One of the most notable trends of the last year has been the rebound in travel, both in the UK and across the globe, as workers have gone back to their offices and holidaymakers have gone on what the media likes to refer to as ‘revenge travel’, making up for trips which were put off due to the pandemic.

Yet strangely, shares in food travel expert SSP (SSPG) are still only half their value at the start of 2020, which suggests investors have overlooked the business and its potential for recovery.The group, which operates over 2,800 outlets ranging from food on-the-go kiosks to fine dining venues at railway stations and airports in 35 countries worldwide, under such brands as Upper Crust, Ritazza and Le Grand Comptoir, is rapidly making up lost ground.

In the six months to March 2023, sales were up 64% to £1.32 billion, taking them above 2019 levels for the first time, while operating profits reached £34 million against a prior-year loss of £36 million.

While we appreciate London isn’t representative of the whole of the UK, recent Transport for London data suggests office attendance in the capital is back to around 70% of pre-pandemic levels and the situation is likely to be similar in other big cities.

Also, research by the Centre for Cities and Imperial College estimates around half of those workers who are back in the office spend a minimum of three days at their desk, with this proportion higher for workers under 30.

In Europe, air travel has soared in the past year with low-cost airline Ryanair saying it carried 169 million passengers in the 12 months to March, 74% more than in the previous period, while it also noted a sharp increase in Asian and US visitors to Europe thanks to the strength of the dollar.

The pick-up in people using trains and planes has helped SSP grow its European revenues to 116% of 2019 levels, while in North America revenues are 124% of 2019 levels thanks to a surge in spending on travel and leisure as customers look to make the most of their free time.

Earlier this month, SSP announced it had increased its North American footprint with the acquisition of the concessions business of Midfield, giving it a presence in 30 of the largest US airports and bringing in an extra $100 million of annual revenue.

Thanks to this sharp recovery in activity, the group now sees sales and operating profit at the top end of previous expectations driven by its North American and Rest of the World operations.

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