We have admired restaurant group The Fulham Shore (FUL:AIM) and its senior management team, which is one of the most experienced in the UK hospitality sector, for some time. We almost recommended buying the shares in late 2019 but luckily given the impact of Covid forgetfulness – or inertia – meant we never actually pulled the trigger. With the business having survived the pandemic ...

I left it ridiculously late to book a restaurant for a Mother’s Day meal. Everywhere I tried couldn’t fit me in – decent weather meant one of the industry’s biggest money-making dates in the calendar should have been a good one for pubs and restaurants this year. Despite the well-documented pressures beginning to exert themselves on consumer spending people were out in their ...

Leisure and hospitality shares are trading below pre-pandemic levels but arguably the underlying fundamentals have improved. Financially strong operators have taken advantage of favourable market conditions to accelerate their expansion plans. These include Wagamama owner Resturant Group (RTN), The Gym Group (GYM:AIM), Loungers (LGRS:AIM), and Fulham Shore (FUL:AIM). Despite lingering ...

Wagamama owner Restaurant Group (RTN) reported full year profit through the top end of recent guidance and said current trading remained ‘strong’ as it continued to outperform the market. Management maintained expectations for 2022 despite potential inflationary impacts resulting from the Ukraine conflict, giving the shares a 6% boost to 73.7p. They are down around 43% over the last six ...

Burger King’s UK operation is set to join the London stock market, according to reports. Private equity firm Bridgepoint (BPT) has been the master franchisee for Burger King UK since 2018 but is now believed to have appointed advisers with a view to floating the business on the London Stock Exchange with a £600 million valuation during the first half of 2022. The master franchise for Burger ...

Stocks in the UK and Europe closed lower on Friday after another weak trading session in the US as investors fretted over rising interest rates among other concerns. The technology-focused Nasdaq 100 index dropped a further 1%, taking its loss for the week to 5% and its loss from the November high to more than 10% signaling it had entered 'correction territory' according to ...

Stocks in the UK and Europe traded lower on Friday after a weak trading session in the US fed through into falls across Asia as investors fretted over rising interest rates among other concerns. The technology-focused Nasdaq 100 index registered further losses, falling 1.3% to take losses from its November peak to 10% signaling it is in 'correction territory' according to analysts. After the ...

Shares in Wagamana and Frankie & Benny’s owner Restaurant Group (RTN:AIM) gained 1.4% to 101.4p after the firm raised its full-year profit guidance to the top of its forecast range. Despite the impact of the Omicron variant and government ‘Plan B’ restrictions, good cost control and stronger than market trading means that management now expect full-year adjusted EBITDA (earnings ...

Stocks in the UK and Europe opened lower on Friday after a weak trading session in the US fed through into falls across Asia. The technology-focused Nasdaq 100 index registered further losses after falling 1.3% while the small-cap Russell 2000 dropped almost 2%. Adding to investor woes, in aftermarket trading Netflix shares sank 21% after it provided a disappointing outlook and weaker than ...

UK stocks closed near the high of the day on Tuesday as risk appetite returned and investors looked through the current wave of virus infections. Notable gains were seen across the travel sector with British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines (IAG) and low budget airline Wizz Air (WIZZ) shares up 6% and 4% respectively. Hospitality was given a boost the Chancellor announced a ...

The latest index review by FTSE Russell, part of the London Stock Exchange Group (LSE), sees cybersecurity firm Darktrace (DARK) relegated from the top flight less than two months after it was promoted due to the de-listing of supermarket group Wm Morrison following its acquisition by private equity. Darktrace shares have had a rollercoaster ride since the firm’s hotly-anticipated initial ...

UK stocks dropped in early trading after a selloff in overseas markets following the first case of the Omicron variant in the U.S. and a warning from technology firm Apple that demand for its latest iPhone had weakened. Meanwhile, investors were also watching energy prices ahead of an meeting of OPEC+ oil producers, which it is hoped will lead to an increase in supplies after the U.S. and ...

The UK franchise owner of American casual dining brand TGI Fridays, Hostmore (HOST), was spun out from private equity trust Electra (ELTA) on 2 November but its shares have been a flop so far. They’ve fallen by 27% to 108p, possibly caused by Electra shareholders dumping the shares they received as part of the demerger. There is a lot to like about the company’s growth plans, but equally ...

Shares in drinks-maker Diageo (DGE) hit a new all-time high of £39.48 this week after the firm released an ambitious set of sales targets reaching from the current financial year out to 2030. Chief executive Ivan Menezes said: ‘We believe our sales growth trajectory has accelerated, underpinned by the strength of our advantaged position across geographies, categories and price ...

Shares in Wagamama owner Restaurant Group (RTN) were the biggest gainers on the FTSE 250, surging 17% to 93p after the company increased its full year profit guidance. In an unscheduled trading update, the company said the strong trading it reported at the half year results on 15 September had continued across its restaurant, pub and leisure operations, with like-for-like sales growth ahead of ...

UK stocks were subdued on Tuesday after strong September employment data and rising average wages sent the pound higher against the dollar and the euro, creating a headwind for the globally-focused FTSE 100 index. Energy prices were higher with Brent crude up 1% to $83 per barrel as commentators talked of a tight market heading into winter, helping to lift the oil majors, but weakness in ...

Private equity trust Electra (ELTA) is entering the final stretch in its strategy to sell off assets, which include controlling interests in Fridays (74% of NAV (net asset value)) and Hotter Shoes (10% of NAV). Fridays (formerly branded TGI Fridays) is an iconic American themed restaurant and cocktail bar, while Hotter Shoes is a digitally-led shoe manufacturer with a focus on customised ...

The FTSE 100 index ended Friday’s session in negative territory falling 0.91% to 6963.64 below the psychologically critical 7,000 level. The FTSE 250 index fared marginally better, remaining in positive territory up 0.1% at 23,658.14. Two main factors contributed to this decidedly mixed performance. First, the UK market was uninspired by the latest UK retail sales volumes for August which ...

Restaurants and pubs company Restaurant Group (RTN) said it had seen a strong rebound in trading since reopening, leading to higher full year profit expectations, but negated the positive tone by flagging near-term cost and labour challenges, sending the shares 3% lower to 117.6p. The reported half year results to 4 July were not particularly relevant given the restrictions in place during the ...

UK stocks made little headway on Wednesday despite a spate of earnings reports which on the whole painted a picture of improving corporate health. By 9.30am the FTSE 100 index of leading stocks was unchanged at 7,033 points. In Asia, Chinese stocks closed lower after August retail sales data disappointed, sending the CSI index down for a fifth day in succession. In Japan on the other hand, the ...