SSP to launch £100m share buyback programme, full year revenue up 8% to £3.7bn: SSP Group, the UK operator of food and beverage outlets in travel locations worldwide, will launch a £100m share buyback programme. The company said it intends to “return up to £100m to its shareholders through an on-market share buyback programme consistent with its capital allocation strategy, reflecting a healthy balance sheet position and highlighting the board’s confidence in the company’s prospects into FY26.” The programme will begin immediately and will end no later than 9 October 2026, as SSP looks to reduce its issued share capital. SSP has entered into an arrangement with Barclays in relation to the programme, allowing the bank to purchase up to 80,057,619 ordinary shares in the capital of the company. The aggregate purchase price under the arrangement will not exceed £1m, and following the purchase of the shares, they will be cancelled. It comes as SSP reported full year revenue of £3.7bn for the year to 30 September 2025, up circa 8% year-on-year, with operating profit expected to be circa £230m, up 11% year-on-year. SSP also reported that group sales in the fourth quarter (1 July to 30 September 2025) were up 4% year-on-year, on a constant currency basis, with like-for-like sales growth of 2% and net contract gains of 3%. Group sales also included an impact of (1)%, principally from the previously announced phased exit of its German motorway services business. In the UK & Ireland, sales rose by 7%, sustained by strong like-for-like sales, particularly in the rail channel, and despite the London Underground strike, which impacted the company’s like-for-like sales growth by circa (0.5)%. The company said: “While there remains a substantial level of uncertainty in the demand outlook across some travel markets, our actions to enhance operational delivery and tighten our cost base will enable us to make good progress on earnings, cashflows and returns into FY26. Progress will be underpinned by the full year effect of a substantial group-wide overhead cost reduction programme that was actioned in the second half of FY25 and the anticipated benefit of the actions we are taking to improve profitability in France and Germany. As a result of these plans, on a constant currency basis, we currently expect to deliver EPS for FY26 within the current range of market expectations. We continue to expect that our total level of capital expenditure in FY26 will be less than £200m, with growth capex consistent with an expected level of net gains (excluding MSA site exits) in the year of c.2%.” SSP chief executive Patrick Coveney added: “We have delivered a resilient fourth quarter performance against an unsettled macro-economic and softer demand environment in some of our key travel markets. Our UK and Asia Pacific businesses have traded particularly well and, taken in aggregate, our performance in the quarter across the portfolio leaves us on track to deliver earnings per share for FY25 in line with current market expectations. In addition, facilitated by our strong cash generation in the second half and given our confidence in the outlook for next year, we are pleased to be announcing a £100m share buyback programme today, in line with our capital allocation priorities. While our strategy for enhanced financial returns is starting to deliver, we remain focused on strengthening performance across the group. In particular, we recognise the imperative to do so rapidly in France and Germany. While we have made good progress with many of the initiatives that we have underway, more still needs to be done. We are working at pace to accelerate our actions as we enter the next financial year.”

 

Tortilla confirms appointment of new CFO: Tortilla has confirmed the appointment of Richard Haley as its new chief financial officer. The company last month, as part of a trading update for the 26 weeks to 29 June 2025, said Haley would take up the position following senior finance leadership rolesat Trainline, Nightcap, Delinian, Halma, William Hill, Future, Tesco and the British Standards Institute. The company said: “Tortilla is pleased to announce that, further to the announcement on 30 September 2025, Richard Haley has been appointed to the board of directors as chief financial officer.” In last month’s trading update, Tortilla said it expects 2025 to be its “most profitable year ever” in the UK after it followed record first half Ebitda and 5% like-for-like sales growth with strong current trading. The company reported revenue of £36.0m for the period (first half of 2024: £31.5m) and adjusted Ebitda (pre-IFRS 16) of £1.2m (first half of 2024: £1.8m). The UK delivered £2.4m, an increase of 33% on the prior year, offset by a £1.2m loss in France as the group invests in site conversions and brand-building across the continent. The loss before tax was £2.3m (first half of 2024: £0.2m loss). The UK delivered a small loss before tax of £0.3m, reflecting resilient trading performance and disciplined cost control, while the French operations reported a loss before tax of £2.0m, reflecting the early stage of investment in the region. Following the update, chief executive Andy Naylor told Propel that “it has been a great year for us” and that the company’s UK estate is “looking good”.