Upper Crust owner SSP boosts sales despite London Tube strike hit

Upper Crust and Millie’s Cookies owner SSP has revealed a jump in sales in the UK despite taking a hit from rail strikes shutting down London Underground services last month.

The London-listed business said trading had been stable against an “unsettled macroeconomic and softer demand environment” in key travel spots.

SSP runs food outlets at travel locations such as airports and train stations in countries around the world, with its roster of brands also including Cafe Ritazza and Camden Food Co.

Revenues grew by 8% to £3.7 billion in the year to the end of September, compared with the year prior, according to an update to shareholders.

In the UK and Ireland, sales rose by 7% between July and September, compared with the same period last year, with particular strength across its shops in train stations.

This was despite strikes among London Underground workers in September which pulled back sales growth, on a like-for-like basis, by 0.5%.

Thousands of members of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) walked out during strike action lasting a week, grinding many Tube services to a halt.

SSP flagged a slowdown in the rate that passenger numbers were growing over the second half of the latest financial year.

It also warned that there was significant uncertainty about the outlook for demand across some of its travel markets in the year ahead.

However, the company is in the throes of a significant cost-cutting overhaul, as it hopes to make savings in its supply chains, and through menu changes and staff management.

It revealed it was launching a £100 million share buyback scheme on Thursday amid “confidence” in its prospects going into the new financial year.

Patrick Coveney, SSP Group’s chief executive, said: “We have delivered a resilient Q4 (fourth quarter) performance against an unsettled macro-economic and softer demand environment in some of our key travel markets.

“While we have made good progress with many of the initiatives that we have under way, more still needs to be done.

“We are working at pace to accelerate our actions as we enter the next financial year.”