Upper Crust owner SSP Group has pledged to explore “all options” to correct performance at its struggling continental Europe division, prompting a 13.8% bounce in share price.
Investor morale was likewise boosted by better-than-expected final-year results, as the company’s earnings per share jumped 25% in the year on a constant currency basis.
The “wide-ranging review” into SSP’s European rail business, which has faced particular difficulty in France and Germany, is expected to report results in May 2026.
Shares in SSP jumped to 167.9p on 4 December, up from the near five-year low seen in late November. Market analysts praised the company’s positive financial results, including revenues up 8% at constant currency, operating profit up 8.3%, and a solid start to FY26’s trading.
SSP CEO Patrick Coveney signalled his own confidence in the company’s prospects by buying £251k worth of shares in SSP.
Overall, the results showed “an acceleration in performance”, according to Panmure Liberum analyst Anna Barnfather. “Combined with the ongoing rolling cost reduction programme, this provides confidence in the outlook.”
Shore Capital analyst Greg Johnson noted the continued recovery to pre-pandemic levels in the UK, where it enjoyed a 12% rise in operating profits. In North America – now the group’s largest profit centre – operating profits soared 20%. Despite “disappointing” European performance, Johnson noted “management is not sitting passively”, with a plan to boost European margins to 3%-plus, up from 2.2%.
SSP first revealed its plan to reset margins at its European business in December 2024. However, it fell short of its goal of achieving 3% operating margin in 2025.
“We acknowledge there is more to do to strengthen our operational performance – most notably in continental Europe, where we have now reset our team, model and balance sheet, and have a range of initiatives underway to do so,” said Coveney.
In November, SSP announced chairman Mike Clasper would retire in early 2026, a year ahead of schedule, to allow a successor to “realise the full scale” of the company’s ambitions, Clasper said.
“As a board, we are finalising SSP’s multi-year strategic and operational roadmap to build on its strong foundations and accelerate the delivery of shareholder value.
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