focusIR May 2024 Investor Webinar: Blue Whale, Kavango, Taseko Mines & CQS Natural Resources. Catch up with the webinar here.
London South East prides itself on its community spirit, and in order to keep the chat section problem free, we ask all members to follow these simple rules. In these rules, we refer to ourselves as "we", "us", "our". The user of the website is referred to as "you" and "your".
By posting on our share chat boards you are agreeing to the following:
The IP address of all posts is recorded to aid in enforcing these conditions. As a user you agree to any information you have entered being stored in a database. You agree that we have the right to remove, edit, move or close any topic or board at any time should we see fit. You agree that we have the right to remove any post without notice. You agree that we have the right to suspend your account without notice.
Please note some users may not behave properly and may post content that is misleading, untrue or offensive.
It is not possible for us to fully monitor all content all of the time but where we have actually received notice of any content that is potentially misleading, untrue, offensive, unlawful, infringes third party rights or is potentially in breach of these terms and conditions, then we will review such content, decide whether to remove it from this website and act accordingly.
Premium Members are members that have a premium subscription with London South East. You can subscribe here.
London South East does not endorse such members, and posts should not be construed as advice and represent the opinions of the authors, not those of London South East Ltd, or its affiliates.
Not a word since the interim results in September. A trading update is required.
Hopefully... trading at (increasingly) less than their cash position. I am always tempted to add
Today's trading update from The Restaurant Group (Waggas, Frankie & Bennies) is encouraging. If Comptoir mirrors their performance the recent drift down to below 6p makes us look silly cheap.
We absolutely need to take advantage of any weakness in the uk market. I work in Victoria and the devastation caused by the pandemic is there to see in the available food units. There must be some bargian properties up for rent, the right ones of course. I think there is probably some nervousness about a winter lockdown, or at least restrictions that would impact leisure / entertainment industry. I think we've got a great BS to weather another storm. I'm interested to hear how hard they have been pushing online sales, they seem key to getting us through the pandemic... I still haven't eaten in one of the restaurants.
We'll spotted Bermondsey. More to come? Still believe Comptoir absolutely perfect for expansion. Outlets are bright, colourful and welcoming, food is fresh, tasty, very affordable and appeals to so many cultures.
Given only 3 weeks of trading without Covid restrictions and being completely locked down for the first 15 weeks, these results are outstanding. Well done to the board and staff.
CEO says
'We have seen solid performance in our London sites, which naturally remain impacted by the lower number of office workers and tourists. The regional sites have outperformed pre-pandemic 2019 levels and we have seen record levels of trading in a selection of sites. Importantly, all 21 sites are making a positive contribution at the profit level since reopening, highlighting the quality of the existing estate.'
Pressures obviously loom with the end of gov. support, supply chain issues and some difficulty with labour shortages. However, the strong balance sheet suggests opportunities adding prime sites to the estate are not only possible, but a board priority.
Whichever metric you use, Comptoir is great value & the SP does not factor in growth prospects.
I suggest any prospective investor here tries one of their restaurants.
These look good at first glance. Great cash management (9m cash vs 9m market cap). Positive ebitda each month. Loss is far reduced, could there be a full year profit? I suspect without covid we would have seen a profit this half. Positive statements from the directors. I am happy to hold here. I'll take a proper look at the FS tonight.
Nice to see a small move North today, first in a few months. Even nicer to see the spread much closer to being sensible.
Hopefully going to lead up to some nice results next week?
https://qsrmedia.co.uk/fast-casual/news/shawarma-bar-concept-shawa-open-in-west-london
I was under the impression the group owns a number of popup/Street food type stalls but I can't find any evidence of them anywhere.
They would need to announce by the end of September if they want to take advantage of the covid exemption. Personally i don't see any benefit in delaying, these are pretty simple accounts. Perhaps the auditors offer a small discount if they can take a bit longer.
I note from last year that the half year results, announced Oct 20, were Covid delayed. Does anyone know therefore when we can expect this years half year results? I'm assuming late Sept but happy to be corrected.
Bermondsey, thanks for your continued input, really looking forward to a trading update.
https://youtu.be/LmjEmN3jbi0
Not much else to say right now
https://www.bighospitality.co.uk/Article/2021/08/05/Comptoir-Libanais-CEO-Chaker-Hanna-on-reopening-better I assume Natwest are bankers for the group hence the interview. Doesnt sound like footfall has picked up in all of the London sites but other areas are doing better than 2019. Talk of 2 new restaurants. I like this company.
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/tom-cruise-birmingham-retraced-steps-21205406
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.standard.co.uk/business/franco-manca-owner-fulham-shore-new-sites-revenues-b937741.html%3famp
Apologies nonegspleeze. That was not the article I intended to link up. Something more up to date. Exactly what I would expect them to be doing, focus on opportunities that the pandemic has brought about. The company really is low key on social media. Not a post on twitter since March 2020!
Hi Bermondsey, thanks for the comments and (albeit historic) link. Good to know I'm not alone here. I agree regarding the balance sheet strength and having spent the best part of my working life in branded bars & restaurants I can reiterate that there is huge potential to roll the Comptoir Lebanais brand into every large town & City in the country, particularly those with high concentrations of nationalities that would relate to the restaurant. The brand is however colourful, affordable and very much open to all. This will be a huge winner.
Hi Nonegspleeze. Also dipped my toe in here. I havent eaten in one of the comptoir restaurants but I do like the look of the one at London Bridge, good atmosphere, welcoming for families. It feels like the pizza express or zizi of Lebanese food, good for the middle class aspirational type but not sure the real foodies would visit. I see lots of potential, we dont have a lot of leonese restaurants in london, growth could be phenomenal. Street food is a big scene in london so hats off to the guys for rolling out the pop up stalls in tandem. The balance sheet looks great, no debt whatsoever.
Hi All,
Having recently enjoyed a meal at the Reading branch I have dipped my toe in with an iinitial share purchase here.
Obviously, like the rest of the world, focus will be on recovering from Covid, but does anyone have any ideas on plans for new restaurants moving forward.
I love a 'retail roll out' and the brand looks perfect for it.
The accounts to date are impressive and it would appear that any new restaurant would become net cash positive in a very short period of time.
Any info gratefully received.
Yeah totally agree, report was just given a bad rep in the press
Those accounts look OK to me. Hit on revenue due to the virus as we were expecting. Costs appear to be managed well (landlord negotiations on leases, reduced director salaries). I wonder how much of prior year revenue the now closed sites at the airports contributed. Fairly sizeable impairment contributed to the loss before tax. Possibly would have seen a profit this year if not for the virus. I like this company, the management team appear competent and up to the task of growing the group. The balance sheet is as good as it gets, no debt.
Thought the market would have reacted better ngl, but think lockdown extension fears are pushing this down too
On more buys than sells. Eh?!
Report should be good anyway, just bought another small chunk, looking forward to the post vaccine boom now