Punch Tavern’s shares dived 10 per cent cent to 104p after the group revealed a £663m impairment charge against the value of its pubs in its full-year results.
IC TIP:
Sell
at
104p
On the plus side, the group has managed to pay back £1.1bn worth of its £3.9bn net debt, although further progress on debt reduction is unlikely to be as rapid this year. Property sales have slowed from last year’s £441m, and there will be fewer opportunities to repurchase debt at a discount to face value.
Punch did report signs of trading stability, but a response by the Office of Fair Trading to a “super complaint” over the beer tie, due next week, only adds to wider economic uncertainty.
