It was not a good week for relations between the pub and restaurant industry and the stock market. Cynics might ask when is it ever?
The last minute decision by Punch Taverns to pull its IPO has been thoroughly dissected. Hugh Osmond has defended the move (see "Osmond defends Punch prices after float flop" in this week's Main Headlines), and as many have observed better the ignominy of a failed float than a sliding share price post float.
The lack of enthusiasm for the HMV float the week earlier and even the Financial Times worryingly ignorant article on the state of pub tenancy agreements the day before have all taken part of the blame for the City's less than enthusiastic reception.
Of more concern for Punch will be the feeling in some City quarters that the owners expected too high a return, especially for an estate that has already been securitised.
Will Punch want to, or be able to, have another tilt at the market on the terms it wants? It's a big question. Staying private may be the best medium-term option. But if the owners really want an exit the often suggested tie-up with Pubmaster may well look attract - but perhaps with Pubmaster rather than Punch ending up as the senior partner.
• At the other end of the scale was what amounted to an apology from the Fish! restaurant group over its trading prospects. Fish! is yet another suffering the fate of many a small cap player in the restaurant and bar sector.
It has a great concept û the original Fish! in London's Borough Market remains one of the best restaurants on the South Bank. But the pressure, mainly from City investors, to roll-out increasingly away from its metropolitan home has seen it come unstuck.
Fish! also suffers from being a little above the £10 a head spend mark, discussed before in this column, at which casual dining concepts stop being "no brainer" choices.
Thirdly, the launch of Fish! benefited hugely from the enthusiasm of its entrepreneurial creator and champion Tony Allan. Of late, however, he has appeared less hands-on, diverted, perhaps, by new pizza ventures and TV appearances.
But don't give up on Fish! yet. The appointment of Michael Rosen, a former trading director of Safeway, as a non-executive director supports speculation that the management will seek to use brand extension in the supermarket chill cabinets to help leverage its wider brand appeal û as the likes of PizzaExpress, Yo! Sushi and Nandos are already doing.
• Lastly, Greene King appears in pole position to snap up Morrells, the Oxford-based pub chain, for an estimated £65m.
The Morrells' estate has benefited from a major overhaul overseen by chief executive Paul Beadle. Observers say it bears all the hallmarks of a "good Michael Cannon job".
The celebrated pub entrepreneur is, of course, Morrells' main shareholder. So it should be no surprise that Greene King is interested in acquisition.
The Suffolk-based brewer bought Cannon's Magic Pub Co, with its no-nonsense Hungry Horse food concept, and more recently picked up Old English Inns, headed by Magic old boy Colin Mayes. Morrells could make it a happy hat-trick for GK.
The last minute decision by Punch Taverns to pull its IPO has been thoroughly dissected. Hugh Osmond has defended the move (see "Osmond defends Punch prices after float flop" in this week's Main Headlines), and as many have observed better the ignominy of a failed float than a sliding share price post float.
The lack of enthusiasm for the HMV float the week earlier and even the Financial Times worryingly ignorant article on the state of pub tenancy agreements the day before have all taken part of the blame for the City's less than enthusiastic reception.
Of more concern for Punch will be the feeling in some City quarters that the owners expected too high a return, especially for an estate that has already been securitised.
Will Punch want to, or be able to, have another tilt at the market on the terms it wants? It's a big question. Staying private may be the best medium-term option. But if the owners really want an exit the often suggested tie-up with Pubmaster may well look attract - but perhaps with Pubmaster rather than Punch ending up as the senior partner.
• At the other end of the scale was what amounted to an apology from the Fish! restaurant group over its trading prospects. Fish! is yet another suffering the fate of many a small cap player in the restaurant and bar sector.
It has a great concept û the original Fish! in London's Borough Market remains one of the best restaurants on the South Bank. But the pressure, mainly from City investors, to roll-out increasingly away from its metropolitan home has seen it come unstuck.
Fish! also suffers from being a little above the £10 a head spend mark, discussed before in this column, at which casual dining concepts stop being "no brainer" choices.
Thirdly, the launch of Fish! benefited hugely from the enthusiasm of its entrepreneurial creator and champion Tony Allan. Of late, however, he has appeared less hands-on, diverted, perhaps, by new pizza ventures and TV appearances.
But don't give up on Fish! yet. The appointment of Michael Rosen, a former trading director of Safeway, as a non-executive director supports speculation that the management will seek to use brand extension in the supermarket chill cabinets to help leverage its wider brand appeal û as the likes of PizzaExpress, Yo! Sushi and Nandos are already doing.
• Lastly, Greene King appears in pole position to snap up Morrells, the Oxford-based pub chain, for an estimated £65m.
The Morrells' estate has benefited from a major overhaul overseen by chief executive Paul Beadle. Observers say it bears all the hallmarks of a "good Michael Cannon job".
The celebrated pub entrepreneur is, of course, Morrells' main shareholder. So it should be no surprise that Greene King is interested in acquisition.
The Suffolk-based brewer bought Cannon's Magic Pub Co, with its no-nonsense Hungry Horse food concept, and more recently picked up Old English Inns, headed by Magic old boy Colin Mayes. Morrells could make it a happy hat-trick for GK.
