American Restaurant Industry Starts to Simmer, Says GE Capital

Press release:


27 March 2012

American Restaurant Industry Starts to Simmer, Says GE Capital

Increased consumer spending and foot traffic boost expectations

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--27 March 2012-- The American restaurant industry is starting to simmer. Consumers are spending more on meals, and foot traffic at establishments is improving, albeit from a diminished base, according to the 22nd edition of the Chain Restaurant Industry Review, released at this week’s Restaurant Leadership Conference by GE Capital, Franchise Finance. As sales trends recover, operators are translating those positive feelings into a greater willingness to invest in their businesses. And with increasingly accessible credit, they’re able to commit to higher capital expenditures.

“The restaurant industry has come through the upheaval of the past several years by listening closely to the consumer and adapting to their changing tastes – and they’ve done it well,” said Agustin Carcoba, president and CEO of GE Capital, Franchise Finance. “Depending on their segment, brand and focus, operators have emphasized food quality, service quality, menu options and other factors that will lead to renewed growth this year and in the years ahead. Even better, operators did it all while managing operational costs.”

Consumers spent $406.6 billion at restaurants in 2011. For 21 consecutive months, they spent more at restaurants than grocery stores, and that trend is expected to continue. Last year, quick-service restaurants (QSR) accounted for 48.0 percent of that figure, while full-service restaurants (FSR) counted for 48.1 percent. The QSR category includes limited service, fast casual, take-out locations and snack and non-alcoholic beverage bars, while FSR includes family, casual, high-end casual and fine dining establishments.

Operators’ improved expectations can be partially attributed to positive results that were sustained throughout last year. QSR same-store sales grew 3.2% last year – ahead of the FSR rate of 2.4%. QSR benefitted from eight consecutive periods of growth due to more consistent traffic, while FSR relied more on menu price increases and higher average checks.

“Restaurateurs are no longer in survival mode; now they’re planning for the future,” said Trey Brown, commercial leader of GE Capital, Franchise Finance. “To capture that growth and maintain a competitive advantage, they’re investing in their businesses by building new stores, remodeling existing ones or investing in new equipment.”

The level of liquidity available in the restaurant space continues to improve. Merger and acquisition activity – an indicator of the popularity of the restaurant industry among investors – increased last year. Total syndicated volume in the restaurant space increased more than 26% to almost $12 billion in 2011. Strategic buyers returned, such as American Blue Ribbon Holdings LLC, Darden Restaurants and Landry’s Inc. Private equity firms were also active; for example, Golden Gate Capital acquired California Pizza Kitchen.

“We expect restaurants to continue to be appealing acquisition targets because of the ongoing increases in food dollars spent away from home, as well as the scalability of this business model,” Brown added.

About GE Capital, Franchise Finance

GE Capital, Franchise Finance is a leading lender for the franchise finance market via direct sales and portfolio acquisition. With more than 30 years of experience and $10 billion in served assets, we serve over 3,000 customers and over 18,000 property locations. We specialize in financing mid-market operators with multiple stores in the restaurant and hospitality industries. Our team of industry experts will work with you to help develop your own growth plan with access to our proprietary industry research and customized tools. More information is available atwww.gefranchisefinance.com.

GE Capital offers consumers and businesses around the globe an array of financial products and services. For more information, visitwww.gecapital.com or follow company news via Twitter (@GECapital).

GE (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter. The best people and the best technologies taking on the toughest challenges. Finding solutions in energy, health and home, transportation and finance. Building, powering, moving and curing the world. Not just imagining. Doing. GE works. For more information, visit the company's website at www.ge.com.

AT&T Invests > $600 M in Kentucky

AT&T Invests More Than $600 Million in Kentucky from 2009 through 2011 to Improve Local Networks

Company Builds New Cell Sites, Boosts Capacity and Adds Fiber Optics to Enhance Networks

Louisville, Kentucky, March 20, 2012

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AT&T* invested more than $600 million in its Kentucky wireless and wireline networks from 2009 through 2011 with a focus on improving the company’s mobile Internet coverage and overall performance of its networks.

During 2011, AT&T made more than 900 wireless network upgrades in four key categories in Kentucky.

These enhancements include:

·         Activating nearly 45 new cell sites or towers to improve network coverage.

·         Deploying faster fiber-optic connections to more than 275 cell sites. Combined with HSPA+ technology, these deployments enable 4G speeds**.

·         Adding capacity or an extra layer of frequency to cell sites – like adding lanes to a highway – with the addition of more than 425 of these layers, or “carriers.”

·         Upgrading nearly 150 cell sites to provide fast mobile Internet speeds.

“More developed wireless networks help drive economic growth and stimulate jobs by equipping Kentucky businesses to meet the customer demands of today and tomorrow,” said Mike Mangeot, president and CEO of the Kentucky Association for Economic Development. “By providing Kentuckians with faster speeds, greater reliability and better coverage, we improve not only the quality of life, but we better enable the innovation that will be required for Kentucky to compete in a global economy.”

AT&T has invested more than $95 billion nationwide in its wireless and wireline networks over the past five years, and invested $20 billion in 2011 to improve and expand its networks.

“The jobs of the future will require access to a robust wireless infrastructure in both rural and urban areas and this investment is a significant step towards making that happen,” said Kentucky Chamber of Commerce President Dave Adkisson.  “As the number of Kentuckians who rely on wireless devices continues to grow, our Commonwealth must do all it can to enable access to the new technologies needed for future innovation and job growth.” 

“Thanks to the vision and business-friendly approach of the General Assembly, Kentucky has a strong regulatory environment for telecom infrastructure investment,” said AT&T Kentucky President Mary Pat Regan. “As our legislators seek to move Kentucky forward in 2012, we hope they will build upon their past success and update our telecom laws to encourage even more capital investment across the Commonwealth.”

Regan said her company’s local investment creates many advantages for the people of Kentucky. “Arecent study by the NDN think tank found that innovation has driven continued investments to upgrade the mobile Internet infrastructure in America, including transitions from 2G to 3G and now from 3G to 4G,” said Regan. “The world is going wireless, and this technology is enabling, empowering, enriching and enhancing lives at work, at play and everywhere in between. This investment has spurred significant new job creation and growth across all sectors of the economy and has fostered employment for U.S. workers.”

“Our goal is to deliver a network experience that mobilizes everything for customers. The ongoing investment we’re making in Kentucky is designed to increase coverage, reliability and to provide advanced services to our customers,” said Chris Percy, vice president and general manager, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets for Kentucky and Tennessee.

CNN Money recently recognized AT&T for enhancing its wireless network. Last year, AT&T completed 150,000 network enhancements across the country, more than triple the year before, giving customers more capacity and faster speeds, as well as improving 3G dropped-call performance by 25 percent.

 AT&T plans to support the build or upgrade of thousands of cell sites nationwide to increase network speed, coverage and reliability for both mobile voice and Internet services. In addition, AT&T plans to install additional radio “carriers” at thousands of cell sites nationally, enabling new layers of spectrum capacity to carry larger volumes of mobile Internet traffic. Additional capacity helps support rising mobile data traffic volumes, which continue to increase at a rapid pace.

AT&T operates the nation’s largest Wi-Fi network*** with nearly 30,000 hotspots in the U.S. and provides access to nearly 190,000 hotspots globally through roaming agreements. Most AT&T smartphone customers get access to our entire national Wi-Fi network at no additional cost, and Wi-Fi usage doesn’t count against customers’ monthly wireless data plans.

For more information about AT&T’s coverage in Kentucky or anywhere in the United States, consumers can visit the AT&T Coverage Viewer. Using the online tool, AT&T customers can measure coverage quality of coverage from a street address, intersection, ZIP code or even a landmark. 

For updates on the AT&T wireless network, please visit the AT&T network news page.

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

**4G speeds delivered by HSPA+ with enhanced backhaul. Available in limited areas. Availability increasing with ongoing backhaul deployment. 4G device required. Learn more at att.com/network.

*** Largest based on company branded and operated hotspots. Access includes AT&T Wi-Fi Basic.  A Wi-Fi enabled device required. Other restrictions apply. See www.attwifi.com for details and locations.