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Rocka999 thanks for that info noticed spirit creeping up to the 115 mark think that's takeover offer price
The finals are on 1st July so I'd of thought the takeover would have been completed by this date.
can somebody inform of the latest in the takeover saga all seems quiet on the licence grapevine
http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/Company-City-News/JDW-s-Tim-Martin-hits-out-at-lack-of-trade-support-for-VAT-campaign/?utm_source=newsletter_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=21-Jan-2015&c=6pyYKqksqzbWu0em8lmEF0unvGGjpoXX It's certainly time they levelled the playing field here
Not a CAMRA member but I do know how the market works here, microbreweries popping up everywhere now with the favourable duty rates and who can blame them for giving it a go. I'm still annoyed regards my town here, 6 out of 7 pubs shut via large breweries. I'm hoping someone steps up and opens a small bar somewhere now which I can adopt as my local !
yep! Sounds like you are a CAMRA member... if not, you will have a lot of fun with people at your local branch if you join... GL
I think the big boys need to be looking over the shoulder now at the rise of the microbrewer and now the micorpub, you can't compete with a brewer on a lower duty rate hence the rate of increase in the aforementioned. Interesting times ahead and I hope to see a reversal of the pub closures in the future, pubs are one of our greatest assets and our heritage !
Cautious spending customers continue to worry Boss of brewer and pubs firm Greene King despite record half year sales: Greene King Boss Rooney Anand warned that customers remain cautious about spending on eating and drinking out as the brewer and pubs operator posted record half year sales
I suppose you've seen the latest consultation paper from the goverment? "Tenants who are tied to a pub owning company with 500 or more tied pubs will also benefit from an additional Enhanced Code, which will require their pub owning company to provide them with a parallel free-of-tie rent assessment if rent negotiations for their pub fail". Could be interesting for GNK
One day, younger Youngs are going to want to sell in order to diversify their inheritance ... but that could be any time in the next 25 years!
I see GNK are not finished with Spirit, looking for more buys further down the line in 2016 C&C could still get a bid in for Spirit before 20th Nov as yet
.. disclosed within the Spirit RNS this morning. The figures given are for 24 weeks, while the last IMS was for 18 weeks. Hence have done some sums to calculate trading for 6 weeks to 19th October as follows: Retail LFL +2.0%; Pub Partners Net Inc +3.7%. Retail has accelerated from 18 weeks, and is also better than MARS's recent IMS. Good picture as we march into the Spirit takeover... GLA ....
I've been watching GK from when they bought out Beards of Sussex about 15 yrs ago, they've been very busy since! Always enjoy a nice pint of Abbott btw GL Rocka
yep, large numbers of pubs are getting closed and it's sad... my only point is about GNK, that it's not going to affect their bottom line very much if at all. It's the small wet-led tenanted pubs that are getting closed or sold to smaller pub groups. In fact one of my locals has been sold by GNK as part of a package of around 100 pubs announced a few months back. And the landlord although no longer a GNK tenant is still buying from GNK! Meanwhile GNK is acquiring via Spirit a good number of large food-led managed pubs, while MARS is actually building a good number rather than buying them. Both GNK and MARS claim the returns on these new places are above their cost of capital. Anyway GL with your investments, plus with the ongoing search for a decent pint!
I can only speak as I find, we had 7 pubs within 100 metres of where I live, we now have 2 and one of them is to shut next year I've recently been informed. So where have all the drinkers gone? At some point these were 7 businesses that were all making money selling in the main real ale. I'm sure we'll see a similar pattern across the UK as 30-40 pubs shut every week. There are more real ales out there from more micro brewers but less pubs to serve the ale in every week it appears.
.. IMO are being replaced, real ale sales have been stronger than lager for some years and the trend still seems to be in place, this is the verdict given by regular industry figures for volume of sales. In any case GNK sell a range of drinks, they are not dependent on one category. Also bear in mind that nearly half of turnover is food (this is also true of MARS and increasingly so at YNGA). What is true is that for the past several months nationwide there has been flat to negative like-for-likes ... this is an economic effect being felt across the pub chains and also is being borne out at restaurant chains (e.g. Prezzo). Putting this into perspective, even when comps at GNK are growing at 3%, this is no more than growth in consumer income (including inflation), therefore longer term GNK should be able to grow at historic rates without requiring an ever increasing share of consumer income.
I believe your take on the purchase of Spirit isn't far off the mark, have they bit off more than they can chew? Sales are declining in general, I only have to visit my local to see this, the real ale drinkers of the past are not being replaced hence the decline in pubs across the UK.
Pulling a Suffolk punch: Greene King, Suffolk brewer of Abbot Ale, IPA and Old Speckled Hen, has more in common with Suffolk Punches than just their point of origin. The huge chestnut draughthorses that dominate Ipswich FC’s crest and have pulled many a dray, are known for their size, their endurance and their surprisingly energetic gait. But there is not much demand for their pulling power these days and few Suffolk Punches are left. The £723 million bid for Spirit Pub is just such a deal, albeit its biggest. Spirit’s 1,200 pubs would slot well into the brewer’s south and southeast bias. Barclays reckons at 109.5p, teaming up with Spirit should lift Greene King’s earnings by 6% and returns on capital to 7.9% against a weighted average cost of capital of 7.1%. There are plenty of synergies to be had from cutting out duplicate costs. Parcelling up and selling off unwanted tenanted pubs could come afterwards. Promising 8p in cash was all the sugar needed to persuade Spirit’s board to open the books. It should also lure skittish Spirit shareholders. Injecting new bloodlines into Greene King should not change its character. But driving a much bigger team could be difficult in a sector where returns are already hard to come by. The risk is that Greene King, like the Suffolk Punch, becomes a victim of its size.
update today, sub-zero growth in like-for-likes over the past 3 months (DYOR: arithmetic needed, comparing today's numbers with the LFLs given in July for the nine-month stage). Confirms nationwide slowdown, hopefully GNK's next LFLs will be slightly better, given south-east orientation.
Market fears a higher price and also a rights issue (in the event that there is a cash element to the offer which GNK would like to avoid but may not be able to if they want Spirit in the bag). Rooney Anand has a reputation for being very ambitious, so market thinks that he will tend to bid up rather than walk away .... GL all
Any views on the offer for Spirit? Is this what's depressing the sp at the moment maybe fear if overpaying or getting into an auction?
Can always tell a good share by using LSE. It's generally the one with few comments that just goes below the radar then booms away. Just like this baby will.
This looks undervalued at present especially with whats waiting ahead
finally flogged the lakeside pubs then 3rd time lucky as the previous two times let down by the bidders not getting there finance together,,,,