SSP Group saw it coming, at first hand. As the coronavirus outbreak began to spread in China in late January, the operator of food and drink outlets at airports and stations watched as passenger numbers fell by 90 per cent, while in Hong Kong they slumped by about 70 per cent.
Over the weeks that followed, the FTSE 250 group was forced to track Covid-19 as it spread into central Europe and the United States, shutting down its brands and franchises including Yo Sushi, Starbucks and Burger King across the world’s capitals.
The startling impact of the crisis on SSP was thrown into sharp relief yesterday, when the company reported a running underlying decline in revenues of as much as 85 per cent and turned
