Omicron, S4 on sales, Germany, Deliveroo, hotel cancellations etc.:

A DAY IN THE LIFE:

I was wondering, do you think people who say ‘to cut a long story short’ realise that they have just made their story six words longer?

And, I’m not sure if ‘non sequitur’ is the right way to describe introductory words and phrases such as ‘in my honest opinion’ and ‘clearly’ and ‘honestly’ and the politicians’ current favourite ‘let me be clear’ but don’t they just raise a bit of a flag for what follows?

Of course, the person could be playing for time, could be trotting out some meaningless padding while they struggle for an answer or an excuse.

Or, as I found when my languages struggled momentarily above the schoolboy level, the guff could be played out whilst they find the right words to pray, usually in vain, that a power-cut, a runaway vehicle, angry animal or lightning strike will intervene and put a stop to the questioning.

Whatever the reasoning, maybe there should be an increased use of definitive words such as yes and no. Or of nouns such as liar, alcohol, breach and party. Anyway, it’s Friday so, without further ado, let’s move on to the news.

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PUBS & RESTAURANTS:

UKH reports ‘the hard-pressed hospitality sector received a much-needed boost’ when the World Health Organisation said that most cases of the Covid-19 variant Omicron appear to be ‘mild’. It says ‘anecdotal evidence gathered by the hospitality industry since the variant emerged a week ago suggests there were cancellations in direct response to Omicron’s emergence. However, latest feedback from operators points to a slowing of cancellations, with many people determined to go ahead with parties.’

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S4Labour has reported that hospitality sales fell slightly during November. It says ‘November’s like-for-like hospitality sales dropped by 4% across the sector compared with 2019 levels, however food like-for-likes were positive.’ It adds that ‘food sales were up 2% on November 2019, yet drink sales declined by 10.5%’ and says ‘both London and non-London sites also saw their like-for-likes decline last month. London was hit the hardest with a 9.5% reduction in sales, whereas non-London sites saw like-for-likes drop by a smaller 3%.’

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Germany is to introduce restrictions that could bar unvaccinated customers from entering many public places including non-essential shops and events. Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel described the measures as an act of “national solidarity”.

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A campaign calling for night time economy advisors to be established in every major UK city has been launched by the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA).

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COMPANY & OTHER NEWS:

Comptoir has appointed Michael Toon as Finance Director. Toon was formerly Finance Director of Chopstix and prior to that, the Casual Dining Group.

Diageo has partnered with THINK! the road safety campaign, to launch a new digital programme aimed at tackling drink driving over the festive period.

Deliveroo founder Will Shu has sold £47m shares to pay a tax liability, sending shares in the company down 7.6%. Both Shu and CFO Adam Miller will be rewarded with additional company shares. Despite bumper sales during lockdown Deliveroo has faced a turbulent year with its London IPO considered a flop.

The Drinks List shows that there has been little change in the top 10 soft drinks brands, with J20 Orange & Passionfruit slipping out. Volume and value sales have decreased across the board by about 20% across the top seven brands. The top brand was Coca-Cola, with Diet Coke second and Pepsi Max third.

BrewDog’s successful launch of its DogHouse Manchester is set to be followed by the opening of DogHouse Edinburgh, featuring 20 sustainable, multi-level apartment style hotel rooms. Every room will feature in-shower beer fridges, draught beer taps and a fully loaded mini bar.

Sticks’n’Sushi, a Danish Sushi chain, has reached the 500m DKK revenue mark (£57m) with a record EBITDA of 51.5m DKK.  The chain operates twelve restaurants in Denmark, nine locations in the UK and soon three in Germany. 

Black Box Intelligence in the US has reported that staff aged 18 years or younger make up 24% of the limited-service restaurant workforce (as at Q3 this year), up from 17% in 2019. It says the shift in workforce composition in the full-service category saw 18 and younger in full-service was 4.6% in 2019, compared to 7.2% now.

In the US, Burger King is to simplify its menu and remove some products in order to improve drive-thru times says José Cil, CEO of parent company Restaurant Brands International. This being the US, some 80% of Burger King’s sales are via drive-thru.

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LEISURE TRAVEL & HOTELS:

The sage advisory committee has advocated for more severe restrictions on international travel, angering some conservative MPs. Former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith called for Sage to be broken up, accusing advisors of trying to ‘bounce’ ministers into making decisions.

TSSA, the travel trade union, has won a claim against Telecom Service Centres, also known as ‘Webhelp’, on behalf of five former Thomas Cook employees, resulting in payments worth more than £20,000.

Per Sky, Midlothian Capital Partners, the private equity backer of Park Leisure, has asked Rothschild to field bids for the business. Park Leisure owns 11 holiday-home resorts across the UK, with sources saying a deal could be done for around £170m.

Club Med will open a new US resort in 2024 located at Snowbasin Resort in Huntsville, Utah, becoming the brand’s first five-star Exclusive Collection resort in the US.

Travel and omicron. Per the BBC, many customers are cancelling hotel reservations as Christmas plans change in the wake of the Omicron Covid variant. This is anecdotal at the moment but Best Western GB said three-quarters of its hotels had experienced event and room booking cancellations.

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A proposed 3.8% increase in rail fares next March has been postponed after it was met with an angry backlash. Government spinners advised against releasing the news of the price increase after the overwhelmingly negative public reaction to the Integrated Rail Plan.  

Pre-omicron but STR reports that US hotel performance over the Thanksgiving weekend was at a record high. It says in the week to 27 November, occupancy was 53% (up 4.6%), average daily rate was $128.41 (up 14.3%) and the resultant REVPAR was up 19.6% at $68.00.

Grab, the ride hailing firm of South East Asia, has been listed on Nasdaq. The shares initially rose before falling sharply.

FINANCE & MARKETS:

The OECD has said that further governmental help for business may be needed if the omicron variant causes a global economic slowdown. The jury is still out on the latter.

The FT says ‘the US is delaying a deal to remove Trump-era tariffs on UK steel and aluminium because of Washington’s concerns about London’s threats to change post-Brexit trading rules in Northern Ireland.’ Trade minister Penny Mordaunt has said this is a “false narrative”.

The Nationwide says of UK house prices that ‘the outlook remains uncertain… It is unclear what impact the new ‘Omicron’ variant will have on the wider economy.’

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Sterling up at £1.3295 and €1.1765. Oil higher at $71.06. UK 10yr gilt yield down 5bps at 0.79%. world markets down yesterday but the US turned around and rose. London set to open some 42pts higher.

RETAIL WITH NICK BUBB:

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