nk1999
12 Oct 2016
Telegraph- Questor "Not everyone likes turnaround stocks and Restaurant Group operates in a fiercely competitive sector. But the arrival of proven new management, the honest admission that a lot of mistakes have been made and August’s decision to hold the interim dividend all suggest that the company is capable of serving up better news in the coming weeks and months. The firm, which owns the Frankie & Benny’s, Garfunkel’s and Chiquitos chains, has certainly endured a torrid year. As profits growth has slowed and the profit warnings piled up, both the chief executive and the chief financial officer have gone and the share price has suffered a vicious fall – a year ago it stood at about 700p, compared with last night’s close of 350.6p.The new boss, Andy McCue, the highly regarded former chief executive of Paddy Power, the bookmaker, arrived on Sept 19 and his new finance man has a good record too.The first phase of a strategic review blamed poor management, not competition, for the trading disappointments and a revitalised menu plan, site opening programme and cost control could all restore profit growth, especially as sales momentum seems to be stabilising if the first-half numbers are a fair guide.Patience will be required but expectations are low and the valuation more sensible. The shares now trade on barely 12 times earnings when the multiple used to be nearer 25 times.Questor says: buy "
nk1999
01 Sep 2016
Citi view From ADVFN:"Restaurant Group shares fell on Wednesday as Citigroup downgraded its stance on the stock to 'sell' from 'neutral' and cut the price target to 320p from 350p.The bank said that while there may be valuation support on a sum-of-the-parts basis, the company still faces significant trading headwinds, with limited near-term positive catalysts."Whilst we think recent management appointments of a new CFO and CEO are positive steps in the group's rehabilitation, we suggest there could be further store closures and exceptional costs as new management looks to revitalise the leisure operations.""Restaurant Group's share price has bounced over 50% of late. Given this significant move, and our view that the group faces ongoing operational headwinds, we downgrade the stock to sell."Last week, Restaurant Group said it swung to a pre-tax loss in the first half on the back of restructuring costs as it announced the closure of outlets.In the 27 weeks ended 3 July, the group posted a loss before tax of £22.5m compared to a pre-tax profit of £38m the year before.Meanwhile, like-for-like sales were down 3.9%, and Restaurant Group said it plans to exit 33 underperforming sites immediately as it reckons they are incapable of generating adequate returns."nk
II Editor
26 Aug 2016
NEW ARTICLE: Final service for Restaurant Group sites "Admitting you are part of the problem, let alone the main reason, is hard to do. But it's exactly what LSE:RTN:Restaurant Group has done after a difficult year collapsed its share price by two-thirds. Alongside interim results, it's earmarked ..."[link]
nk1999
15 Aug 2016
Canaccord From ADVFN:"Canaccord Genuity has raised its rating on Restaurant Group to 'buy' from 'hold' and lifted its target to 550p from 276p.The broker said the upgrade on the owner of Garfunkels follows the replacement of chief executive Danny Breithaupt with Andy McCue, former chief of Paddy Power. The ousting of the CEO comes after a string of profit wanrings and a share price collapse."New CEO Andy McCue was CEO of Paddy Power where he embedded a new growth strategy which delivered record revenues and profits, as well as playing a main role in the merger with Betfair," Canaccord said.Canaccord said the executive team has also been strengthened by the appointment of Barry Nightingale as chief financial officer and Spencer Ayers as new managing director for its Frankie & Benny's business.Looking ahead to the company's strategic review on 26 August, Canaccord said: "We highlight a checklist of actions that investors should expect to read in the review: exit poorly performing sites, continue to develop the brand portfolio, reposition Frankie & Benny's, reduce and re-direct capex, improve digital marketing capability, reduce the overheads, review returns to shareholders including share buybacks."Canaccord said the problems Restaurant Group faces are "not unique" but believes that the business is "fixable"."Maturing brands inevitably require constant innovation and occasional reinvention and there are many positive case studies in the market that suggest it can be done."nk
nk1999
13 Aug 2016
Fund Manager Investment From Citywire:"Nimmo sells Restaurant Group after profit warnings Harry Nimmo, manager of the Standard Life UK Smaller Companies (SLS) investment trust, has sold his holding in Restaurant Group (RTN), after a succession of profit warnings.‘It has become clear that increased supply has eroded its competitive advantage and could lead to continued revenue and margin pressure,’ he said.Nimmo is not the only small cap trust manager to dump the stock. Neil Hermon has also sold the company from his Henderson Smaller Companies investment trust, saying the restaurant and pub operator had suffered from ‘increased competition, a weakening brand and poor operational delivery’.Shares in the company, which runs the Franky & Benny’s, Garfunkel’s and Chiquito chains, have slumped 45% since the beginning of the year.Restaurant Group in April warned of a ‘further deterioration in trading conditions’ and that full-year sales were likely to drop by as much as 5%."nk
mutandis13
12 Aug 2016
New appointments With the new CFO (joined 20/06//16) and the new CEO (starts 19/09/16) having previously worked for Betfred and Paddy Power respectively, is RTN a good bet ? 
Jay K2
10 Jun 2016
RTN "buying opp" : The Motley Fool ~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~The Motley Fool9th June 2016Did I miss the best buying opportunity?Shares in Restaurant Group fell as low as 265p in May, before rebounding strongly to their current level of 367p. I've been taking a closer look to decide whether it's still worth buying ahead of a possible takeover bid or turnaround.My view is that Restaurant's core franchise, Frankie & Benny's, has become dated and needs refreshing. However, this shouldn't be too difficult for a competent management team. Consumers are eating out in greater numbers than ever and Restaurant's balance sheet is strong, with very little debt.Earnings forecasts have fallen recently, but on a forecast P/E of 12.5, the shares still don't look expensive. There's also a 4.4% dividend yield, which I expect will be maintained.I suspect that any takeover bid would be priced at between 400p and 500p, so buying today could still deliver a worthwhile profit.~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~
Jay K2
06 Jun 2016
Activist investor increasing stake in RTN Garfunkel’s owner on the menu for activist investorOliver ShahJune 5 2016, 12
1am, The Sunday TimesAn activist investor is building a stake in The Restaurant Group, owner of eateries such as Frankie & Benny’s and Garfunkel’s.Crystal Amber, whose past targets have included Pinewood film studio and the chocolatier Thorntons, has bought about 1% of the FTSE 250 company — below the 3% threshold at which shareholdings must be disclosed to the market. It could take as much as 5%, sources said.The activist’s swoop comes after a near-halving of The Restaurant Group’s share price since the start of the year amid a trio of profit warnings.The slump, against a background of growing competition in the sector and the falling popularity of retail parks due to online shopping’s advance, has fuelled takeover speculation. Private equity firms linked to bid interest in The Restaurant Group include Cinven, the former owner of Pizza Express, and TA Associates, which has a stake in the fashion and home furnishings company Cath Kidston. A source close to the situation said the company would also make a natural target for Whitbread, the FTSE 100 parent company of Costa Coffee and Premier Inn.Crystal Amber is known for agitating for deals in many of its holdings. A source close to the fund said there would be “huge cost synergies” if The Restaurant Group was combined with another operator. He added: “It’s got a share register with growth investors, and it’s no longer growing.”The fund’s intervention is likely to crank up the pressure on Danny Breithaupt, who has been chief executive since September 2014. Debbie Hewitt, who made her name as the managing director of RAC, joined as chairwoman last month and has already started to shake up the board.Stephen Critoph, the finance director, was ousted in April on the day of the third profit warning.A source close to the company said the old board had been “asleep at the wheel” and suggested that Hewitt’s desire for change would align her with Crystal Amber.Shares in The Restaurant Group closed at 357.5p on Friday, valuing it at £720m.
Jay K2
27 May 2016
50k dir. purchase [link] this morning stating:£50k purchase of shares by the new non.exec dir
Jay K2
26 May 2016
Re: yesterdays spike up + heavy vol re yesterdays spike action on heavy volume, FT saying Instinet/Nomura (which barely trades the stock usually) crossed more than 1mill shares running into the close, not known who for/why/etcps:"Instinet is an institutional, agency-only broker that also serves as the independent equity trading arm of its parent, Nomura Group. It executes trades for asset management firms, hedge funds, insurance companies, mutual funds and pension funds."
Jay K2
25 May 2016
Prudential buying more..... RNS [link] : Major interest in Shares25 May 20163.33pmPrudential11,233,917 -----> 11,305,974ie another £250k bought on tuesday 24thsee the discussion over on advfn for more info
Jay K2
20 May 2016
broker N+ 1Singer says poss >500p if bid war [link] 144pm ALNC News: "N+1 Singer on Friday provided an estimate of what it thinks Restaurant Group's shares could be valued at if it is bought by another company."N+1 Singer : "Using SOTP analysis we arrive at 460p but envisage a price >500p if competitive tension builds."see discussion on advfn forum/bb
Jay K2
19 May 2016
Cinven also circling RTN.... skynews note the ...500p below......[link] equity firms including Pizza Express's former owner are mulling bids for struggling Restaurant Group, Sky News learns.Mark Kleinman, City EditorThe former owner of Pizza Express is weighing a takeover bid for the struggling listed company which operates the Garfunkel's restaurant chain.Sky News has learnt that Cinven, the private equity firm, is in the early stages of evaluating an approach to the board of Restaurant Group, which has seen its shares plunge by more than half during the last 12 months.Cinven, which sold Pizza Express to a Chinese investor two years ago, is not the only private equity firm circling Restaurant Group, which also owns Frankie & Benny's.City sources said that TA Associates and other parties had been running the numbers on a possible bid, although it was unclear whether a formal approach would materialise.Restaurant Group has endured a torrid few months, announcing the departure of its long-serving finance director and a third profit warning in quick succession less than a fortnight ago.The company, which also owns the Mexican-themed chain Chiquito and Joe's Kitchen, which is focused on a fresh food offer, has warned investors that this year's profits to be no higher than £80m.Shares in Restaurant Group were trading at around 327p on Thursday, giving the company a market capitalisation of just over £630m.It was unclear what level of takeover premium would be required to persuade the company's big investors to sell, but one source suggested an offer would have to be pitched above 500p to be credible.Another insider said it was far from certain that Cinven's interest would result in a firm offer being made for Restaurant Group.Cinven is also a former owner of the Byron, Ask and Zizzi restaurant chains through Gondola Holdings, their one-time parent company, before the latter two were sold to another private equity investor, Bridgepoint.Confidence in the pace of the consumer spending recovery during the last five years has buoyed confidence in the UK's casual dining sector, with a flurry of deals involving chains such as Cote and TGI Friday taking place.A person close to Restaurant Group said Cinven's operational expertise in the restaurant industry meant there could be considerable scope to improve its performance."The company's reputation has been badly damaged in recent months, made worse by the poor advice of its financial public relations advisers," the source said.Alongside last month's profit warning, Danny Breithaupt, Restaurant Group's chief executive, announced a strategic review, the results of which would be announced in August."We are focused in the short term on the operational levers that will improve our trading performance," he said."In the medium term, we are reviewing the core strategic assumptions that differentiate our operating model to ensure that we optimise returns for shareholders.Spokespeople for Cinven and Restaurant Group declined to comment on Thursday.
Jay K2
19 May 2016
PE grp Apollo said to be "circling RTN" [link] Alert: Apollo/Casual Dining Group said to be circling The Restaurant GroupLoyal readers will have picked up on my scepticism about the recent The Restaurant Group bid rumours in my "Burnt fingers" series. However, perhaps too much time in journalism (over a decade now) can make you too cynical.So, I'm prepared to air The Restaurant Group takeover tale that I have stumbled across recently as it contains a lot more detail than your standard "private equity" bid rumours that go around the market every couple of weeks. Sources say US private equity firm Apollo, which controls the Casual Dining Group (formerly known as Tragus), has been looking at combining The Restaurant Group - owner of Frankie and Benny's, Chiquito and Garfunkel's - with the Casual Dining Group.It's not clear, however, whether Apollo has submitted a formal approach for The Restaurant Group but word is the buy-out house, founded by Wall Street buccaneer Leon Black, has got bankers at Morgan Stanley, advising on how it should pursue a deal. Apparently, talks have already been held with The Restaurant Group.Apollo took control of Casual Dining Group - owner of Cafe Rouge, Las Iguanas and La Tasca - via a debt for equity swap in 2014. So, it's not hard to see what the US predator's angle might be given The Restaurant Group has issued three poor trading updates in a row and seen its shares crash 55pc over the last twelve months.Now, readers need to aware this information is RARE of the RAREST kind. If you don't remember what RARE is, here is the definition:Market gossip that hasn't been tested through formal journalistic channels (public relations executives, bankers etc). The rumour might be total codswallop but then again there may be something in it, so it's worth airing on Betaville.What will be interesting is to see whether The Restaurant Group or Apollo/Casual Dining Group make a statement. The trend recently has been for potential offerors to go "pens down" once they are outed in the media so they don't have to confirm a report.Restaurant Group and Apollo both declined to comment.
Jay K2
06 May 2016
Shares Mag: RTN is Ripe for Takeover Restaurant GroupRipe for takeover, but will shareholders want to sell?Investors in Frankie & Benny’s, Garfunkel’s and Chiquito owner Restaurant Group (RTN) should brace themselves for a dividend cut following three profit warnings this year. While this would add to shareholders’ pain, the 60% share price decline so far in 2016 leaves the company vulnerable to a takeover bid so don’t rush to sell the shares.[link]
