Weekend press roundup, 26-27 March

Please see below M&C Report’s round up of this weekend’s papers: Investors look to swap debt for equity in Punch Bondholders in Punch Taverns believe a debt-for-equity swap in the company could be the way forward. They also want Deutsche Bank, the trustee of the company’s securitisations, to step in to prevent to halt the sale of pubs from the estate. More than 100 bondholders tuned into a call last Thursday hosted by six leading investors – including Aviva, M&G and Legal & General - who own more than 50% of the bonds in securitisations A & B, which covers 5,500 leased pubs. Punch plans to enter talks with bondholders in the summer after it has de-merged its managed division. “The only way you can get value for shareholders is to take it from bondholders,” said one source close to bondholders. The lowest- ranking bonds issued within the A and B securitisations are valued at about 30% of their face value. Financial Times, 26 March Hoteliers deny Olympics profiteering Hotel groups have met with Olympic officials to review measures to keep down hotel room rates during the Olympics amid claims by wholesale room distributors of profiteering. UKinbound, a trade association for companies arranging tours, has claimed that some hotels were demanding five times normal rates during the Olympic period, with others producing onerous terms and conditions. British Hospitality Association (BHA) chief executive Ufi Ibrahim has insisted that members are complying with an agreement to charge rates that are “fair and reasonable” – the average rate in London between 2007 and 2010. However, the BHA agreed that the agreement covered only 40% - or 56,000 rooms - of the total London room stock. Mario Bodini, chief executive of UKinbound, said: “At present, rates in the wholesale market for the games period in 2012 are vastly inflated and the terms of business we are being offered are so punitive that we can’t risk signing contracts on that basis.” Financial Times, 26 March British households £50 a month worse off than last year British households have seen a £572 a year fall in disposable income this year as salaries fail to keep pace with inflation. In February, the average UK household had £169 of disposable income each week, down £11 on 2010, equating to an annual hit of £572. The figures are the largest annual fall ever recorded by the Centre of Economic and Business Research. The impending increase in the rate of National Insurance for employees equates to a one per cent pay cut for most people, while the reduction in tax credits is set to hit many modestly-paid workers hard. The Telegraph, 26 March Retro dishes make strong return Major supermarkets and food retailers have reported strong sales for a number of retro dishes popular in the 1970s and 1980s. The chicken kiev has seen a 25% surge in sales at Marks & Spencer in the past year – Tesco’s report the dish has enjoyed a 20% sales boost over the same period. Steak Diane and beef stroganoff have both taken off at Tesco, with sales up 40 per cent in the past 12 months. The supermarket has also added a duck a la orange ready meal to its range of 1970s dinner party staples. Suzanne Weatherall, of Marks & Spencer, said:” We’ve seen an unprecedented revival in retro foods this year as shoppers want to enjoy foods from their childhood once more. Chicken kiev remains a clear favourite, but pies, casseroles and toad in the hole are fast catching up.” The Telegraph, 26 March Tchenguiz brothers win court costs Property tycoons Robert and Vincent Tchenguiz have been awarded costs in their legal battle against Icelandic bank Kaupthing. Vincent Techneguiz has been awarded £250,000 of costs whilst brother Robert has been awarded a similar amount. The awards came after the UK courts ruled that their £1bn case against Kaupthing could be heard in the UK courts. Kaupthing was also denied leave to appeal. There is also a possibility, however, that the £1bn case could be hard in Iceland – last week an Icelandic court ruled it could also hear the case. The Tchenguiz brothers cold appeal the Icelandic court decision. The Telegraph, 26 March Domino’s enjoys 900% profit on a pizza Unnamed industry insiders have revealed that Domino’s enjoys a 900% mark-up on the ingredients for a margherita pizza. To make a large margherita, the company pays 55p for a large base, a maximum of 14p for a ladle of tomato sauce and 56p for 154g of cheese – making a total of £1.25 for a pizza it charges £12.49 for. A deluxe pizza cost Domino’s 4p for onions, 11p for mushrooms, 13p for green peppers, 19p for pepperoni and 21p of sausage – a total of £1.93. The retail price of £17.99, a profit of 832%. A spokesman for Domino’s said: “In common with all food businesses, raw ingredients make up a relatively small portion of the total costs. The majority of costs is in rents, business rates and especially labour, which is an area we tend to spend more on that our competitors as we have such a fanatical focus on service times. Franchisees also contribute to the national advertising fund and bear the costs of local marketing of their businesses.” Daily Mail, 26 March Ex-Punch boss Thorley invests in livemusic.fm Giles Thorley, former boss of Punch Taverns, has taken an undisclosed stake in livemusic.fm, the fast-expanding live music concert tickets site. The investment has been made alongside head of Sony UK Nick Gatfield and helicopter magnate Peter Bond. – the trio are good friends and view the deal as a “little club investment”. All three have joined the board as non-executives. Thorley told the Sunday Telegraph: “At present, it’s a little club investment but we are really pleased with how it is developing and I think it is already the pre-eminent website for gigs in the UK.” The website was set up by father and son Mick and Ben Newton, who also run Atomic, a management company which has a roster of artists including Steve Winwood. The Sunday Telegraph, 27 March Tragus plans Cafe Rouge Express Restaurant group Tragus, which is backed by private equity firm Blackstone, is planning to open as many as 50 mini Café Rouges at train stations up and down the country. The first site for Café Rouge Express, opened at Euston train station last month, has been a “considerable success”. The company is in talks with Network Rail about further locations. Its first site – chosen for its proximity to head office – is smaller in size than a normal restaurant with just 50 seats. It operates as a takeaway format with customers expected to order their own food from the counter. Part of the thinking behind Café Rouge Express is to extend busy sales periods by offering snack items that can be eaten on the move. In its most recent financial year to May 2010, Tragus sales rose by almost six per cent but like-for-likes sales were down by 1.6%. The Sunday Telegraph, 27 March Barclay brother close in on Maybourne deal The Barclay brothers have tightened their grip on a deal to buy the Maybourne Hotel Group, which owns Claridge’s and the Connaught in London. They are set to appoint a key lieutenant, Michael Seal, to the board of Coroin, which owns Maybourne. He will sit alongside Richard Faber, the brothers’ in-house financier. Seal has been instrumental in other Barclays takeovers, such as that of the Telegraph newspapers group. The Sunday Times, 27 March Nightclub owned by Guy Pelly faces closure Public, the Chelsea nightclub opened by friend-of-the-royals Guy Pelly, faces closure after locals labelled it a “public nuisance”. More than 100 residents and businessmen have lodged a petition with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to close down the site. The council has stated that the nightclub’s licence will face a review in May after it received a “significant number of calls” from residents complaining about noise levels. Public has been a big success since it launched. It has a fancy dress room complete with a photo booth and its basement has trendy New York-style décor. With Nick House and Piers Adam, Pelly also operates bars Mahiki and Whisky Mist in London. The Mail on Sunday, 27 March Vintage Inns launches two-courses-for-£8 offer Vintage Inns, the up-market food-led brand operated by Mitchells & Butlers, has launched a two-courses-for-£8 voucher offer. Customers can order two courses from the brand’s fixed price menu between opening and 7pm, between Monday and Thursday until 12 April. The Mail on Sunday, 27 March