Brexit sets good conditions for firm

SOUTH African food service group Bid Corporation (Bidcorp) said on Friday that it had experienced good trading conditions for the last four months and expected its UK business to benefit from the Brexit vote. Bidcorp’s shares were up 5.1 percent at R244 by 3.45pm. By the close the shares were 3.01 percent higher at R239.20. Bidcorp, which supplies pubs, restaurants and hotels in Europe, South America and Asia, said the positive trading momentum from last year, when its revenue grew 20 percent, had continued. The firm, which was spun off from Bidvest in May, did not supply any figures. “Overall the economy in the UK is growing and the sterling devaluation should further propel activity levels forward, benefiting from more tourists and local consumer spending,” the company said. The firm said the South African currency’s volatility had helped its earnings “with the depreciation of the rand against the euro and Australian dollar more than offsetting the appreciation of the rand against sterling following Brexit”. It said one of the potential consequences of the Brexit vote and the pound’s devaluation could be inflation, “and the impact of inflation on our UK businesses is positive”. – Reuters

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