
doesnt matter that slight delay in unlock happens, we all know Marstons will come good just takes a little bit of time.
safe company, great products, great channel sales, profit ahead
Being an eternal optimist cannot ignore reality. Hospitality Leaders state the further month of control will cost the Industry £2billion in lost income.
The SP will rise eventually, but from what base?
Morning Pasty
Yes I agree
/**
* only one way this is gong
**/
up
Kind regards
The Jimster
Hospitality in big trouble.
Only one way this is going.
however you look at it, in the grand scheme of things the covid issue is now being wrapped up, as such think of all the people that are desperate to get in the pubs / clubs / events, from now till end of next summer will be a massive sales time for Marstons.
Add to this the difficulties of going aboard, will mean more money driven through the UK market
Hello Claire
Its been a wee little while...and hope you are well
Just bought another chunk at 90.115 soooooo.....lets hope things pick up a bit eh ?
I can't help myself really I like this brand
Kind regards
The Jim
Staycation and last times of furlough will combine to one big sales period for Marston
Hey Sip
Yeap have been away for a few days...good to hear from you
And no I sold my PFD shares...but still like it for a longtermer so watching for an entry point
Kind Regards
Jim
London, the moment has gone. Cannot see the Board wishing to look foolish having embarked on a Mission with Brains, which basically scuppered any further negotiations with Platinum. Besides MARS would be in a vulnerable position, never a good negotiating position. If Platinum were to revisit that could be a different situation. I think that is unlikely ,but anything is possible.
Ego's have played a big part in how events emerged. It is clear RF was hell-bent to increase the PUB portfolio and Brain's weakness presented an opportunity. Regrettably, it seems the percieved benefit to come from the Welsh investment, was not fully evaluated as the speed of completion testifies.
Hi Fairdealer,
At what point should the Board approach Platinum Equity Partners and let them know that they made a mistake?
105p is a 15% premium to today's share price and that's before negotiating a higher price.
The incentive to revisit the offer increases with each drop in the share price.
Good luck all
barchid,
WE are on the same hymn sheet. Looking through rose-tinted specs may suit the strategy of some, but reality cannot be ignored. Going around these last week or 2, it is noticable the number of boarded up pubs, pubs closed and for sale, some being re-developed for residential housing.
The level of custom of many pubs cannot rely on weekend trade in the provinces. City locations must be somewhat different, of which I have little first hand knowledge.
You are right to refer to the anchor ( debt) which whatever is stated about having sufficient financial headroom, the fact remains until debt is reduced the company's hands are tied. Too ignore basic maintenance and ultimately a Venue's image does not equate with the provision of Facilities of Excellence promised before the JV completed.
Initial Image always sticks in the mind.
The Platinum approach was not fully explored and could have given PI's an opportunity , which could have been better than the road we seem to travelling.
It would be good to have some feedback from Daave, or any other Landlord, now pubs have re-opened.
Arthur
Your report mirrors what I have been seeing in London, certainly not a boom going on.
I took advantage of the weather too, yesterday & I was in Shepherd Neame country, lovely hot day, loads of pubs with good beer gardens but the car parks were nowhere near full, which genuinely surprised me.
So the value of our estate must be under pressure was my take away from that trip.
Trent/Fair Dealer
Not great to hear your report but certainly not unexpected as the twin tasks of slashing debt & simultaneously investing in the premises is almost a contradiction in terms ? If not it is a very big ask, for sure.
What bothers me more though are the reports in this weeks press saying that a quarter of pubs are likely to be forced to close by end summer.
Now we have had these exaggerated scare stories before but my fear is what will this possible backdrop do to our property values, most of which property is heavily borrowed against ?
This is potentially not a great scenario, it is fine for bulls to say, "we can pick up bargain properties" but given our property is heavily in hock the bull scenario doesn't wash with me.
Platinum partners where are you please ?
Was in Edinburgh city on the lash yesterday on a day off. 2 bigs spoons were doing good trade, looked pre-covid levels. The ****tail bars also doing good trade but the prices have shot up i would say.
There is demand there but not pre-covid demand in my opinion. Buying/Running the Brains group was not a good move i feel, unless they got it really cheap. Less customers already + increase in prices = less customers
Trent,
My general view is many of the issues are cosmetic, so easily improved. It is just a shame those issues were not corrected during lockdown. When one drives into a parking space to be confronted with a decaying window, does not look good.
The staff issue is just poor management when front of house must have full focus. Even though there are Covid protocols ( track and trace etc) there can be No excuse to keep customers waiting when numbers of staff are seen having a chat.
We should be spending on our own assets and not a Freeholders ( Brains). The logic is obvious but appears to defeat the Exec.
I am saddened to see the Red Squirrel in Ince Blundell is up for sale . I believe this is short sighted as there are a number of new developments in the area, which should , and could attract attention to this excellent little building . I have had a number of meals there and the beers and wine were excellent as were the Staff . Sad times.
@ Fairdealer.
Not a very pretty picture, by the sounds of it mate. I agree with you on the point of the money spent on the Welsh estate deal could have been better employed freshening up outlets that need it. I'm sorry you had a bad experience.
Given how we have an estate of 1000+ plus outlets, it's a fair bet that some will not be up to the same scratch as others, and work needs to be done to address that. It's unfortunate that you were unlucky enough to land at one of the poorer ones.
As you know, we often visit friends in The Midlands, unfortunately for us, there is not a Marston's Inn in the Stourbridge or nearby area, which is a shame, I'd have loved to have supported the company by booking in there. That said, the Marston's pub we go to for Sunday lunch has in my view, always been very agreeable, the furniture is uniform, the food good, the beer is also of a good quality, and the staff are very accomodating. That said, the standard has to be seen to be the same throughout the entire estate.
I've stayed at a couple of Premier Inns. The one in the Midlands, which to be fair, is a fairly new build. (Roughly 4 years old now) and we've stayed at one in Newcastle about 6 years ago, which did appear to be quite a lot older, (and if I'm being fair, that did show). But nevertheless, the standard of appearance in that one did look as though the effort was made to make it look the best it could be.
But as you say, first impressions are important to any hotel/motel.
Seems to be helping sales both outside and at home! God is on our side!! Perhaps Boris will be soon too. I would rather be over here than somewhere abroad, at least if you do not like where you are staying you can easily go home. or move on to another venue that is better. Marstons have tremendous choice!
Who wants to go abroad in any case with weather such as this!
Marstons need to implement the high standard Hospitality RF promised.
Have just returned from a Business trip staying at various Motels. One being Marstons where I have stayed several times.
The motel was busy on Saturday particularly the Outside Family area., where parents were able to drink. The level of drinking was not exceptional. The restruant was roughly 75% occupied.
Sunday was different, less families and inside eating was also less, probably 50% .
I was struck by the high level of staffing, which did not seem well organised. Customers were waiting at the reception desk when staff in numbers appeared to be standing around.
The exterior of the Motel looks shabby.....rotting window frames. The interior looks tired and needs smartening up. Seating at tables was a hotch potch of odd tables and chairs. My table had 4 chairs all different. This was the general standard in the dining area.
The standard breakfast was in comparison to previous visits, meagre and not a hearty meal to start the day. This is good for shareholders who can see higher margins, but not good for customers. Had a problem with the Wifi door entry system, which was frustrating.
I found it disapointing during lockdown some effort should have been made to maintain and smarten the property. We have already leased a bunch of poor standard pubs in Wales we do not more of the same. Best to get our own estate looking more attractive.