The M&C20 was down 1.6% to 1,187 points this week, outperforming the All-Share Index which was down 1.9% to 1,010 points, Will Brumby of Langton Capital reports.
Spirit’s shares continued to climb on the back of Greene King’s potential bid for the company. If the bid is accepted the shares should move closer to the implied (albeit share for share) bid price of 110p, meaning there could still be fairly significant upside. In addition, holders still have some grounds to hope for a rival offer.
Greene King’s shares were up 1.2% for the week, regaining some ground, having fallen 4.8% last week on news of the their bid approach for Spirit. Marston’s and Mitchells & Butlers on the other hand saw their shares fall 3.6% and 4% respectively, as, rightly or wrongly, speculation mounts that they may be forced to enter the fray.
Prezzo’s shares ended the week relatively unchanged, despite the company confirming that it has received a bid approach from Advent International and TPG Capital on Thursday. The company said that the purchase price is unlikely to be above the previous day’s close of 135p and, though the shares initially rose to over 145p, once the market realised there was no premium being offered the shares came back down.
Patisserie Valerie was up 7.6% on improved investor sentiment following news last week that the company plans to roll out 20 sites per year.
SSP Group, whose shares have risen by almost 20% since its IPO in July, lagged the market and fell by 4.8% over the week.
Next week will see Marston’s update on Full Year trading. We have heard from other operators that despite August having been tough, the mild weather in September (which saw a quarter of the average rainfall for the month) will have helped pub trading and we expect confirmation on this point from Marston’s on Wednesday.
