BEST OF THE BROKERS February 10, 2010 RIGHTMOVE Collins Stewart thinks that consensus forecasts for FY10 are materially too low. It sets a target price of 690p – well above the current share price of 566p. It expects earnings per share forecasts to increase ten per cent to 30p. Valuation based on long term potential remains unchanged, and the broker advises “buy”. [...]
Greene King warns of a difficult year ahead but eyes food market January 27, 2010 GREENE KING may have managed to weather the worst of January’s snow storms, but the integrated pub and brewery giant expects the rest of 2010 to prove even tougher. For the 38 weeks to 24 January 2010, the Suffolk-based pub chain yesterday reported an overall 4.3 per cent growth in sales, despite a three week [...]
Greene King ‘weathering well’ January 26, 2010 GREENE King (GNK) may have managed to weather the worst of January’s snow storms, but the integrated pub and brewery giant expects the rest of 2010 to prove even tougher. During the 38 weeks ending 24 January 2010, the Suffolk based pub chain reported a 4.3 per cent growth in sales, despite a three week [...]
JD Wetherspoon’s sales take a tumble due to cold weather January 20, 2010 PUBS group JD Wetherspoon yesterday reported a decline in second-quarter like-for-like sales as a prolonged outbreak of snow across Britain kept drinkers at home. The company, which has 744 pubs, said sales at pubs open for more than a year fell by 0.3 per cent in the 12 weeks to 17 January, with the last [...]
Wetherspoon to create 10,000 jobs by opening 250 new outlets December 1, 2009 PUBS chain JD Wetherspoon is to create 10,000 jobs over the next five years with the opening of 250 new pubs. The business, which currently employs 21,000 people and has 743 pubs across the UK, is investing £250m in the new outlets. Openings are planned in cities such as Sheffield, Newcastle and Liverpool, with the [...]
JD Wetherspoon shares lift on investors’ dividend hopes November 4, 2009 JD Wetherspoon’S shares climbed yesterday after the pubs group said it expects to complete a refinancing of its debt by March next year, raising hopes it will resume dividend payments and overshadowing a slowing in the rate of its sales growth. The group’s shares lifted by almost three per cent to 477.7p by the close. [...]
Obama has made American brands more popular October 13, 2009 ACCORDING to the Nobel citation, President Obama deserved the Nobel Prize for Peace because of his “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples”. Was it an absurd award, or a prescient one? Has Obama made America more popular? We have in the past used BrandIndex as a subliminal measure of America’s popularity [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS September 20, 2009 JD WETHERSPOONInvestec Securities has reiterated its buy recommendation for JD Wetherspoon, noting that potential obstacles should be overcome by the company’s strong cash generation and market share gains. The planned VAT increase is not expected to damage JD Wetherspoon, with price increases and accentuated value relative to peers predicted to compensate.ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLANDEvolution Securities [...]
JD Wetherspoon, Carlsberg unite September 15, 2009 Pub group JD Wetherspoon and brewer Carlsberg UK have announced a new partnership to supply Carlsberg and Tuborg beers in all Wetherspoon’s outlets. The deal was unveiled yesterday at a launch at the new O2 Academy in Birmingham. JD Wetherspoon said the move was timed perfectly to exploit Carlsberg’s sponsorship of the FA and the [...]
Market to eye consumer purse while MPC mulls rates September 6, 2009 THIS week will be all about consumers’ purse-strings and just how tightly they are pulled. Results from across the retail and leisure sectors will go some way to answering that question, while the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee’s decision on interest rates and quantitative easing will tell us what the experts think about any [...]