Punch Taverns' bondholders' committee to give update on talks

Advisers to the special ABI committee of Punch Tavern's bondholders are due to hold a conference call this Friday to give an update on the progress of talks with the pubco over its multi-billion pound debt.

The call comes two weeks before Punch's chief executive Ian Dyson is due to reveal the results of his much anticipated strategic review of the business. Dyson will unveil the findings of his review on March 22.

"The purpose of the call is to explain to ['A' and 'B'] noteholders the role of the committee and provide an update on the committee's work to date," the advisers said.

Meanwhile shares in Punch rose nearly six per cent to 75p after it issued a quarterly trading update in which it said investment in its managed pubs was paying off.

Money being pumped into 135 pubs across retail brands such as Chef & Brewer, together with what it called a "continued focus on operational excellence", helped the group post an 8.6 per cent rise in like-for-like sales in the 12 weeks to March 5, 2011, with food sales up 11.7 per cent and drink sales up 7.0 per cent.

It said those managed sites that had not been on the receiving end of investment cash had also performed well, up 5.2 per cent.

Punch's off-loading of non-core leased sites had meanwhile benefited average net income per pub figures, which at 0.3 per cent growth were in positive territory for the first time in three years.

Like-for-like net income in its leased estate fell 6.1 per cent in the second quarter, it added. Punch said the new online Buying Club now accounted for 15 per cent of sales.

Dyson said the group's operational initiatives were paying off in both the leased and managed businesses.

"Despite the challenging UK consumer environment, we remain confident of further improvements being delivered in the second half of this financial year and are on track to meet our full year expectations," he said.