(News Bulletin 247) – Edenred and Sodexo are trending down sharply after the comments of the Minister Delegate in charge of SMEs, Commerce, Crafts and Tourism Olivia Grégoire who mentions a capping of commissions on restaurant vouchers which would draw these same commissions down.

Heavy fall for Edenred which plunged 7.6% to 54.70 euros around 12:20 p.m., showing the biggest drop in the CAC 40 this Monday. The specialist in payment solutions in the world of work is returning to its levels at the beginning of April after Olivia Grégoire’s statements on the capping of commissions on restaurant vouchers in France.

“The commissions are too high and the procedures are too complicated,” declared this Monday on franceinfo, the Minister Delegate in charge of SMEs, Commerce, Crafts and Tourism, who puts the refusal rate by traders at 25%. .

The government member explained that she had commissioned the services of the Competition Authority to study whether the operation of the meal voucher market was “fair”. The results of this investigation will be known “in the coming days,” she said.

The minister warns: “if there was a market dysfunction that was proven, I would not take time to cap commissions.” The latter “are between 3 and 5%, I am waiting to see very precisely what the Competition Authority says, but if there is a malfunction, we will rather cap them at the floor than at the ceiling,” she continues. at the franceinfo microphone.

Concerns about profitability

The market is therefore concerned about the profitability of these services in France. “This is the first time that such a capping of commissions on restaurant vouchers has been mentioned, which may cause concern about the impact on the profitability of the sector. But above all the question arises if this idea of ​​a capping does not there is no risk of spreading to other countries. As long as it remains limited to France it would not be very serious. But we cannot exclude that this could happen in other countries,” explains a Parisian analyst to News Bulletin 247.

Sodexo for its part gives back 4.20%. Edenred’s competitor shows a less pronounced decline due to the fact that its Benefits and Rewards Services (BRS) activity – which includes restaurant vouchers and gift vouchers – represents a relatively small share of his income. During the financial year ending in August 2022, this activity generated a turnover of 865 million euros, or 4% of the total. To give an order of comparison, the Ticket Restaurant brand represents 44% of total revenues at Edenred.

Remember that Sodexo announced last spring a plan to list its branch dedicated to employee benefits, via a distribution of its shares to shareholders. This should allow this division to accelerate its growth like its competitor Edenred since its split from Accor.

By Sabrina Sadgui and Julien Marion