Clapham House Share Discussion Threads

[liveinhope] 20/8/2008 13:44

GBK offer now available at all outlets and flagged on front page of this weeks Martins Money Saving Tips.
"Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK) 2for1 on main meals

Buy one main meal at deluxe burger joint Gourmet Burger Kitchen and get another one free, just by printing this voucher. This voucher has been floating about on the internet for a little while but we have express permission from Gourmet Burger Kitchen to publish it.

The voucher is valid nationwide in all Gourmet Burger Kitchens before 25 September 2008, Sunday - Thursday, for 'eat in' only. Find your nearest GBK."
IHMO worth trying.

[sheik yerbouti] 15/8/2008 08:14

Dresdner has upgraded Clapham House from hold to add - despite reducing it's target price from 140p to 120p.

[sheik yerbouti] 15/8/2008 07:50

From The TimesAugust 15, 2008

Sweet and sour for restaurants
Smaller companiesPeter Stiff
Restaurant stocks have been savaged over the past year as investors fled, fearing higher food prices and weaker consumer spending. Falls have come despite the fact that trading across the sector has so far proved relatively resilient, with many operators reporting positive like-for-like sales figures.

There was a short burst of sunshine yesterday for those who have stuck by their eateries, however, as analysts at Dresdner Kleinwort said that the industry was troughing out and that the upside potential outweighs the downside risks. The broker added that the market was attributing too little value to the sector's long-term growth prospects, noting that The Restaurant Group, which owns Garfunkel's, was 64 per cent off its peak.

However, this good news proved temporary as Dresdner cautioned that input cost pressures could continue to squeeze margins as existing fixed-price food contracts are repriced at higher levels.

The broker also noted higher staffing and utility costs and said that sales may come under pressure, with the outlook for UK consumer activity showing few signs of improvement.

Despite believing the sector was close to bottoming out, Dresdner downgraded its earnings forecasts and slashed price targets. This bittersweet outlook sent The Restaurant Group's shares down 1p to 125¼p, although Clapham House and Carluccio's remained flat at 97½p and 118p respectively, while Prezzo rose ¼p to 42p.

[sheik yerbouti] 20/7/2008 11:26

Clapham House
92p
Questor says Buy

Clapham House shares received a healthy boost yesterday after announcing that it had offloaded its wonderfully named Bombay Bicycle Club restaurant chain for a respectable £4.4m in cash.

The decision makes sense. The business had become more of a takeaway and delivery business than a set of curry houses, and Clapham House, frankly, needs the money. The company will use the proceeds to pay down its debt pile, and though the sale will depress earnings in the short-term, it will enable the group to focus on its other brands such as The Real Greek and Gourmet Burger Kitchen.

The latter is just one of a host of upmarket burger joints - Hamburger Union and The Ultimate Burger are among the others - and the concept has some merit. It offers consumers the chance to continue eating out in these financially straitened times without splurging as they once would have done. Additionally, the successful and fast-growing GBK is seen as by far the best player in the market.

The deal will reduce net debt at Clapham House to around £15m and will increase interest cover. The market took the deal well and sent the shares up more than 10 per cent as traders returned their focus to the value of GBK.

Just how far such trends can counter the effect of those who simply fail to go out at all though, remains to be seen and the future is likely to be bumpy. Nevertheless, the sale could lead to a further re-rating of the shares, making them a buy for those with a taste for adventure.

[sheik yerbouti] 18/7/2008 08:54

July 17, 2008

Clapham House sells Bombay Bicycle Club Indian take-away Dominic Walsh
Clapham House, the AIM-listed restaurant operator, has sold the Bombay Bicycle Club (BBC) chain for £4.4 million to Gourmet Restaurants, the company that owns Tiffinbites, a rival Indian restaurant chain.

Gourmet Restaurants, which is not connected to Gourmet Holdings, the Amato and Richoux cafe operator, intends to use the BBC purchase as the platform for consolidation of the fragmented Indian restaurant market.

Jamal Hirani, the Gourmet founder and chief executive, has four Tiffinbites sites in London and recently acquired the Vama restaurant in Chelsea. It has closed Tiffinbites sites in Soho, Cannon Street and at the Bullring in Birmingham.

Clapham, which was advised in the sale process by Coffer Corporate Leisure, is expected to use the proceeds to reignite the development of its highly regarded Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK) chain.

In December, the group accompanied a profit warning with an announcement that it planned to slow down the roll-out of GBK due to the tightening economic conditions.

Clapham bought the London-based BBC business four years ago for up to £2.42 million when it consisted of a restaurant in Balham plus five home delivery outlets in Fulham, Wimbledon, Tooting, Putney and Battersea.

Today, it has three restaurants - it has opened outlets in Holland Park and Hampstead - and 15 delivery kitchens.

David Page, the Clapham chairman, admitted at the end of last month that the company frequently fielded interest in its brands. "Over the years we have received multiple offers for every brand we have. We said when we floated that we'd sell at the right time."

Clapham itself has also been the subject of bid speculation as Capricorn Ventures International, the owner of the Nando's chicken chain, has built a stake of 25 per cent. Gondola Group, the PizzaExpress and ASK operator, has also been tipped as a suitor.

This morning, Paul Campbell, the group's chief executive, said: "'Whilst we are sad to see the Bombay Bicycle Club leave our portfolio, it is predominantly a home delivery business with a different pricing point and a longer period for return on capital than our other brands.

"We believe that at the current time it is appropriate to strengthen our balance sheet and focus resources on our pure restaurant businesses, Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Tootsies and The Real Greek."

The sale of BBC, which is also believed to have attracted interest from AIM-listed Indian Restaurants Group and Sanjay Mahju's Harlequin Restaurants, will force Clapham to take a £1.9 million hit against the carrying value of the goodwill.

For the year to March 30, BBC generated losses before tax of £484,000 and had net assets before debt of £2.42 million.

Analysts welcomed the deal, arguing that the reduction in debt £18 million to £14 million gave it greater flexibility to roll out its higher-return GBK brand.

Shares of Clapham House added 9p to 89p - a rise of more than 11 per cent - on news of the deal.

[liveinhope] 17/7/2008 13:23

Following the sale of BBCG news being released, Telegraph Online Business comment atricle today mentions below:
"The group's three remaining restaurant chains all offer average meals at £10 a head and are seeing no evidence of a slowdown, according to Mr Page. He added: "We're all waiting for this avalanche to hit us - but three weeks ago we had a record week at GBK.".

Also see Dexters at Bristol Airport was opened on July 10 according to CPH website.

[sheik yerbouti] 17/7/2008 08:56

Look good value at this price especially after today's BBCG announcement. Here is a press round up from 1st July:

Clapham House (110p) owns a number of eatery chains, including Gourmet Burger Kitchen and Tootsies. The group yesterday posted a 30% rise in profits, and while the number of new outlet openings has slowed, the group expects to add as many as 18 restaurants this year. Buy says the Independent.

Clapham House had ambitious plans when joining Aim in 2003. The company grew fast and the shares more than trebled on the back of UK and overseas potential. That came to a halt with a profit warning in December and the company shelved openings. In the past year the shares have slumped. Rising energy and food costs weigh on sentiment across the sector and there is little sign Clapham can withstand that much better than peers. Bid speculation will buoy the shares, but they remain an acquired taste, says the FT.

Clapham is valued at £56m, including debt. The break-up value is at least twice that and a forward multiple of 14 times is also modest for a company whose earnings should rise 30% this year. Hold says the Times.

[lomax99] 16/7/2008 17:20

Multi-brand restaurant group Clapham House, which foresaw a sustained economic downturn on the horizon back in December and curtailed its previously rapid growth plans, has issued stronger results than it seems the market was expecting.

In the year to 25 March, restaurant openings across its four brands – Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK), Tootsies, the Bombay Bicycle Club and the Real Greek – lifted the group total to 96 restaurants, hoisting revenues 30% higher to £59.5m and profits to £4.7m before tax and exceptionals. However, growth this year will be less impressive as the roll-out will be much slower, confirms chief executive Paul Campbell, who says the plan is to roll out ten to 13 new outlets.

Trading is 'satisfactory' but the outlook is cautious and Campbell stresses that, as well as slowing down expansion, 'we're concentrating on controlling costs and doing all we can to promote sales'. A total of £9.2m of cash was generated last year and the store roll-out is all being funded from this.

'Capex is controllable,' reminds Campbell, 'and we think the expansion plan at the moment is right for this stage in the economic cycle. Looking forward, we see next year looking the same, but if conditions improve we can ramp up the pace again.' Last year, net debt rose 68% to £16m, but £21.7m of unused overdraft facilities still remain for such a purpose.

Backed here at 165p in 2005, the shares soared to over £4 by last summer, before slipping in December when the company flagged up its more conservative strategy. Although the company seems to be paddling quite furiously to maintain its progress and the economy is turning down, Clapham House is a well-managed operator and its current valuation is undemanding. The shares are worth holding long-term.

----------------------------------

The above is from GCI when the price was £1.01, unfortunately furious paddling has had no impact in arresting the continuing slide in the share price.

[demandred] 11/7/2008 15:14

hmmm thought Directors would selling their grand ma to purchase at this price. its a worry

[djmozy2] 01/7/2008 13:23

I work by Liverpool street and just saw they are finally opening up a GBK in Spitalfields. Will probably be open within the next week. Am sure its going to be permanently packed as there are no other burger chains in the area and they do the best burgers in town anyway (coming from a South African who knows his burgers)

[jazza] 30/6/2008 07:57

Looks pretty good....although I did see the word "cautious" in there somewhere, so expect a wave of selling (only joking).

[lomax99] 27/6/2008 17:17

May live to regret it, topped up (averaged down) just before the close - hopefully Monday will bring news of a Tootsie's sale and positive trade news at existing/new GBK outlets.

[sven2006] 27/6/2008 13:31

know their onions eh ! mmmmmmmm

[liveinhope] 27/6/2008 13:30

Thomson Financial today - "The recent share price slide in Clapham House Group Plc., although not out
of sync with peers, suggests bad news will be forthcoming.
Broadly speaking, Matthew Gerard of Investec Securities does not think this
is likely -- GBK should be trading well, given the London focus, and the analyst
is optimistic that the new menu launch in Tootsies has had a positive impact.
Corporate action is possible over the next few months and this will focus
the market on the value in GBK, Gerard suggests.
Following December's profit warning, a detailed full-year pre-close update
in March was generally more upbeat, particularly with respect to the core GBK
brand where new openings and mature sites have been trading strongly.
Gerard believes management will consider sensible offers for Tootsies or the
other non-core brands as it would a) release further funds to invest in the
high-growth, highly profitable GBK brand, and b) lead to a re-rating of the
shares given the focus on GBK (particularly in the light of Capricorn's declared
24.9 percent stake).
While credit markets clearly remain difficult, this would be a relatively
small transaction and the analyst would not rule out some form of corporate
action on this over the next few months."

[liveinhope] 26/6/2008 11:49

lomax99 - fully concur. See shares now going Northwards. You may be right.

[lomax99] 26/6/2008 11:07

If Capricorn are bullish on their ability to operate in this market, achieve synergies with their Nando's chain (in terms of converting underperforming Tootsie's, expand GBK, etc), then this is their chance to pick up the balance of what they do not own for sub £1.50.

[liveinhope] 26/6/2008 08:29

FT today commented on yesterday's fall and said analysts at Dresdner and Investec reckon Monday may see comment that CPH could cut its roll-out program and look to sell its Tootsies brand when results are announced. IMHO, not a bad thing.

[liveinhope] 25/6/2008 15:46

Trading Update 28th March did state, "The Company expects to report results for the year in line with market expectations and comfortably ahead of those reported for the previous year."

Monday will reveal if this is still the case. At present, not a share for the faint-hearted. Hopefully the Directors will show faith and buy more shares when next in position to do so, or maybe even Capricorn might?

[liveinhope] 25/6/2008 15:36

Redleaf Communications (PR Adviser) seem to have been ominously quiet since being appointed earlier this year. Maybe Monday could see them being more active?

[lomax99] 25/6/2008 15:19

Glad now that I sold out a reasonable chunk at £1.48, having a bit of a sense of humour failure over the continuing slide though. I wonder if Capricorn would like to pick up a few more?

[pomp circumstance] 25/6/2008 12:55

waving the white hanky!!

[liveinhope] 25/6/2008 12:52

Further fall today. Next Monday's results are now awaited with trepidation but hope I am proved wrong.