Tchenguiz to hire consultants for Globe Pub Co

Property tycoon Robert Tchenguiz's Globe Pub Company (GPC) is to appoint a team of independent consultants to look at what it calls "operational issues" within the group.

GPC, founded by Tchenguiz in 2004 and whose 424 pubs are managed by Scottish & Newcastle Pub Enterprises (S&NPE), said the appointment followed the fall in its debt service cover to below 1.35 times earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA).

"As the debt service cover ratio has fallen below 1:35:1 GPC will be appointing an independent consultant with whom it will discuss operational issues," the group said in its second quarter trading update, published today.

GPC said the identity of the consultants "had yet to be identified".

In its trading update, covering business in the three months to the end of November, GPC said overall turnover fell four per cent on the previous quarter, to £11.3m.

Total year-on-year drinks revenue accelerated in the second quarter, sliding eight per cent, against a 6.5 per cent decline in the first three months.

Beer sales as a proportion of total trading fell 0.9 percentage points to 64.8 per cent on the first quarter.

GPC said its estate profile "remained stable" during the period, despite the tough economic conditions.

The group said the number of closed pubs across its estate increased by one site to 19 pubs and the number of substantive agreements fell by five to 283, but that an increase in the number of one-year agreements - 12 - and a reduction in the number of short term deals were a positive sign.

Sources at S&NPE recently denied reports suggesting that Globe was in trouble, while GPC declined to comment on reports it was in the middle of crunch talks with its banks.