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Spanish tapas restaurant chain La Tasca has warned of a slow start to the current financial year, prompting Numis analyst Simon French to trim his profit forecasts by 6.8 per cent to £6.8 million for 2007, pegging earnings back to 8.9p per share.

French feels AIM-listed La Tasca ‘remains an attractive investment opportunity’ with its ‘standout positioning as the largest operator of Spanish restaurants in the UK’ offering ‘long-term shareholder value creation opportunities through the development of the La Tasca brand in the USA and Sam & Maxie's in the UK’. He advises investors to add to their holdings.

Although Numis says the hot weather and World Cup have led to a decrease in restaurant dining, the broker remains bullish on the sector, where its ‘core long-term pick’ is Clapham House.

Regarding hazardous waste specialist Augean, analyst Francesca Raleigh concedes that although a recent trading update was positive, it is too early to be confident on full year forecasts given the group’s second-half bias. Raleigh maintained her 2006 profit forecast at £5.5 million pre-tax, giving 5.5p of earnings and rating the shares a hold with a price target of 167p. Raleigh rates fully listed property services group Erinaceous as one to buy, expecting earnings growth of around 20 per cent at the interims in September. ‘We would expect to upgrade our 2007 forecast at some stage in H2 to reflect trading and likely bolt-on acquisitions.’