Clapham House Share Discussion Threads

[iou1lov] 18/6/2007 08:03

the train is leaving the station

[willydoctor] 16/6/2007 09:20

Results 19th June I believe. I'm long for same!

[maritsa] 14/6/2007 16:31

New Block Listing. It is expected that admission will become effective on 19 June 2007.
Could that be the same day for a surprise?

[4george] 12/6/2007 15:50

when are the results coming?

[jav1900] 03/6/2007 16:45

Has any one seen it??

[iou1lov] 01/6/2007 08:34

Charles STanley have issued a note

[liveinhope] 18/5/2007 17:03

Results scheduled to be announced in mid June 2007.

[wasbenson] 18/5/2007 11:04

results soon?

[gucci] 15/5/2007 14:35

shud start to turn soon imho
last mm at 396p

[trt] 11/5/2007 16:03

and down we go

[gucci] 10/5/2007 08:52

and up we go

[trt] 09/5/2007 15:22

I think we could drop below £4.00 possibly touching £3.85 again

[gucci] 09/5/2007 10:14

any dip is a buying oppor I suppose

[liveinhope] 08/5/2007 17:16

A pleasing appointment/promotion below in my opinion and another GBK opening this week. All go with this lot!

"The Board of Clapham House is pleased to announce the appointment of David Sykes
as Executive Director of the Company on 8 May 2007. David has been working at
Clapham House Group since 2005 and has extensive experience in managing the
operations of large restaurant groups having previously held the post of
Operations Director of PizzaExpress PLC. David has operational responsibility
for Clapham House's rapidly growing Gourmet Burger Kitchen ("GBK") business
which this week will open its 25th UK restaurant in Portobello Road, London.
There are also three GBKs operating internationally under franchise in Dubai and
Kuwait.



Commenting on the appointment, Paul Campbell, Chief Executive of Clapham House,
said: "I am delighted to announce the appointment of David to the Board. Since
David's appointment in 2005, his experience and skills have been an important
factor in the development and roll-out of GBK. His appointment to the Board is
recognition of the strong progress made and our exciting plans for GBK."

[wasbenson] 08/5/2007 09:05

And she's up, 6,000 bought at 418p

[gucci] 08/5/2007 08:27

last one at 417

[wasbenson] 08/5/2007 08:15

7,000 buy at 417p

[wasbenson] 08/5/2007 08:03

Collectively, these new eateries amount to about 50 outlets, insignificant next to the 1,800 or so operated by the sector's giants, McDonald's and Burger King, and have made barely a dent in the £11 billion UK market. But the upstarts are about to get a lot bigger – GBK hopes to get to 100 sites within three years – and the big boys are waking up to the fact that unless they respond, they could start to lose customers.



I dont think that 100 sites within 3 years is factored into the price! Boy!!


WASB

[wasbenson] 08/5/2007 07:58

I like this part

Business is booming, said Allan, now that customers have got their heads round the extra cost. "People don't mind paying £8 for a pizza that cost 30p to put in a box," he said. "Initially, it was a bit of a problem getting them to pay £7 for [fish and chips] that cost £3.50 to put in a box. But these days, people don't mind paying for a bit of quality."


says a lot for their margins!!!!!

[gucci] 08/5/2007 07:53

Have to agree was very impressed with the article in Sunday times WASBEN

[wasbenson] 08/5/2007 07:50

Sunday times - long but worth a read

May 6, 2007

Fast food goes posh
Now giants such as McDonald's are jumping on the bandwagon, writes Matthew Goodman
THE restaurateur Paul Campbell took a seat a few weeks ago by the window of the newly opened branch of Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK) in the Festival Square shopping mall in Basingstoke.

The site, one of 24 branches of the chain owned by the company that Campbell heads, was the first to open directly opposite a Burger King outlet and the boss wanted to see how shoppers reacted.

He was pleasantly surprised. "I watched people as they wandered through the mall and were looking at both," he said. "A fair percentage came into GBK. The site is performing better than we expected."

GBK, part of Clapham House Group, which Campbell co-founded, is the market leader in a wave of upmarket burger bars that have sprung up, mainly in southeast England, in recent years.

Since opening in March 2001, it has been joined by Hamburger Union and Fine Burger Company, both of which were launched in 2003, and by Ultimate Burger and Natural Burger Co.

All of them serve better-quality food in a smarter environment than a traditional fast-food outlet. They are a far cry from the sort of restaurants featured in Fast Food Nation, the film version of Eric Schlosser's best-selling critique of the industry, which is released this weekend.

Collectively, these new eateries amount to about 50 outlets, insignificant next to the 1,800 or so operated by the sector's giants, McDonald's and Burger King, and have made barely a dent in the £11 billion UK market. But the upstarts are about to get a lot bigger – GBK hopes to get to 100 sites within three years – and the big boys are waking up to the fact that unless they respond, they could start to lose customers.

It is not just hamburger joints where staple fast-food fare is being reinvented. Basilico is a five-strong chain of gourmet pizza take-aways in London. Fish and chips has lent itself particularly well to being taken upmarket. Mini-chains such as Sea Cow are springing up while chefs such as Rick Stein and Tony Allan have launched fish-and-chip outlets, in Cornwall and Kingston, Surrey, respectively.

Business is booming, said Allan, now that customers have got their heads round the extra cost. "People don't mind paying £8 for a pizza that cost 30p to put in a box," he said. "Initially, it was a bit of a problem getting them to pay £7 for [fish and chips] that cost £3.50 to put in a box. But these days, people don't mind paying for a bit of quality."

Even the lowly kebab has been transformed, thanks to chains such as The Real Greek (another Clapham House brand) and the As Greek As It Gets diner in west London.

These upmarket versions of mainstream foods have been gaining in popularity over the past two or three years. Some cite the success of chains such as Pret a Manger and Pizza Express as paving the way. But the rise of the posh burger bar is the most notable.

In part it is a symptom of the so-called "flight to quality" prevalent in much of Britain's food culture. "It's been happening in supermarkets with the success of labels such as Taste the Difference at Sainsbury and Finest at Tesco, and with Marks & Spencer and Waitrose doing well," said Jeffrey Young at Allegra, a consultancy.

Consumers have become increasingly concerned about eating more healthily and are more interested in the provenance of the food. While they still want to enjoy the odd burger or fish and chips, they want to be confident the food is good quality. "People are undoubtedly more discerning about what they put into their bodies," said Robert Tame, founder of Fine Burger Company. "But it's not just about the product, it's also the environment you are presenting the burgers in."

There is also a move away from complicated cuisine, said Campbell. "Ten years ago, everyone was interested in Michelin stars. That's less of a thing these days. Chefs like Gordon Ramsay talk about doing great food simply." The traditional burger chains have certainly sensed the change. David Kisilevsky, marketing director for Burger King northwest Europe, said: "People are now looking for products that stand up to scrutiny on their authenticity, provenance and so on."

McDonald's, for example, has been striving to improve its image by using free-range eggs and organic milk. This week, it will move into upmarket burger territory with the launch, for a limited time, of its Deluxe Burger, which will come in a ciabatta bun with batavia lettuce and have a different taste from any of its other sandwiches.

Burger King launched a premium burger last November, the Aberdeen Angus Burger, and promises at least two variations this year, such as a blue-cheese version.

Steve Easterbrook, chief executive of McDonald's UK, plays down suggestions that the company is responding to the rise of the new wave of burger bars, arguing that the Deluxe is just the latest in a series of new products. He also rebuts the notion that the sector's traditional players feel threatened. He said: "[Like some of the new burger restaurants] we also have ambitious growth plans. Given our scale, if we meet our plans, we don't have any great degree of concern about whether others meet theirs.

"Our burgers contain 100% pure beef; you can't get any more beef in a burger than that. We believe we can offer premium quality but at affordable prices."

But some of the new upstarts think it is only a matter of time before the big chains take stakes in their firms or buy them out. Hugh Fowler, the founder of Hamburger Union who was responsible for opening the first Wendy's outlet in Britain in the early 1980s, said it was "inevitable" that McDonald's or Burger King would acquire one of the new chains. Others suggest that this may be wishful thinking.

To date, the new wave of fast-food outlets has been a London phenomenon, but that is beginning to change. Fine Burger Company, for example, has opened an outlet in Swin-don, which Tame says is going "very well". The chain has recently retained Shelley Sandzer, a property agent, to find sites around Britain. GBK also has outlets in Bristol and Brighton.

Some question whether people in many parts of Britain will be prepared to pay £8 for a burger, but Young believes upmarket fast-food will prove as sustainable as coffee shops, which were once written off as a fad. "This is going to be a permanent shift," he said.



£10 in the next 2 years i say.

WASB

[wasbenson] 08/5/2007 07:38

Just realised results are in 4 weeks time so not just an exciting week up ahead, but week and month also.

[gucci] 07/5/2007 22:37

hhhmmmm.....

[wasbenson] 07/5/2007 17:47

tomorrow should be an exciting trading day

[wasbenson] 07/5/2007 15:10

looks like a £10 stock in the making