Spirit shares start trading after Punch demerger
Trading in shares of Spirit Pub Company started at 8am today, after the completion of its demerger from Punch Taverns.
Spirit's ordinary shares (ticker "SPRT") were admitted to the premium section of the official list and to trading on the London Stock Exchange's main market for listed securities. There will be 659,655,957 Spirit shares in issue.
The demerger means existing Punch Taverns shareholders receive one share in Spirit Pub Company for each share owned in Punch Taverns. Spirit will operate around 800 pubs.
Punch's current chief executive Ian Dyson will become chief executive of Spirit after demerger, with Mike Tye, current managing director of Punch's managed arm, taking the role of deputy chief executive.
Punch Taverns, which will become solely a leased and tenanted operator, will be headed by Roger Whiteside, current managing director of the leased and tenanted business.
