20-05-2025
Activist investor builds stake in Upper Crust owner SSP
An investor that waged an activist campaign against The Restaurant Group two years ago has set its sights on SSP.
Irenic Capital has built a 2 per cent stake in the transport catering company behind the Upper Crust and Ritazza café brands and the New York-based hedge fund is pushing SSP to boost profits, claiming that its shares could be worth double its current valuation, according to the Financial Times.
Shares in SSP have fallen 20 per cent since this time last year and now change hands for less than 160p apiece — compared with a record 645½p of October 2018.
SSP is run by the former Greencore boss and industry veteran Patrick Coveney. He took over from Simon Smith in March 2022, who left
