JD Wetherspoon, which has £500m worth of debt on its balance sheet, is seeking to replace a £100m bond issue that it sold to US-based investors in the late 1990s to finance dozens of new pubs.
The pubs group is also understood to be examining what it should do with its remaining £400m of debt, which is made up of conventional bank borrowings.
But a source close to the company has pointed out that it has one of the lowest debt levels in the sector and that it could repay all its debt using existing cashflows.
David Litterick, writing in The Sunday Telegraph’s Questor column, says a weekend trading statement from the company was “at last, some relatively good news” with “nary a profit warning in sight”.
Sales of wines, traditional ales and food have been strong, although Wetherspoon spent more on marketing to lure customers in.
The glass, adds Litterick, has gone from half empty to half full. He advises investors to hold on to any shares they own, but warns: “Don’t go rushing back for a top-up just yet.”
The Sunday Express 04/05/08 (Financial) page 1
The Sunday Telegraph 04/05/08 (Business) page 9
