Punch demerger on track for the end of the summer

08 June 2011 by
Punch demerger on track for the end of the summer

Punch's planned demerger, which will see its Spirit managed business separated from the group, is on track to complete at the end of the summer.

In a third quarter trading update, Punch said managed like-for-like sales in Spirit were up 7.3% for the period, with an 8.4% rise in food and a 7.3% increase in drink. The company said good weather had helped its performance, but it outperformed the market thanks to a focus on "operational excellence".

During the 40 weeks to 28 May 2011, Spirit has refurbished 160 pubs, focusing on building its Chef & Brewer, Fayre & Square and Flaming Grill brands.

Like-for-like net income for the 552 leased pubs in the Spirit side of the business was down 0.7%. The business has begun the process of converting some of these pubs to its managed brands.

Meanwhile Punch's tenanted and leased arm saw like-for-like net income drop 3.3% in the period, with an average net income per pub up 1.3%.

Punch said it had reorganised its business to create the core and turnaround divisions within Punch and to separate the Spirit leased division. As at 28 May, there were 2,956 pubs in the Core division, and 2,182 pubs in the Turnaround division.

And the company said that Roddy Murray has decided not to take up the role of finance director designate for Spirit. Russell Margerrison, who is currently group business planning director and has been leading the operational separation of the business, will assume the role of interim finance director of Spirit.

Ian Dyson, chief executive officer of Punch Taverns, said: "We are pleased that our operational initiatives continue to translate into improved performance for both Spirit and Punch. This has been achieved during a period of substantial change as we prepare for the proposed demerger of Spirit. Despite the challenging UK consumer environment we are on track to meet our full year expectations."

Punch to demerge Spirit and sell off 2,200 leased sites >>

Punch puts 1,250 weakest pubs in turnaround division >>

Punch prepares for ‘uncertain' conditions >>

By Neil Gerrard

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