Stonegate reports sales increase of £87m: Turnover has increased by £87.4m at Stonegate Pub Company during the year it acquired 78 sites from Bramwell Pub Company, which entered administration, Insider Media has reported. According to accounts published at Companies House, Stonegate reported sales of £557.7m for the year to 28 September 2014, a significant increase from £470.3m a year earlier. The company said its fourth year of trading “remained strong” with continued year-on-year pre-exceptional operating growth. Operating and pre-tax profits (before exceptional items) grew from £24.9m to £31.6m and from £3.5m to £6.9m respectively. “The improved macro-economic environment seen during the financial period is expected by many to continue into 2015,” Companies House document stated. “A likely consequence of this will be improved consumer confidence. The impact, in terms of volume and value, will be further seen when wage inflation is ahead of CPI. This occurred at the end of calendar year 2014 and is set to remain ahead during 2015. Our pubs and bars are well placed to take advantage of these trends.” Stonegate Pub Company operates more than 600 pubs across the UK wit major brands including Yates’s, Slug and Lettuce and Popworld. The group is owned by private equity firm TDR Capital and employs more than 12,000 staff. It was created in 2011 following the merger between Stonegate and Town & City Pub Company. In November 2013, it purchased 78 sites from the administrators of the Bramwell Pub Company.

Domino’s Pizza Poland reports further progress: Domino’s Pizza Poland has reported 11 consecutive quarters of double digit like-for-like system sales growth. Improving corporate store and commissary performance. There are currently 19 Domino’s Pizza stores in Poland, across Warsaw and Krakow, 12 corporately managed and seven sub-franchised. Like-for-like system sales were up 16% and like-for-like gross profit were up 27%. Total stores Ebitda was positive for each month January to June 2015. Top 3 corporate stores averaged +£26,000 Ebitda each in H1 2015 versus +£7.500 each in H1 2014. The oldest corporate store delivered Ebitda of +£29,500 in H1 2015. Group Ebitda losses reduced 40% in the first half of 2015 (£773,591), the six months to 30 June, on H1 2014 (1,299,930). Fourth store opened in Krakow in late August 2015, first store to open in a third city in October 2015. Double digit like-for-like system sales growth continued through July and August 2015, with +18% and +17% respectively. Peter Shaw, chief executive of DP Poland said: “The continuing improvement in corporate store Ebitda performance, coupled with a growing contribution from sub-franchise sales royalties and commissary sales, plus a reduction in central expenditure has considerably reduced Group Ebitda losses in the first half, compared to the first half of last year. On the back of continued improvement in store performance we have been focused this year on finding and negotiating new sites. Our fourth store in Krakow opened in late August and is performing well. In October we will be opening in a third Polish city, joining Warsaw and Krakow and we are targeting further store openings in additional cities by the year end. I am delighted to announce the imminent opening of our new commissary, which will give us the capacity to supply fresh dough and ingredients to our expanding store estate across Poland, while positively impacting the cost of dough production, warehousing, order picking and goods handling. With an initial capacity to supply 50 stores, the new commissary will give us the option to expand production capacity further to supply up to 100 stores, with minimal additional capital outlay.” Nick Batram, analyst at Peel Hunt, said: “The positive momentum in the business continues to be highly encouraging – indeed, we expect losses in 2015 to be lower than originally expected. Sub-franchisees expanding and the move into new cities are further evidence of progress along the road to establishing Domino’s Pizza in Poland. If DPP is ultimately successful, the value of the business is likely to be worth multiple times the current market cap. ‘Buy’.”