A round-up of the weekend's news affecting the hospitality industry...
Compass executives to share £12m bonus
Four senior directors of Compass Group, the catering company, will today be able to share a windfall of nearly £12m given to them for staying with the company since its merger with Granada in 2000. Under the plan, chief executive Mike Bailey will receive shares worth £4.3m; chairman Francis Mackay gets £3.77m; finance director Andrew Lynch gets £1.91m; and Alain Dupius, the chief executive of the global business, gets £1.86m. A further 446 executives will share just over £12m among them. - Independent on Sunday, 27 January
W&D share price to fall?
The sharp rise in the share price of Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries (W&D) since the company escaped the clutches of Pubmaster could come to a temporary halt next week when the group returns £76m to shareholders. A key plank of the W&D defence strategy against Pubmaster was the promise to return £100m to shareholders. – The Times, 26 January
Old Monk to sell four pub-restaurants
Old Monk, the AIM-listed pub operator, is to sell four pub-restaurants for £1.8m as it steps up the disposal of its bottom-end pubs to concentrate on the high-grossing Old Monk and Springbok Bar brands. The group is selling the four unbranded restaurants to a management buyout team. Springbok Bars have recently opened in Manchester and Cheltenham, taking the total to eight, and the company is in talks about sites in Preston and Bristol. – The Times, 26 January
New boss for Six Continents
Roger Carr, head of security and locks group Chubb, is to take over from Sir Ian Prosser as chairman of Six Continents, formerly known as Bass. Prosser, who has been at the helm for 15 years, is due to quit Six Continents next year when his contract expires, but he may go sooner. Despite City criticism that it has in the past paid too much to buy the Holiday Inn and Intercontinental hotel chains, Six Continents is thought to be considering at £1b bid for Spain’s NH Hoteles. – The Observer, 27 January
Regent Inns to sell off unbranded pubs
Regent Inns, which owns the Walkabout pub chain and Jongleurs comedy clubs, is in talks to sell unbranded pubs worth about £10m to Peter Mackie, a former operations director of the company, and dispose of a further tranche worth up to £1.5m. – Sunday Telegraph, 27 January
Burger King eyes £2b flotation
Food and drink giant Diageo is once again considering floating Burger King on the stock market with the aim of securing £2b for it. Diageo had previously been focusing all its efforts on a management buyout led by newly-appointed Burger King chief executive John Dasburg. But moves towards a buyout have been slower than hoped and investment bankers at UBS Warburg and Greenhill & Co are now reconsidering a float. – The Business, 27 January
Pret in good employer rankings
Sandwich chain Pret A Manger is one of the best 10 companies in Europe to work for, Fortune magazine’s survey of non-US employers will reveal this week. Pret is the only hospitality business to make the list and one of just two UK companies in the list. – The Business, 27 January
Hilton in £300m sale-and-leaseback
Hilton Group is drawing up plans for a £300m sale-and-leaseback of UK hotels to release further funds for expansion overseas. It is in talks with banks and it is expected the deal will be completed in the next two to three months. – Sunday Telegraph, 27 January