29th Apr 2015 07:58
LONDON (Alliance News) - Spirit Pub Company PLC reported growth in profit in the first half of its financial year as it prepares for its takeover by Greene King PLC.
The company reported pretax profit of GBP3 million for the 28 weeks to March 7, up from the GBP1 million in the same period a year earlier. Revenue grew to GBP421 million from GBP406 million, as it said its Managed pubs benefited from good cost control and the addition of the pubs acquired with the Orchid estate in the second half of the prior year.
Its Leased pubs also performed well, it said.
Spirit added that seven pubs were acquired in the period, with GBP34 million being invested in the estate.
Greene King agreed to acquire Spirit Pub in a GBP773.6 million deal that values Spirit shares at 115 pence per share last November. Following completion of the deal, Spirit shareholders will own around 28.9% of the combined company, with Greene King shareholders owning the remaining 71.1%.
Shares in Spirit were trading down 0.2% at 112.80 pence Wednesday morning, while shares in Greene King were trading down 0.2% at 830.00p.
"We remain fully confident in the ongoing execution of our strategy across both our Managed and Leased divisions as an independent company and that its successful delivery and our strong balance sheet will deliver long-term growth and create significant value of shareholders," Chief Executive Mike Tye said in a statement.
"However, the board of Spirit believes that the Greene King offer will create a leading pub company with the strongest brand portfolio in the sector and attractive positions in a number of the growing segments of the pub and casual dining market," he added.
Spirit declared no interim dividend, noting that a special interim dividend of 6.5p per share will be paid within 14 days of the acquisition by Greene King being completed.
By Karolina Kaminska; [email protected] @KarolinaAllNews
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