SSP Group: Rerating potential: three reasons to buy

Research evidence excerpt

SSP Group: Rerating potential: three reasons to buy

Deutsche Bank Group

Deutsche Numis Research

Rating Company Date

Buy SSP Group 17 June 2026

Company Update

Europe

United Kingdom

Reuters Bloomberg Exchange Ticker Price at 16 Jun 2026 (GBP) 178.60

SSPG.L SSPG LN LSE SSPG

Price Target (GBP) 262.00

Leisure & Hotels

211.20 -

Travel Services 52-week range (GBP) 138.60

Rerating potential: three reasons to buy

Valuation & Risks

Tim Barrett

In general, the equity market has moved on quickly from the Iran conflict and

Research Analyst

priced in travel normalisation. The wider T&L sector is +6.1% YTD and +6.3% +44-20-7541-1559

compared to 27th February. The same applies to tour operators (Jet2 +5%) as

much as airlines (broadly flat YTD). Richard Stuber

+44-20-754-54617

A notable outlier is SSPG, despite the airport/rail F&B operator being a good

proxy for travel demand. The shares are -12% YTD and -13% compared to pre- Sonu Churiwal

conflict levels. Particularly interesting is its underperformance of (i) Avolta, the Research Associate

market leader, which is +4% since end-Feb, and (ii) its own Indian subsidiary,

Travel Food Services (TFS), which is +8%. We view this as a buying opportunity

on a key sector pick.

TFS share price recovery is bullish for SSP

SSP first mooted the potential to reduce its stake in the listed TFS subsidiary with

its FY25 results. Since then, lock-ups and the war in Iran have seemingly presented

a barrier to executing on a transaction. Indian listing rules require a freefloat of 25%

from the current 13.8% but not until mid-2028.

The important point is that the ratings gap between SSP and TFS is as wide as it has

ever been. SSP operates c.3,000 restaurant units and has an EV of £2.1bn, while TFS

with 557 units has an EV of £1.3bn.