Restaurants/Pubs

Corona Capital: Kazakhs, Norwegians, Airlines

15 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Kaspi gives ECM bankers something to smile about; Norway’s sovereign wealth fund has a so-so third quarter; and United Airlines has more bad news on jobs.

Deliveroo’s IPO is a dish best served soon

7 Oct 2020

The UK food delivery app is mulling a float in the public market next year. Using its peers’ multiples, Amazon-backed Deliveroo could fetch more than $5 bln. But with the pandemic-induced boost to its top line not guaranteed to last, it can’t afford to dawdle.

Corona Capital: Fiscal stimulus, Fitness riches

6 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Central bankers including the Federal Reserve’s Jerome Powell urge more fiscal help as Covid-19 cases rise again; and the owner of NordicTrack treadmills raises cash at a $7 billion-plus valuation.

Corona Capital: U.S. jobs, Real estate

2 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Americans slowly get back to work; New York City real estate sales fly to Florida.

Corona Capital: Davos delay, Political TV ratings

26 Aug 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The World Economic Forum’s annual winter meeting becomes a summer gathering; and in the U.S., the Democrats’ online spectacle leads TV ratings over the Republicans’ more traditional convention.

Corona Capital: Junked cans

11 Aug 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: An aluminum company with a junk rating issues debt with a ridiculously low interest rate.

Corona Capital: PizzaExpress, Aerospace pain

4 Aug 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The UK restaurant chain’s restructuring is not that tasty a meal for creditors; Airplane-parts maker Spirit’s reliance on Boeing’s 737 MAX has it heading into worse turbulence.

Corona Capital: Not so united

8 Jul 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: A potential round of cuts at United Airlines lays bare the pitfalls of the government being both savior and investor.

Fast food franchise model has burnt edges

1 Jul 2020

NPC International, the U.S.’s largest Pizza Hut franchisee, filed for bankruptcy. An LBO flip, heated competition, and higher labor costs left it larded with debt. Parent company Yum appears resilient. But its restructuring portends sizzling problems in the franchise model.

Uber tries for bigger meal ticket with small fry

30 Jun 2020

Boss Dara Khosrowshahi may strike a deal with Postmates after failing to bag Grubhub. The food-delivery service is tiny compared to rivals with outsized valuations, so the mooted $2.6 bln price is easier to stomach. Yet benefits are as questionable as risk, and Uber could wait.

Corona Capital: U.S.-China fight, Canada downgrade

25 Jun 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Washington deploys sanctions over Hong Kong, adding to trade and Covid-19 tensions; and a double whammy of the coronavirus and low oil prices costs Canada one of its AAA ratings.

Corona Capital: U.S. recession, Grubhub, Airlines

8 Jun 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: U.S. falls into a recession, Grubhub looks for leverage, airlines have optimistic investors.

Corona Capital: Perpetual WFH, Macy’s

21 May 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Facebook and its peers consider making working from home the new normal, while Macy’s gives an insight into a corner of the retail market that was struggling even before the pandemic.

Corona Capital: HCA Healthcare, Kering

21 Apr 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The virus helps one part of the U.S. healthcare industry, but harms another; and luxury group Kering's Chinese fortunes may depend on an end to Italy's lockdown.

Corona Capital: Dining bonds

20 Mar 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Restaurant industry cooks up a unique form of funding to help alleviate revenue wipeout.

Chinese buyout shop grabs for last UK pizza crust

14 Nov 2019

Hony Capital paid 900 mln pounds for PizzaExpress in 2014. Now it’s facing a wipeout as the restaurant chain falters. Snapping up unsecured bonds might boost its bargaining power in debt talks, but its hand looks weak. The firm’s best hope is that nobody wants a messy default.

Brexit takes froth off Whitbread’s coffee reward

22 Oct 2019

The 3.9 bln pound sale of Costa pleased activist investors eager for a breakup. But the remaining hotel and restaurant business is worth little more than before the deal, after including cash paid to shareholders. Fears of a messy EU exit are denying CEO Alison Brittain credit.

Jollibee risks indigestion with U.S. coffee deal

25 Jul 2019

The $5 bln Philippine fast-food chain is buying Los Angeles-based retailer The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. It gives Jollibee 1,189 stores, over 400 of them in fast-growing Southeast Asia. But the company is losing money in the battle with Starbucks. A quick turnaround looks unlikely.

Pret’s veggie buyout more appetising than it looks

22 May 2019

The ubiquitous sandwich chain has gobbled up loss-making rival Eat. Taking on nearly 100 extra stores when rivals are struggling to survive sounds reckless. But using the outlets to roll out its vegetarian offering is an established way to boost sales.

Starbucks hasn’t got recipe quite right yet

1 Nov 2018

The coffee chain’s same-store sales increased 3 percent, as it got customers to spend more per transaction while tweaking menus and working practices. Boss Kevin Johnson’s experiments are helping to turn around the lackluster U.S. business. But profitability isn’t keeping pace.