Oasis reiterates ‘need for transparency’ amid Wagamama’s performance
TRG, which owns over 400 UK restaurants and is also behind the Frankie and Benny's and Chiquito brands, fell by two-thirds over the past year
Oasis, the Hong Kong-based activist investor, has again reiterated the need for transparency from The Restaurant Group (TRG) – the owner of Wagamama – following a response to its open letter which demanded sweeping changes after a 65% slump in share over the past year.In an open letter last week, the activist company, which owns a 6.5% stake in TRG, demanded more transparency from the board of TRG regarding how the business is being operated.
TRG, which owns over 400 UK restaurants and is also behind the Frankie and Benny’s and Chiquito brands, said in its response to the initial letter last week that its operational performance “had been strong” since the end of Covid restrictions and confirmed it was reviewing its strategic options.
It added that Oasis had requested a seat on the board during a meeting in December 2022, but this had been denied.
However, in a further statement released yesterday (21 February) Oasis welcomed the strategic review but criticised the lack of detail on its scope and process.
Oasis said: “The board has made no prior attempt to publicly communicate any details of the scope or process of this review to shareholders – let alone engage with them on it.”
It added that failure to work with shareholders will leave them “with no recourse but to seek to hold TRG’s representatives to account”.
It added that shareholders “unfortunate enough” to participate in TRG’s three equity capital raises over the past five years had seen the value of their investment “collapse by c.70% since 2018.
“Longer-term shareholders have suffered even worse, losing a staggering c.93% since the 2015 peak, whilst currently receiving no dividends, buybacks or capital appreciation.”
In an update to investors, TRG said it had provided a “full response” to Oasis on 16 February and would give an update on the situation during its full-year results on 8 March 2023.
