38-570: Loungers plc ( trading as Loungers ) is a British cafe -bar and restaurant chain founded in 2002 by Alex Reilley, David Reid, and Jake Bishop, with over 200 locations in the United Kingdom. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange . The chain operates three brands: Lounge, Cosy Club and Brightside. Loungers was founded by Alex Reilley, David Reid, and Jake Bishop, who collectively put together £10,000 to open their first Lounge (which
76-445: A stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange ( listed company ), which facilitates the trade of shares, or not ( unlisted public company ). In some jurisdictions, public companies over a certain size must be listed on an exchange. In most cases, public companies are private enterprises in the private sector, and "public" emphasizes their reporting and trading on
114-484: A company director, provided they are not disqualified on one of the following grounds: The members must agree to take some, or all, of the shares when the company is registered. The memorandum of association must show the names of the people who have agreed to take shares and the number of shares each will take. These people are called the subscribers. There is a minimum share capital for public limited companies: before it can start business, it must have allotted shares to
152-440: A company they perceive as possibly lacking liquidity. For example, if all shareholders were to simultaneously try to sell their shares in the open market, this would immediately create downward pressure on the price for which the share is traded unless there were an equal number of buyers willing to purchase the security at the price the sellers demand. So, sellers would have to either reduce their price or choose not to sell. Thus,
190-401: A long period of time after maturity into a profitable company. However, from 1997 to 2012, the number of corporations publicly traded on US stock exchanges dropped 45%. According to one observer ( Gerald F. Davis ), "public corporations have become less concentrated, less integrated, less interconnected at the top, shorter lived, less remunerative for average investors, and less prevalent since
228-582: A minority stake in Loungers, investing £16 million. In December 2016, Piper exited their investment following a £137 million deal with Lion Capital LLP who acquired a majority stake . During this time, Alex Reilley subsequently became the Executive Chairman . Public limited company A public limited company (legally abbreviated to PLC or plc ) is a type of public company under United Kingdom company law , some Commonwealth jurisdictions, and
266-531: A new brand named Cosy Club , which operates in historic and listed buildings . The first branch to open was on 3 September 2010 in Taunton , Somerset . In January 2020, the largest Cosy Club restaurant to date opened, inside of a Grade II listed three-floor former casino building on Victoria Street in Nottingham , East Midlands , which was purchased for £1 million after sitting empty for 17 years. In November 2022, it
304-553: A separate entity, its former shareholders receiving compensation in the form of either cash, shares in the purchasing company or a combination of both. When the compensation is primarily shares then the deal is often considered a merger . Subsidiaries and joint ventures can also be created de novo . That often happens in the financial sector. Subsidiaries and joint ventures of publicly traded companies are not generally considered to be privately held companies (even though they themselves are not publicly traded) and are generally subject to
342-495: A special resolution that it be so re-registered and deliver a copy of the resolution together with an application form to the Registrar. The resolution must also: If it does not already have sufficient share capital, the company must issue £50,000 in shares a minimum of 25% part paid. Public company A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on
380-422: Is 23 minutes. Because the electronic process requires compatible software that works with Companies House eFiling service, companies are usually formed through a Company Formation Agent. Every company must deliver an annual return to Companies House at least once every twelve months. It has 28 days from the date to which the return is made up to do this. Failure to file a return is a criminal offence, for which
418-466: Is a société anonyme (SA). In Germany , it is an Aktiengesellschaft (AG). While the general idea of a public company may be similar, differences are meaningful and are at the core of international law disputes with regard to industry and trade. Usually, the securities of a publicly traded company are owned by many investors while the shares of a privately held company are owned by relatively few shareholders. A company with many shareholders
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#1732908229753456-699: Is not necessarily a publicly traded company. Conversely, a publicly traded company typically (but not necessarily) has many shareholders. In the United States, companies with over 500 shareholders in some instances are required to report under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ; companies that report under the 1934 Act are generally deemed public companies. A public company possess some advantages over privately held businesses. Many stock exchanges require that publicly traded companies have their accounts regularly audited by outside auditors and then publish
494-408: Is privately held can buy out the shareholders of a public company, taking the company off the public markets. That is typically done through a leveraged buyout and occurs when the buyers believe the securities have been undervalued by investors. In some cases, public companies that are in severe financial distress may also approach a private company or companies to take over ownership and management of
532-404: Is when a company has little or no trading activity and the market price is simply the price at which the most recent trade took place, which could be days or weeks ago. This occurs when there are no buyers willing to purchase the securities at the price being offered by the sellers and there are no sellers willing to sell at the price the buyers are willing to pay. While this is rare when the company
570-468: The Bank of Ireland , agreed to provide them with a revolving credit of £15 million over the course of 18 months to manage their capital throughout the pandemic. On 6 April 2021, as the pandemic conditions were easing up and businesses were re-opening, Reilley criticised the idea of government-introduced coronavirus passports having to be shown at bars and restaurants, saying the idea was "unreasonably targeting"
608-599: The Northern Ireland Executive 's Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment , but since then Northern Irish company registrations, as with those of the rest of the United Kingdom , have been handled by Companies House. Formation of a public limited company requires a minimum of two directors and one secretary (differing from country to country: in India three directors are required). In general terms anyone can be
646-522: The Republic of Ireland . It is a limited liability company whose shares may be freely sold and traded to the public (although a PLC may also be privately held, often by another PLC), with a minimum share capital of £50,000 and usually with the letters PLC after its name. Similar companies in the United States are called publicly traded companies . A PLC can be either an unlisted or listed company on
684-481: The stock exchanges . In the United Kingdom, a public limited company usually must include the words "public limited company" or the abbreviation "PLC" or "plc" at the end and as part of the legal company name. Welsh companies may instead choose to end their names with ccc , an abbreviation for cwmni cyfyngedig cyhoeddus . However, some public limited companies (mostly nationalised concerns) incorporated under special legislation are exempted from bearing any of
722-470: The accounts to their shareholders. Besides the cost, that may make useful information available to competitors. Various other annual and quarterly reports are also required by law. In the United States, the Sarbanes–Oxley Act imposes additional requirements. The requirement for audited books is not imposed by the exchange known as OTC Pink. The shares may be maliciously held by outside shareholders and
760-432: The company. One way of doing so would be to make a rights issue designed to enable the new investor to acquire a supermajority . With a supermajority, the company could then be relisted, or privatized. Alternatively, a publicly traded company may be purchased by one or more other publicly traded companies, with the target company becoming either a subsidiary or joint venture of the purchaser(s), or ceasing to exist as
798-444: The firm's stock. For many years, newly-created companies were privately held but held initial public offering to become publicly traded company or to be acquired by another company if they became larger and more profitable or had promising prospects. More infrequently, some companies such as the investment banking firm Goldman Sachs and the logistics services provider United Parcel Service (UPS) chose to remain privately held for
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#1732908229753836-572: The following categories: Bearer shares are no longer possible, as they were abolished in the UK by the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015. Any existing bearer shares had to be converted to registered shares before February 2016, or face cancellation. A PLC has access to capital markets and can offer its shares for sale to the public through a recognised stock exchange. It can also issue advertisements offering any of its securities for sale to
874-569: The former Happy Eater/Little Chef on the A38 in Kennford , near Exeter Racecourse . As of November 2024, there are four Brightside locations across Cornwall, Devon and Rutland. In April 2020, during the then-ongoing coronavirus pandemic , Alex Reilley stated that their directors' pay had been cut by 50 per cent while their branches closed in March as a way of saving money. The chain's lending banks, Santander and
912-705: The identifying suffixes. The term "public limited company" and the "PLC"/"plc" suffix were introduced in 1981; prior to this, all limited companies bore the suffix "Limited" ("Ltd."), which is still used by private limited companies . When a new company incorporates in England and Wales or in Scotland , it must register with Companies House , an executive agency of the Department for Business and Trade . Prior to October 2009, companies in Northern Ireland were registered with
950-572: The increase on Form 123 – must reach Companies House within 15 days of being passed. No fee is payable to Companies House. A company can decrease its authorised share capital by passing an ordinary resolution to cancel shares which have not been taken or agreed to be taken by any person. Notice of the cancellation, on Form 122, must reach Companies House within one month. No fee is payable to Companies House. A company may have as many different types of shares as it wishes, all with different conditions attached to them. Generally, share types are divided into
988-425: The number of trades in a given period of time, commonly referred to as the "volume" is important when determining how well a company's market capitalization reflects true fair market value of the company as a whole. The higher the volume, the more the fair market value of the company is likely to be reflected by its market capitalization. Another example of the impact of volume on the accuracy of market capitalization
1026-503: The officers of the company may be fined. There is an annual document-processing fee of £40 if filed by paper (or £13 for users of the Electronic Filing or WebFilings services), which must be sent to Companies House with the annual return. Both a private company limited by shares and an unlimited company with a share capital may re-register as a plc, but a company without a share capital cannot do so. A private company must pass
1064-723: The original founders or owners may lose benefits and control. The principal–agent problem , or the agency problem is a key weakness of public companies. The separation of a company's ownership and control is especially prevalent in such countries as the United Kingdom and the United States. In the United States, the Securities and Exchange Commission requires firms whose stock is traded publicly to report their major shareholders each year. The reports identify all institutional shareholders (primarily firms that own stock in other companies), all company officials who own shares in their firm, and all individuals or institutions owning more than 5% of
1102-497: The price per share. For example, a company with two million shares outstanding and a price per share of US$ 40 has a market capitalization of US$ 80 million. However, a company's market capitalization should not be confused with the fair market value of the company as a whole since the price per share are influenced by other factors such as the volume of shares traded. Low trading volume can cause artificially low prices for securities, due to investors being apprehensive of investing in
1140-444: The public markets. Public companies are formed within the legal systems of particular states and so have associations and formal designations, which are distinct and separate in the polity in which they reside. In the United States , for example, a public company is usually a type of corporation though a corporation need not be a public company. In the United Kingdom , it is usually a public limited company (plc). In France , it
1178-423: The public. In contrast, a private company may not offer to the public any shares in itself. The following documents, together with the registration fee are sent to the Registrar of Companies: The key difference with the paper process is that there is no Form 12 and requirement for a statutory declaration. This significantly speeds the process: the record at Companies House for the formation of an Electronic Company
Loungers - Misplaced Pages Continue
1216-627: The restaurant sector, and they should instead be shown at theatres, cinemas and sporting events, where tickets are already checked on entry. On 12 April, Loungers were able to re-open their sites in phases, with 47 English sites opening for takeaway and outdoor dining only during the third national lockdown , while five sites in Wales were permitted to re-open with the same rules on 26 April. All Lounges re-opened in May, and by October 2021, their revenue had almost doubled. In April 2012, Piper Private Equity acquired
1254-446: The same reporting requirements as publicly traded companies. Finally, shares in subsidiaries and joint ventures can be (re)-offered to the public at any time. Firms that are sold in this manner are called spin-outs . Most industrialized jurisdictions have enacted laws and regulations that detail the steps that prospective owners (public or private) must undertake if they wish to take over a publicly traded corporation. That often entails
1292-428: The turn of the 21st century". Davis argues that technological changes such as the decline in price and increasing power, quality and flexibility of computer numerical control machines and newer digitally enabled tools such as 3D printing will lead to smaller and more local organization of production. In corporate privatization, more often called " going private ," a group of private investors or another company that
1330-413: The value of at least £50,000. A quarter of them, £12,500, must be paid up. Each allotted share must be paid up to at least one quarter of its nominal value together with the whole of any premium. A company can increase its authorised share capital by passing an ordinary resolution (unless its articles of association require a special or extraordinary resolution ). A copy of the resolution – and notice of
1368-409: The would-be buyer(s) making a formal offer for each share of the company to shareholders. The shares of a publicly traded company are often traded on a stock exchange . The value or "size" of a company is called its market capitalization , a term which is often shortened to "market cap". This is calculated as the number of shares outstanding (as opposed to authorized but not necessarily issued) times
1406-568: Was announced that Loungers would launch a new roadside dining brand named Brightside , which drew inspiration from the defunct Little Chef chain. Gary Lloyd of The Morning Advertiser suggested the brand is also reminiscent of Happy Eater . Loungers purchased three of the four restaurants used by American-diner chain Route Restaurants to convert into Brightside locations. The inaugural Brightside location opened in one of these in February 2023,
1444-900: Was aptly-named Lounge) inside of a former opticians unit on North Street in Bedminster, Bristol in August 2002. Their original business model was not meant to include food as it was only meant to operate as a bar, though it was later introduced. Five years later in 2007, after predominantly opening sites in England , they expanded into Wales , by opening Juno Lounge in Roath , Cardiff . On 10 May 2017, they opened their 100th site, Capo Lounge, in Mansfield , Nottinghamshire . On 13 September 2023, they opened their 200th site, Verdetto Lounge in Buckingham , Buckinghamshire . In August 2010, Loungers announced plans to launch
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