Gregg’s, Ten Entertainment, travel testing, consumer squeeze & other:

A DAY IN THE LIFE:

So, it’s now well and truly the ‘new year’ and, unfortunately, all the tasks that had been set aside for that period, which seemed so far away until it arrived, have now to be faced.

Hence, those tiny roof leaks, pipe leaks in the garden, septic tank issues, collapsed fences and the rest have to be addressed. And the diet has arrived, less alcohol has to be consumed, we need to get to bed earlier and all the rest and that seems a bit daunting unless, of course, we meant New Year 2023.

Now there’s a thought for a day when there’s a cold east wind blowing, it’s minus five outside and we’ve got a fridge full of pies and beer. On to the news.

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PUBS & RESTAURANTS:

Christmas trading:

Further comments on Christmas trading as The Oxford Partnership releases figures suggesting some 15m fewer pints were sold in the last two weeks of 2021 when compared with the same period in 2019. As might be expected, the reduction was not equally felt across the country. The analysts report that, whilst pubs in central London lost some £11,000, London publicans as a whole lost some £7,400 whilst operators in the North East and Yorkshire lost a lesser £2,825 and £3,050 respectively.

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Consumer squeeze:

City AM reports that 82% of ‘ people have seen their living costs such as grocery or energy bills and day-to-day essentials increase in the past few months.’ It quotes TSB as saying ‘nearly a quarter (23 per cent) have dipped into savings, a fifth (19 per cent) said they have changed their usual habits and more than a third (36 per cent) have cut back on spending on non-essentials.’ This is before the impact of increased mortgage payments, NIC taxes and higher energy bills due post April this year.

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Sky reports that further support for households was discussed yesterday by government during a ‘two hour meeting with senior energy industry leaders.’ It says the Warm Homes discount could be extended. Labour called on the government yesterday to suspend the 5% VAT that is added to costs at present. The rise in NIC contributions is also being questioned.

WFH advice:

Plenty of comment on empty offices. The Guardian refers to ‘a handful of workers’ being seen leaving the Bank of England on their lunch breaks and a ‘scattering of people’ being seen shopping. It says ‘in normal times, Tuesday would have marked the first day back in the workplace after the Christmas festivities for millions’ but says that streets, coffee shops and the like seem to be empty.

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UKH Cymru reports that Welsh pubs are running around 25% down on their English peers as a result of increased restrictions in Wales.

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Supply side issues:

The British Chambers of Commerce says there was evidence of an economic slowdown in Q4 last year and adds that the impact of an “unprecedented” surge in inflation could exacerbate this. PM Boris Johnson yesterday in PMQ denied that he had ever described inflation fears as “unfounded” – despite Sky News having him saying just that on camera and Tweeting same out to its followers.

SIBA has called Boris Johnson’s announcement of no further changes to restrictions in England ‘reassuring’ but noted that ‘for independent brewers and pubs the situation was and continues to be massively affected by the mixed messaging in December, which is normally the most important month of the year for hospitality.’

The BBPA expects 7.8 million pints of low and no alcohol beer to be sold this month, as some consumers look to abstain from alcohol for ‘Dry January’. It is urging Brits to support their local by enjoying a pint of non-alcoholic beer at the pub – including non-alcoholic beer on draught.

Homelessness charity Only A Pavement Away will launch a series of employment training cafés in Spring 2022, created within mothballed sites acquired by the charity from its employer partners.

Scotland has joined England & Wales in reducing the self-isolation period from 10dys to 7dys in order to reduce the impact of Covid on worker availability and children’s schooling.

Ireland introduced minimum alcohol pricing on Tuesday, taking the cheapest bottle of wine to €7.40 (£6.20) and a 4.3% abv can of beer for below €1.70 (£1.40). The minimum for 40% abv spirits will be €20.70 (£17.30).

COMPANY & OTHER NEWS:

Greggs has updated on Q4 & full year trading saying that it has made further ‘considerable progress under tough trading conditions’ and has a ‘strong strategy and financial position for continued growth in 2022.’ The group says total sales last year were £1,230m (2020: £811m, 2019: £1,168m) and two year LfL sales in Q4 were up 0.8%. There have been 131 new shops opened in the year with 28 closures and the company had 2,181 shops trading as at its year end.

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Greggs separately updates on its CEO succession plans saying that it ‘announces the appointment of Roisin Currie, currently Greggs Retail and Property Director, as Chief Executive to be effective from the date of the Company’s Annual General Meeting in May 2022.’ Roger Whiteside will step down from the Board at the close of the company’s AGM ‘but will remain available to support the transition process until his notice expires on 5 January 2023.’

Hydes, a Manchester-based brewer and pub operator, reported turnover down from £29.4m to £8.5m for the year ended 28 March 2021. It also reported an operating loss before exceptional items of £4m and a reduction in EBITDA  from £3.7m to minus £1.9m.   

The MCA points out that Itsu has written off up to £4m worth of investment in its New York site, citing economic uncertainty within the US.

The Hush Collection, the 12-strong London-based restaurant group consisting of Hush Mayfair, Cabana and Haché led by Jamie Barber and Ed Standring, has reported its financial results for the year ending 27 December 2020 saying that the period was ‘an extraordinary year for the group with the restaurants experiencing a significant Covid-19 slowdown from the middle of February 2020 followed by the first national lockdown in March and numerous tiered restrictions.’

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Data from Kantar shows that sparkling wine and still wine saw a spike of sales over the Christmas period, up 22% and 18% respectively. Overall grocery sales reached £11.7 billion in the four weeks to 26 December and there was evidence of a resumption of consumer confidence as in-store visits hit their highest level since March 2020.  

Sessions has completed $10m Series A funding, led by Guinness Asset Management. The business said it would use the investment to open new food halls across the UK, set up a ‘one of a kind food studio’, and expand its team.

LEISURE TRAVEL & HOTELS:

In a positive move for travel, pre-departure testing has been scrapped for travellers returning to England. In addition, arrivals will not have to isolate until they get a negative PCR test. PM Boris Johnson says that the measures were no longer having an impact.

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In a further positive move, Vodafone and EE have said they are delaying the reintroduction of roaming charges in Europe by three weeks.

A GoCompare Travel Insurance survey has found that 46% said they were not willing to leave the UK in 2022, with 62% of those naming Covid-19 risks as the reason. The survey found just 15% of respondents said they were going to book their break in January.

Parkdean Resorts has acquired Hanson European Caravan Transport, a Beverley-based static caravan transport company. Hanson will not be integrated into Parkdean, instead it will continue to operate independently, serving existing clients across the UK.

According to documents filed with Companies House, The Savoy suffered a £32.5m pre-tax loss in 2020, with sales dropping 82% and occupancy falling 58.7%, as well as a drop of 83% in RevPAR against 2019.

OTHER LEISURE:

Ten Entertainment Group has updated on full year trading saying that it is offering a ‘compelling recovery with sector-leading sales growth.’ It adds that profits will ‘be at the top end of expectations.’

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FINANCE & MARKETS:

Sterling slightly weaker at $1.3524 and €1.1962. Oil marginally lower at $80.06 and UK 10yr gilt yield unchanged at 1.08%. World markets better in Europe yesterday but US down and Far East lower in Thursday trading. London set to open down around 105pts as at 7am.

Market reported yesterday that the Eurozone composite PMI fell to 53.3 (flash 53.4; November final 55.4) in December, a 9mth low. It says ‘as euro area nations deal with the latest developments in the pandemic, it’s clear that risks to the economy are now greater as tighter restrictions to curb the spread of Covid-19 are more likely than they have been recently.’

RETAIL WITH NICK BUBB:

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