Member Info for SHAPERITE

Best of luck British Land - you will need it !! yet this may be a shaft of light for Marstons because with Rucker abandoning ship in their time of need, the rest of the board can make some financially astute decisions that actually promote a retail business instead of being a faux property empire going no where. My information is that Marstons had a decent Mothers Day trade, and with a decent summer wr may see an improvement vis a vie the share price . Debt will still remain a headache yet could be more manageable. I have been a constant critic of polocy so far and this will not change , but i feel that this may be the start of something decent !!!

As I have previously stated, bricks and mortar do not pay for a weekly pay rise, increased council rates or a declining clientel, every Marstons pub I pass between Monday to Thursday are short of custom, yet the overheads still roll - on !!

£4.25 a pint is prohibitive to a working man or woman, and the food is decidedly " Ding " How many of us earstwhile shareholders have ever run a pub ? bedause some of the comments on this board are decidedly purile , The only reasonable comments originate from the likes of Barchild and the ilk !! It would not suprise me if sometime in April we see £0.25 a share when the new minimum wage clicks in, and for anyone out there who thinks that I am a shorter let them be informed that my average is £0.85 and to say that I am annoyed is an understatement !!!!!

After taxes etc have bought at 1.43. Target in 12 days time circa 1.52 - 1.55 be confident or shut - up the only way to play this game fact !!!

What a stunning investment Mars has been over the last four years , a push for expansion on borrowed money and a BOD that is struggling with the results of such a policy ! As a long standing shareholder, I despair that there is nobody who can take hold of the situation and be more inovative with the assets that are languishing in mediocraty . I understand that not everyone wants alchahol 0r ding food all of the time, but there are numerous large rooms that are empty during the day, that could produce a lucrative income from the likes of Womens Institute, Vintage car societies, Bridge clubs, etc,

Alright moan over back to hoping for a take over, or at least a minor miracle.

Very pleased that the B.O.D. have released the Xmas trading figures prior to the A.G.M, , Because on the surface an 8 o/o uplift upon this time last year is reasonably impressive , but when all the gloss is wiped away any fool can show such results when being able to increase selling prices and at the same time reduce the availability of the goods on offer so that you can sell what is convenient to you rather than what the customer desires !!! I comment from being a reasonably frequent visitor to my local establishments who constantly do not have various items available that are clearly shown on the menu - AND WHY NO PEDIGREE - mARSTONS PREMIUM ALE ???? I hungrily await the Profit figures which of course were abscent from the trading statement - should have increased by 10 o/o minimum which will cover the 10 o/o rise in the coming minimum wage !! Still well under water and angry.

As the contributor who began this discusion, I f ind Fairdealer20s annalysis overly compelling, a group like Marsdens should have more liquid assets than they have, the board were caught with their trousers down with regards to the Brains estate and in a declining market with increased prices will they be caught again with the rise of 10% in the minimum wage and all the subsequent add-ons. For the sceptics out there I AM AN INVESTOR not A SHORTER !!!!

Still waiting for the re - rating , I wonder in which year it will appear ?

Still a load of garbage, One comment - expect more investment houses to come on board here - behave yourself as stated previously , DEBT , DEBT, and more DEBT, you cannot take a barrow full of bricks to your creditors and say that they are worth £ xxx !!!! Just pray that we can keep slowly whittling down the overall costs !!! The spectre of a ten percent raise in the minimum wage will work wonders - not, more price increases ??? Oh and by the way Morrisons are still selling Pedigree at £5 for 5 bottles !!! Shortage of cash boys, shortage of cash.

You obviously cant offer assets like bricks and mortar to settle outstanding trade debts , they generally only come into play on a forced sale basis which is what is now occuring. Dividends will not re-appear for a long long time , if ever and cheap sales that recently occured im a certain supermarket , only go to paper - over the cracks!! Personally, I am so far underwater that it is pointless selling ! Poor Board, Poor Gameplan, Poor Share !!!

After an oustandingly average set of results, are we to believe that this super investment, that to all knowlegdable commentators is worth over £1.00 each share, will soon begin to show an amazing turnaround in fortunes and explode upon the share scene despite debt, debt, debt, and a potential 10% hike in minimum wages just around the corner ???

Behave yourselves and admire the falling share price ATOW £0.297 !!!

I am well awre of all the intricities , but you have to laugh -Barclays made £1.8 billion for the last quarter and their shares fell by 8% , MarstonsOWE £1.1 billion and their shares go up by 0.7 % !! No other comment - just saying.

What has happened to Supercharger ? the doyen of all things impossible, the great ramper who knew absolutely nothing

and yet exoled us all

to get involved in a desperatly stuggling business that still owes £1.18 billion in debt and is desperatly hoping for a miracle

to save their skins. Behave all you shareholders who are still involved ( like me) and show your contempt for a board that has screwed your money , without a thought for the consequenses - i bet they still draw their inflated salaries though - You are paying for garbage !!!!!

Offer of £1.02 Turned down as it materially undervalued the company, O.K. that was two and a half years ago , and was strictly true at the time, but then the Board charged - on and took on Brains and all their problems with debt and poorly run properties expecting to show large improvement in sales and profits. The board, were gung - ho with a low interest enviroment and overstated their own ability to reach very ambitious targets. Today, we languish at just over £0.275 an awful indictment of a board lacking in ideas and reserves ! Personally, I am stuck with an average of £0.87, slowly watching the decline of a business that should be pro-active in an industry that pleases so many with their products. I would vote for a change in board personel at the A.G.M. to promote sales of more Public Houses than they have so far,

unfortunatly the enviroment economically is poor. Good luck all who sail in this ship, we will need it !!!

Debt, Debt, Debt, Debt, Debt, - Sales may have increased but so have prices, cost of eating out now prohibitive especially if you have a mortgage, drinks now £4.50 a pint going on to £5.00 plus - Yeah good time to top up Supercharger if one can wait

for years for a decent return !!!!! And all the time one can get guarenteed 5 o/o plus for one year - Oh , i forgot, the dividend will be paid soon for all the loyal idiots wont it ??????

To all the optomists out there , this dog of a share is going nowhere , warmer weather , BOD not showing outputs , sales increasing , where is the evidence for even £0.35 per share ?? The problem is debt, debt, debt, why do you think they got into bed with Carsburg in the first place ? Carlsburg didnt need it but Marstons did, As I have said before , the credit card is maxed out !!!! And for all the "knockers" out there, I have Narstons shares and am considerably underwater !!!

Are you having a laugh ? Bathams in the Black Country are familly owned and the Big Boys cant get a look in ? Having said that their beers are brilliant and their ambiance is what the market desires, but locally they set the standards !!!!

Are you lot serious ? Still over 1 billion in debt and charges and you think that it is acceptable in a n economy to have possibly 3 days of a working week where the product does reasonably well ( ie Friday , Saturday, Sunday ) and does shag all for the rest of the week ! Costs are still the same Monday , Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday as regards staff, Electricity, Rates and scrapage ! You all think that because Marsdens was a FTSE 250 business, everything will be O.K., But my friends a portfolio of property does not give any succure in a declining Market, in fact it may even be a declinimg asset itself in a poor market ! I am not a deramper, I have Marsdens Shares as you know, but I am annoyed at the board who have used my investment in a totally irresponsible way.

Where have all the " Rampers" gone ? You know, £0.35 by the end of the week, Prime for a takeover, I"m in at these prices, totally undervalued, etc. etc ? Batten down the hatches boys and girls beware the Wilko phenomenem . by the way i hold 13,000 Mars shares at an average of £0,70 so i am involved unlike some on here !!!!!

mm

Dream on my fellow investors, after a basically bland trading update Myself and Lady Shaperite decided to frequent our local hostelary for a " cheepie " on a Monday Night. Nothing has changed as we were told that although they were on the menu both the Rump Steak and the Sirloin Steak were unavailable because they had had a very busy weekend, which if you think about it they must have run out during the weekend, so unless they sold the last one to the last diner on the weekend , then other diners were refused also. The subsequent Fish & Chips were O.K. Although the mushy peas were hiding under a chip but at a cost of £12.50 per portion I considered it expensive !! ( As were the drinks ) I am affraid that the standards are starting to slip which is synonymous of the whole group it is still the debt that is problematic, irrespective of the so called assets, debt must be repaid with interest, asset are generally static especially when expressed in property. I sincerly believe that irrespective of another takeover bid which may or may not happen that we shareholders will be waiting a long, long time to see any light at the end of the tunnel !!!!

Barchid,

I feel that I am on a solo crusade with my arguments , there are so many contributors expressing their thoughts that this is a potential goldmine at current prices, i,e, Ripe for a takeover, warmer weather encourages more drinking , the assets more than cover the debts etc. The solid facts are that Mars is over endebted in this economic climate and these debts have to be serviced on a regular basis in Hard CASH ! What I am saying I suppose is that it is a case of The Kings New Clothes - Anyway I appreciate your tacit support and basically agree with most you post !