Member Info for SHAPERITE

45Bob,

Every sympathy with your predicament, in saying that everybody should have time off or a closure time for a well earned break but, and it is a big but , We are in the trade of selling food and beer and ( As far as the shares are concerned ) are in the financial mess ! I find that independant resteraunts offer a much more flexable service especially on Sunday evenings and are polite and helpful, Why ?? because their lively hood depends on it !!What can you expect when Mars employ kids straight from school, at minimum wage with precious little training in customer service, and call evertone you guys!! Sad endictment of a company I love - beers still good though.

Lost my nerve today, sold at £1.56429, Frankly it is anyones guess where and when it goes again ! Yes I know it is a medium term good punt hope I can get back in at £1.48 ish - good luck all

Giantsqid,

I totally appreciate where you come from, but who values the total assets, why it is the B.O.D. WITH THE ABLE ASSISTANCE

OF A REPUTABLE FIRM OF ACCOUNTANTS NO DOUBT !! Who values the total liabilities - the same accountants who wish to retain the account! Who pays the accountants, why the B.O.D. the accounts are now old hat as it will be not only the business that pay the increased interest charges but their customers as well, which will also affect the value of any underlying assets !

Many pubs are overflowing - well they are not !! Sometimes at the weekend or Fridays they are fullish , but the trading week is Monday to Sunday, the overheads are not discriminatory, rent, rates, wages, electricity, water etc, which destroy any advantage of the occasional football or cricket match ! A healthy sector does not put 40 0dd outlets on the market - showing a desperation for the liquid stuff , ( and I dont mean beer ) assets do not equate to cash, you can often be asset rich and cash poor, and anyway Marsdens assets are probably pledged already against its £1.2 B debts ! A takeover offer of over £0.60 per share - dont make me laugh, if that is the case what was wrong with the £1.02 offer only just over a year ago? Bad, bad policies by the board - the leasing of Brains for 20 years ???? Gentlemen at the time of commenting , interest rates have just arrived at 5% and the share price is £0.2875 , I FOR ONE FEAR THE WORST ( with a heavy heart )

This is not a case of "kicking a dog when it is down ", but gentlemen Mars shareholders are in the brown stuff as the share price silently slips below £0.30 !! Reflect on this as you consume your cornflakes this morning and reflect that we could have accepted £1.02 only 12 odd months ago !!! i feel that the directors are now reacting to doing something more positive by attempting to release capital assets, but in a struggling market with predicted higher interest rates, - where are the buyers ?? Why not wait another 6 months and purchase an even more distressed asset? Was the Carlsberg tie up a matter of convenience or desperation and on whose side? All this garbage about younger drinkers prefering Lager may have some truth in it but they aint going to clear a £1.2 B shortfall and the interest that comes with it !!!Gentlemen, hard times are ahead with little succur - i for one are very sad of the situation.

Wolfwatch, a vast amount of sympathy with your comments, a shake - up is certainly required !! As I have previously stated the problem lies with debt, debt, debt, coupled with minimum wage hikes, electricity and gas prices, and pressure upon customers wallets ! Why do you suspect that Mars have at least 15 pubs for sale in West Midlands alone ? Why was I purchasing bottled Pedigree only 2 months ago for less than £1.00 per bottle ( bought 36 bottles ) - I would suspect ( if I did not know ) that cash flow was seriously lacking ! The estate stands at around 1400 public Houses, I believe , rent and rates have to be paid monthly - draw your own conclusions !!! As I have already said I am a large shareholder in Mars who wants the group to suceed, but if it dont work it wont work ask Debenhams !!!!! By the way, I have no amazing solution of my own - Just trapped,

S.J.W. thanks for your interest - Shap City Cumbria is totally lost on me, perhaps a sub-blinimal meaning ? I do hope that its not rude !!!!! Anyway decent rise today. but I must get on with my housework.

Finally recieved my " return of capital " today - which all things considered, has probably saved me a few shillings as an immediate re- investment would, by now , have cost !! Going forward, and regarding the large inflationary pressures that persist in all economies I think that property, especially in the U.K. is the best defensive play, all be it in a stagnant phase.

Good Luck to all here - the miners will rise again !!!

Whilst driving home last night at 9.30 pm ,I passed four Marstons public Houses all of which were devoid of custom , with full lights blaring and not a soul in sight !!! Now I confess that they were all set in rural settings and it is quite feasable that they have traded reasonably during the evening , but then as a considerable shareholder I dont see much initiative expressed by the managers or leaseholders to develop their businesses and by the way ensure their continued lively hood. Its a tough game at the moment, especially when posters try to compare Mars with M & B and Witherspoons and Fullers as mostly the afore mentioned all have large exposure inside towns & cities ! Does any Board member ever pay unrecorded visits to these places to progress the company - probably not - they are more concerned with the poor financial position of the business - one of their making I might add A seriously disgruntled Shareholder

Tom, Anon 3, et al, in my understanding the ditty went Sell in May & go away , buy back again before Derby Day !! Now as I believe that the Derby this year is June 6 th and we ars already short on May, it doesnot leave much legroom, but I feel the sentiments are correct for this scrubby year !!! Hope you both find your Nirvana !

Debt, Debt, Debt, the overpowering factor that will not go away - £ 12 million repaid yet still owe £1.2 Billion and some commentators on here think that a management buyout is on the cards !!! The same management that screwed it up in the first place ? Bricks and mortar are assets its true, but assets are supposed to produce profits and not be liabilities to business opperations ! In March I was buying 8 bottles of Pedigree for £ 6.50 via Morrisons - purely a cash flow operation by a company desperatly short of cash and I dont mean Morrisons , so to all you dreamers out there £0.45 a share seems a long way off let alone £1,00. As I have stated before I hold a large tranche of shares but am so far underwater £0.05 here or there makes no difference - Oh for the days of a take - over at £1.02 a share !!!!!!!!!!

All the positivity here on a very average report , mainly owing to the fact that the debt overall has been reduced by £ 12 million , yet Mars are still behind the black ball to the tune of £1.2 billion !!! Mars has twenty odd pubs still for sale ( in fact every pub is for sale at a price ) and although there are obviously good patches of trading , maybe even excellent patches , the proof will be in the period H2 when the increase in minimum wage raises its ugly head, when the impact of increased rates starts to take impact and finally the pressure on discressional spending take effect. One last observation

is that I really hope that it is a good summer which could negate the above to some degree - but what if it isnot???? I am not a deramper , in fact I am a large shareholder and a resteraunt owner !!!!

Good afternoon gentlemen, ( and ladies ) been away from this forum for some time but have always had a soft spot for the repartee and humour involved here ! Is Billy still around ? anyway yesterday I thought to myself , You havent done a fool thing for ages now and life is getting boring so yes, you guessed it I bought 4000 at 4.84, looking for £5.15 apres dividend - isnt life great always springs surprises !!! Anyway , looks like I WILL BE AROUND NOW FOR A WHILE ! P.S. I like coal the world still cannot live without it yet !!!

Yup , you are right - the debt does suck and yes it is compounded by a serious shortfall in customers not prepared to pay increased prices for an inferior product, as last night 4 items were not available off a fixed menu !!! If you aint got it , you cant sell it !!! Again no Pedigree on tap - a premium beer not available ! I wonder if the BOD are still drawing their salaries, bet they havent missed the payment twice !!! I am only too aware that times are tough , but decisions have been made that now seem questionable to say the least - We all need Mars to be successful, or we might soon be calling it Carlsburg !!!!

Considering the state of the market RR. is holding up reasonably well , £1.53/1.55 is poised for a positive statement early next month. June/July could well see £1.75 ish with maybe £2.00 by the end of the year ! but a word of caution, long term orders aint cash in the bank which means any prospective dividend needs to be either in 2024 or probably as late as 2025 ! Best of luck to all holders - we need it !!!

Gentlemen, As we all understand , a dedt of £1 billion is not negated by a portfolio of prorerty said to be valued at £1 billion
especially when the cash flow to service the said first billion is in negative territory ! Been with this share for over 5 years and this is by far the worst position they have been in, they have set an agenda of selling off some of their estate in an attempt to assuage their creditors, but in this climate who will pay premium prices for a depreciating asset ??? Tougher times ahead - but I STILL LOVE PEDIGREE !!!!!

Share Price falling owing to getting a slight " toppy ", nothing to worry about but it might re-trace to £5.20 ish before stablizing ! Not a nailed on philosophy but seems logical. DYOR and best of luck

Fire sale, Fire sale !! By divesting themselves of basically assets that may be hard to turn a profit on , the BOD have taken the only real option open to them, Debt must be bought under control and obviously any monies raised will go towards this fulfilment. The nagging worry for me is the real possibility that the valuations might not be achieved either in the short term ,or the medium term ,if this comes to fruition the pressures upon cash flow stay apparent ! The precept that another owner would have the ability to turn that elusive profit is speculative at best , considering the state of the economy and the reduced footfall into public houses . One last thought, If I were able to purchase a modest public house in this sale for say £300,000, then I would need to work 10 - 12 hours a day , probably six days a week to try and make a modest living wage - say £25000 p.a. whereas £300,000 can return, at 4.5 % £13,500 whilst I am lying in bed ( and I still retain control of my capital ) Best of luck all, we are going to need it with this share !!

Gentlemen , for all you Pedigree drinkers out there , get yourselves down to Morrisons in Kidderminster , bottled Pedigree at £1.00 a bottle less a 4 for 3 offer - amazing value !!!! Yes I know it is not the same as a draught pint but come on look at the price!!! On a more salutary note, it in my opinion, just highlights the dire straits that Marstons are in - cash flow is everything especially when one has serious debts to service ! As a long term shareholder I will go to the wire but it will not stop me taking a view on my invested money . Finally , two points to get clear 1) I am not a Morrisons shareholder and 2) If they sell The Crooked House for £675.000 I will show my rear end in Burtons window !!!

Held these shares for over 5 years, What a load of garbage !!! The B.O.D. rejected a take over offer of £ 1.02 and since have presided over a demise year on year to the nadir of £0.337, with further to go ? The pubs are empty 5 nights a week, The staff are surley and immature and the group have over thirteen pubs for sale in the West Midlands alone !! Struggle to get Pedigree on tap at my local where Wainrights seem to hold sway - total rubbish- The only saving grace is the fact that the food, although basic, is acceptable. For my sins I now frquent a rival chain, which by the way offers such delicacies as a large dish of Mussels for £9.00 and extra large fish and chips for £ 11.00 ! If you can get people into your pubs then you can sell them beer !! By the way , a local brewery called Bathams that does no food at all, is totally rammed, brilliant beer at very acceptable prices !!!!! Message to Board, shape up or get out, long time share holder,