It is less than two years since pub chain Marston’s, in the depth of the first Covid winter, rejected cash offers from a US private suitor at 88p, 95p and 105p a share, saying they “very significantly” undervalued the business and its prospects. Share price today: 38p.
One cannot, then, yet say the board has been vindicated by events. Post-lockdown reopening ran into cold realities of a cost-of-living squeeze, soaring energy prices, higher wage bills and rising interest rates. The entire hospitality sector continues to be valued at semi-depressed prices.
