XP Factory, Sportech, trading, footfall, holiday delays & other:

A DAY IN THE LIFE:

The number of out-of-office replies to our email tripled yesterday.

That, added to the unknown but large number of recipients (including Langton) who either don’t bother or don’t know how to put an OOO auto-reply on would suggest that a great many people have taken off three days in order to stitch together a nine-day holiday.

Certainly the queues at Gatwick and the Channel would suggest that a lot of people are getting away. On to the news:

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QUESTION OF THE WEEK?

Question of this week:

What will happen to the delivery market now that restaurants are open again, times are getting hard and there may be some discounting?

PUBS & RESTAURANTS:

Current trading, footfall etc.

The CGA Drinks Recovery Tracker shows that on premise drink sales were 0.2% behind 2019 levels in the week to 21 May.

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Springboard has updated on weekly footfall saying that it rose by 2.2% week on week in the seven days to 28 May.

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Staffing issues:

UKHospitality CEO Kate Nicholls has said the announcement regarding the new visa scheme for the world’s top graduates ‘would be greatly enhanced, however, if there was also an increased use of youth mobility schemes with other nations, and bilateral arrangements built into forthcoming trade deals.’

The upcoming Jubilee long weekend:

The Barclays SME Barometer shows that independent pubs, bars and restaurants are expecting a £76m boost over the Platinum Jubilee weekend, with 49% of those open predicting a sales rise. On average, SMEs are hoping for a 10.4% rise between the months of April and June 2022 against the same period in 2021.

Inflation & the cost of living crisis:

The ONS reports that some budget foods have increased in price by more than 15% of the past year. The lowest cost version of pasta rose by 50% in the year to April, with minced beef, bread and rice also recording large increases.

Sainsbury has said that its ‘investment in price to help customers with the cost of living is set to top more than half a billion pounds.’

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The FT reports ONS data as showing that the cheapest food prices have not risen faster than average. This is presumably correct but, as poorer demographics spend a larger proportion of their income on food (and save less), the same inflation rate will hit different demographics to a differing degree,

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John Bason, CFO at ABF, has told the BBC his company “regrets” raising prices at Primark, as the fashion firm gives way to rising costs. Primark has said it will implement “selective price increases” across some of its autumn and winter stock.

Other news:

Pub closures. CAMRA has called for the government to intervene after its research showed an average of just over 5 pubs a week (290 in total) were demolished or converted to another use in 2021. However, the statistics did show an increase in new pubs being built, or existing buildings being converted into pubs, averaging at just over seven pubs opening per week in the second half of the year.

The NTIA has announced that Sacha Lord, Night Time Economy Advisor for Greater Manchester, is to become Chair of its Board of Directors.

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Drinks insights agency PROOF Insight claims that 10 million consumers plan to drink English wine and 16 million intend to drink a British-distilled gin over the Platinum Jubilee weekend.

COMPANY NEWS:

Franco Manca is to offer a free glass of prosecco to customers ordering its ‘Jubliee Special’ pizzas over the Bank Holiday weekend. The company is producing a Jubilee Meat Special as well as a vegetarian option.

XP Factory (was Escape Hunt) has reported FY numbers.

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MCA reports that Greggs is  still considering its options for expansion internationally. Former CEO Roger Whiteside said ‘Greggs has some history of it in the past in that we tried and failed in Belgium – but we were bakers then and now we are food on the go and better set up to compete with whatever the local competition might be in the country that we might choose’

Greene King is offering a pint for just 6p in 408 locations over the Platinum Jubilee weekend if you say the secret codeword, which isn’t much of a secret at all, to bar staff. It is ‘1952’.

Drinks company Diageo is to sell off 32 low-margin, locally produced brands in India to Inbrew Beverages for just over US$100 million. India is reported to be one of the fastest-growing alcoholic beverages markets, at an estimated market size of US$52.5 billion in 2020.

Shaftesbury yesterday reported that it and Capital & Counties remain in ‘advanced discussions regarding a possible all-share merger of the two companies’. The ‘put up or shut up’ deadline has been extended from 4 June to 17 June. Shaftesbury says ‘there can be no certainty that any offer will be made. A further announcement will be made in due course.’

HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL:

Delays still in the news:

Last weekend saw travellers stuck in hour-long queues at several airports, and strings of flights cancelled by airlines including easyJet and Tui. Manchester airport warned on its official Twitter page that there were delays at check-in and baggage reclaim.

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BA check-in staff are being balloted by the Unite and GMB unions ahead of potential strike action for later in the summer. Unite says ‘British Airways used the cover of Covid to brutally cut members’ pay.’

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STR reports that European hotel ADRs are now, on average, six per cent higher than pre-Covid rates. Ireland leads the recovery, with rates 21% higher than comparable 2019 levels in May, and is closely followed by Portugal (18% higher) and Spain (14% higher).

Statistics from Amadeus show that global flight searches had recovered to just 3% behind pre-pandemic 2019 levels in the last week of April. Double-digit increases were recorded in many key markets during the whole month of April, with searches from Mexico up 69% and Canada 29% while the US saw single digit growth of 7%.

Expedia Group has put Traveldoo up for sale, admitting that the business could close if a buyer cannot be found.

OTHER LEISURE:

Sportech has released the trading update that will be read at its AGM later today, saying that ‘for the first five months of the year trading has been in line with the Board’s expectations.’

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Sky News reports that ‘Roman Abramovich has completed the sale of Chelsea Football Club to a group led by American businessman Todd Boehly and investment firm Clearlake Capital.

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FINANCE & MARKETS:

Zoopla has reported that the average price of a house in the UK was £250,200 in April. It suggests that the annual rate of house price inflation fell from 9.0% in March to 8.4% in April meaning that house prices declined in real terms.

Zoopla says fewer houses are coming onto the market and they are taking longer to sell. It says price reductions are more common with around one in 20 properties cutting their price by 5% or more.

Sterling down at $1.2609 and €1.1729. Oil price up at $123.32. UK 10yr gilt yield up 7bps at 1.99%. World markets better yesterday with London set to open around 5pts lower as at 6.30am.

FORTHCOMING NEWS:

Short week nearly halfway through. Sportech’s AGM is today and that, at the moment, is about it.

The following week (beginning 6 June) is only a little more active with City Pub Group holding its AGM on the Wednesday and Fuller’s full year numbers on the Thursday.

RETAIL WITH NICK BUBB:

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