Activist investor builds stake in Upper Crust owner SSP
Irenic Capital has built a 2 per cent stake in the transport catering company behind the Upper Crust and Ritazza café brands and the New York-based hedge fund is pushing SSP to boost profits, claiming that its shares could be worth double its current valuation, according to the Financial Times.
Shares in SSP have fallen 20 per cent since this time last year and now change hands for less than 160p apiece — compared with a record 645½p of October 2018.
SSP is run by the former Greencore boss and industry veteran Patrick Coveney. He took over from Simon Smith in March 2022, who left
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
5 minutes ago
- Reuters
Ex-trader Tom Hayes wins appeal to overturn rate-rigging conviction at UK top court
LONDON, July 23 (Reuters) - Tom Hayes, the first trader ever jailed for interest rate rigging, had his conviction overturned by Britain's top court on Wednesday after a years-long fight to clear his name. The UK Supreme Court unanimously allowed Hayes' appeal, overturning his 2015 conviction of eight counts of conspiracy to defraud by manipulating Libor, a now-defunct benchmark interest rate. Hayes had initially received a 14-year prison sentence, later reduced to 11 years on appeal. He served five and a half years before being released on licence in 2021. A former star Citigroup (C.N), opens new tab and UBS (UBSG.S), opens new tab trader, Hayes became the face of the global Libor scandal and challenged his conviction during three days of hearings at the UK Supreme Court along with Carlo Palombo, 46, a former Barclays (BARC.L), opens new tab trader who was found guilty in 2019 of skewing Libor's euro equivalent, Euribor. The court also quashed Palombo's conviction. He was given a four-year sentence in 2019. Hayes and Palombo had argued that their convictions depended on a definition of Libor and Euribor which assumes there is an absolute legal bar on a bank's commercial interests being taken into account when setting rates. The Libor rate, phased out in 2023, was designed to reflect banks' short-term funding costs and based on daily estimates from a group of banks as to how much they would expect to pay to borrow funds from each other for a range of currencies and periods. Hayes' challenge at the Supreme Court followed a landmark U.S. court decision in 2022 which overturned the Libor rigging convictions of two former Deutsche Bank traders.
The Independent
6 minutes ago
- The Independent
Wetherspoons' sales are booming – and it has one beer to thank
JD Wetherspoon has announced a significant surge in its recent sales, driven by the exceptional performance of Guinness and a notable rebound in breakfast demand. The pub group, which operates 794 establishments across the United Kingdom and Ireland, reported a 5.1 per cent increase in like-for-like sales for the three months ending 20 July, compared to the previous year. Sales volumes have now surpassed pre-pandemic levels after earlier concerns about a sluggish recovery across its estate. Beyond breakfasts, robust draught sales were highlighted, with Guinness proving particularly popular, alongside growth in wine and an improvement in spirits. This surge in demand for the Irish stout aligns with consistent reports from Guinness maker Diageo, which has noted its rapid growth in popularity. Favourable weather conditions during the period also boosted visitor numbers, allowing many Wetherspoon pubs to capitalise on their beer gardens. Wetherspoon's chairman Tim Martin said: 'Draught volumes are performing strongly with Guinness being the standout performer. 'On the food front, breakfasts, terribly slow post-pandemic, have recovered their lustre and are now well ahead. 'Chicken, also, has put in a clucking good performance and volumes in recent weeks are up by about 50 per cent compared to pre-pandemic levels.' increases to employers' national insurance contributions and the minimum wage. It has previously warned it is facing a £60 million hit from the higher business costs. Mr Martin has called on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to equalise the VAT paid on food by pub and restaurant businesses with that of supermarkets to mitigate the loss. Most food and drink in shops has zero VAT whereas restaurants and pubs have a standard rate of 20 per cent. 'This tax advantage allows supermarkets to subsidise the price of beer they sell,' Mr Martin said. 'The VAT distortions that exist today will inevitably create more supermarkets and less pubs.' Nonetheless, the group has said it plans to invest in its pubs over the year ahead, including staff rooms and gardens. It also hopes to open another 30 sites.
BBC News
7 minutes ago
- BBC News
City traders have rate-rigging convictions quashed
Two former City traders who were at the centre of one of the biggest scandals of the financial crisis have had their convictions quashed. Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo were jailed following trials for manipulating the interest rates used for loans between were among 19 City traders convicted in the US and UK for manipulating those Libor and Euribor interest rates, which are used to set interest rates on mortgages and commercial serving their time, the US courts threw out the convictions, but they remained convicted criminals in the UK.
