Spring: a time of results announcements and hayfever

Spring is here, the birds are getting flirty, and hayfever - that most unpleasant of non-life- threatening conditions - is playing its usual annual havoc with my ability to function as a sentient, dry-nosed human being.

And as if this wasn't enough to keep a man occupied, we've entered a frenetic period of results reporting.

A couple of high-profile companies have announced already - Punch a fortnight ago, Wetherspoon's last week, to name two - but from here on in it gets really rather busy.

Most of what we'll be getting in the next few weeks will be interim statements. One presumes there'll be talk of trade over Christmas, of unseasonably mild weather throughout the winter and into 2007, while some may argue that the Cricket World Cup, all 40-plus days of it, was not quite the crowd-puller everyone had hoped it would be.

I'm interested in all of them, large or small. No size-ist am I. But I have to admit that one particular company's results, Mitchells & Butlers', to be revealed on May 22, be they that intrigue me the most.

The numbers shall doubtless reveal that its assault on the casual dining-out market continues apace, that its drink offer remains second to none and its preparations for the smoking ban will bear fruit after July 1. Which is all well and good.

But what I and every other Tom, Dick and analyst will be looking for is an indication as to what the group proposes to do about those blessed real estate investment trusts (REITs - like you hadn't got the acronym by now).

My guess is those hoping for signs of a full conversion - including M&B investor Robert Tchenguiz - will be sorely disappointed. If so, Tchenguiz's next move will be closely watched…