Wagamama and Frankie and Benny’s owner Restaurant Group (RTN) has successfully increased its banking facilities and directors have volunteered to continue to take a 20% pay cut while the business is still accessing the job retention scheme. The shares cratered 11.6% to 47p. The company has tapped £50 million from the government’s coronavirus business interruption loan scheme and ...

Chancellor’s Rishi Sunak’s Summer Statement – described as a mini-budget in some quarters – delivered more or less what had been expected. In the absence of any big surprises the FTSE 100 delivered a bit of a shrug to the announcement, remaining subdued down 0.4% at 6,167.61, and sterling was unchanged against the dollar. Following a wave of job losses being announced across ...

Frankie and Benny’s owner The Restaurant Group (RTN) announced it will implement a company voluntary agreement (CVA) to reduce rent costs and downsize the estate. The shares nudged up 1% to 70.5p, having halved over the past six months. This follows a statement rushed out on 8 June after rising speculation that the company would need to restructure its sites due to ‘significant ...

UK stocks rallied on Wednesday after two days of losses with domestically focused banks and insurers the main drivers amid thin corporate news. Leading the gains were Lloyds Bank (LLOY) and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) up 3% apiece to 36.3p and 135p respectively, supported by insurers RSA (RSA) and Phoenix (PHNX) up 2% to 423p and 675p respectively. At 9am the FTSE 100 index was up 0.4% to ...

UK markets regathered momentum to accelerate gains in afternoon trading after a firm start on Wall Street. Both the Dow Jones and S&P 500 rose more than 1.5% early in the Thursday session, although the tech heavy Nasdaq made more modest progress. Earlier in the day the UK government extended its Bank of England overdraft so it can borrow billions of pounds and bypass the bond market. The ...

The FTSE 100 jumped in early morning trading as the UK government extended its Bank of England overdraft so it can borrow billions and bypass the bond market. The government has extended what’s known as its ‘Ways and Means’ facility at the central bank. This allows it to immediately raise funds and smooth out cash flow as it tries to support the economy amid the coronavirus ...

Investors and the general public are going to view many companies in one of two ways once the coronavirus crisis has abated. They will either hold them in high esteem or view them with bitterness, with their opinion shaped by how companies behaved during the pandemic. Companies are essentially earning a licence to make a profit once the crisis is over. To get one, they need to follow this ...

UK markets made a strong start in this shortened trading week with European equity futures rising this morning as some commentators turn less gloomy. At 9am, the benchmark FTSE 100 index is up 2.7% at 5,563.52, led by aero-engineer Rolls-Royce (RR.), while the rally of the mid cap FTSE 250 is even firmer, jumping 4.6% at 14,752.45.A slowdown in the growth rate of new US coronavirus cases may ...

Wagamama and Frankie & Benny's owner Restaurant Group (RTN) warned on profits and said it was discussing convenant 'holidays' with its lenders, as the company revealed the impact of coronavirus-related restrictions on its sales. Amid some see-saw trading, the shares rose 4.6% to 26.7p as investors at least appreciated some clarity on the situation. Like-for-like sales in the last two ...

The FTSE 100 plunged 3.75% to 5,096 in early morning trade despite Chancellor Rishi Sunak pledging £350bn, equivalent of 15% of the UK’s GDP, in support for businesses. Companies across the UK are facing an unprecedented crisis as people stay at home and spend only on essentials due to the coronavirus outbreak, with the sharp drop in economic activity putting a wide of range of jobs and ...

Survival of the fittest has long been the mantra of the notoriously cut-throat airline industry. In the past, any number of small issues from overcapacity to the vagaries of the oil price have been enough for some airlines to go under. Now, across the world the industry is facing an unprecedented crisis, with draconian travel bans by several countries making passenger numbers, as ...

Travel operator TUI (TUI) is to lose its place in the FTSE 100 after its recent share price slump made it too small to qualify for the blue chip index. Index provider FTSE Russell reshuffles the FTSE 100 basket every quarter, ejecting any stock whose ranking drops below 110, and promoting into the index any that ranks 90 or higher. TUI shares have fallen by 42% year-to-date as investors ...

UK stocks continued their downward slide on Wednesday as the coronovirus spread further in Europe and the Middle East and a US solider become infected with the disease. The FTSE 100 fell 53.3 points to 6,964.59 early on, making it the sixth day straight of declines for the UK benchmark index. The FTSE 250 followed the blue chips into negative territory, shedding 192 points to ...

London’s FTSE 100 rallied 46.6 points to 7,373.4 on Monday as claims the US and China are ‘very close’ to a trade deal sent global markets higher. Restaurant Group (RTN) fell 3.8% to 140.5p after delivering an update to bondholders on second-quarter trading at Wagamama. Turnover rose by 11% to £93.5m thanks to the opening of six new sites and as delivery kitchen with the US showing ...

Restaurant Group (RTN) 139.8p Gain to date: 23% Original entry price: Buy at 113.2p, 11 April 2019 Shares in casual dining firm Restaurant Group (RTN) have stalled a little since a disappointing set of first half results at the beginning of September. We said then to stick with the shares but recent signs of a deteriorating backdrop means now is a good time to book a decent ...

Restaurant Group (RTN) 137.2p Gain to date: 21.2% Original entry point: Buy at 113.2p, 11 April 2019 Investor expectations were possibly too high in the run up to Restaurant Group’s half year results on 3 September. The shares took a big hit when it reported £115.7m in one-off charges and very slow sales growth of 0.2% in the past six weeks, leading to modest earnings downgrades from ...

London’s FTSE 100 shed 9.1 points to trade at 7,273 on Tuesday as political uncertainty caused sterling to drop below $1.20 for the first time since 2017. This weighed on the UK-focused FTSE 250, dragging it back by 26 points to 19,456 and is also bad news for UK domestic FTSE 100 stocks including the housebuilders, supermarkets and various banks. Plumbing and heating products distributor ...

Restaurant Group (RTN) 135.1p Gain to date: 19.3% Original entry point: Buy at 113.2p, 11 April 2019 Shares in Restaurant Group (RTN) rallied after we said to buy in April. Having eased back slightly in the past month, the stock is now back on an upwards trajectory after investment bank Berenberg found evidence that consumers were warming to one of the group’s main brands again. It ...

Domino’s Pizza (DOM) and Restaurant Group (RTN) could potentially be targets for activist investors, based on how they screen for valuation and quality. Both companies have suffered falling share prices in recent years due to trading difficulties. Domino’s has been getting into a spat with its franchisees and its overseas operations aren’t going to plan. Restaurant Group is in the middle ...

Last week saw the final collapse of Jamie Oliver’s restaurant empire after a year of struggling with mounting debts and insufficient funds. As one of the administrators from KPMG observed, the casual-dining environment is ‘as tough as I’ve ever seen’. It seems a far cry from the start of the decade when affordable restaurants were popping up on every high street on a weekly basis. With ...