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Tenanted pub company
Today’s Daily Note
Langton Capital - 2026-08-21 - Confidence, incomes, zero hours, Joseph Holt, Travelodge & other:
Confidence, incomes, zero hours, Joseph Holt, Travelodge & other:A DAY IN THE LIFE: Well, there’s a crescendo of quietness building up out there and, with the Bank Holiday at the end of it, next week could be quieter still. Famous last words, of course. There could be three bids, a boardroom coup and an accounting scandal but there probably won’t be and here’s hoping that things pick up a bit in September. And, talking of September, the leaves are turning. The conker trees go first, then the fruit trees and later the biggies but there’s moisture in the air & the season of mist & mellow fruitfulness feels as though it will soon be upon us. Ugh. Anyway, we’ve made it to the end of another five-day-summer week and, whilst only pausing to wish readers a pleasant weekend and The Mighty Hull City the best of luck when they host Manchester United tomorrow lunchtime at the MKM Stadium, let’s move on to the news: LANGTON EMAIL: The Free Email is now written in short form. Extended versions of many stories (after the ellipses) are in the Premium Email. Reply to this email if you would like to upgrade. Prices for the Premium are £395 for one subscription, £695 for multiple, £995 for very large subscribers, all plus VAT. Or sign up for easy in, easy out monthly option per subscriber HERE https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=87YUG2Z5W7PSN PUBS & RESTAURANTS: Consumer confidence: GfK reports that optimism has pushed consumer confidence up in the UK despite challenges. The figure, whilst it has only risen to minus 14, is the highest level for two years. Its long-running Consumer Confidence Index was up three points in the month. GfK adds ‘four measures rose compared to last month’s announcement and one fell....’ • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £395, multiple £695. Limited time offer: PayPal alternative monthly £25 + VAT per sub. Easy in, easy out. More on consumer confidence. This drives the desire, if not the ability, to spend. The BRC has commissioned a survey by Opinium which shows that consumer expectations for the next three months have picked up. A number of measures are negative, but less so, and the direction of travel would appear to be positive... • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £395, multiple £695. Limited time offer: PayPal alternative monthly £25 + VAT per sub. Easy in, easy out. Disposable incomes: Cornwall Insight has said that the domestic energy price cap is likely to rise by about 4% in October to a three-year high. It says that this is due to higher wholesale costs as a result of the ongoing disruption in the Gulf. Corporate distress: Restructuring expert and corporate rescue firm Begbies Traynor has produced its Red Flag report for Q2 this year saying that over 53,000 UK firms are now under severe financial pressure as critical financial distress rises 9%.... • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £395, multiple £695. Limited time offer: PayPal alternative monthly £25 + VAT per sub. Easy in, easy out. Food security: The UK Met Office is reporting that the upcoming El Niño event that is developing over the Pacific Ocean is likely to be the strongest in living memory. It says this suggests that it is ‘very likely that 2027 will be the hottest year ever recorded.... • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £395, multiple £695. Limited time offer: PayPal alternative monthly £25 + VAT per sub. Easy in, easy out. Zero hours contracts: UKH comments on proposed changes saying that the Government’s proposal to end ‘one-sided flexibility’ in favour of employers means that hospitality businesses will have their work cut out as they attempt to balance complying with the new laws whilst at the same time preserving what flexibility as to costs they can... • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £395, multiple £695. Limited time offer: PayPal alternative monthly £25 + VAT per sub. Easy in, easy out. Other news: Costs: Michael Kill, CEO of the NTIA, has said that rising inflation will add costs for his members and squeeze consumer spending.... • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £395, multiple £695. Limited time offer: PayPal alternative monthly £25 + VAT per sub. Easy in, easy out. COMPANY NEWS: Manchester brewer and pub co Joseph Holt Group Limited, which was founded in 1849, has reported full year numbers to Companies’ House for the year to 31 December 2025 saying that turnover rose by 3.1% to £78.3m. The group reports that its GP% rose to 70.1% from 69.8% in the prior year and, with admin costs controlled, operating profit was some 9.8% higher at £5.03m. The company has a modest amount of interest paid and full year PBT is £4.97m, up from £4.95m in the prior year. Joseph Holt now has £54.1m in accumulated profits and its shareholders’ funds stand at £88.9m.... • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £395, multiple £695. Limited time offer: PayPal alternative monthly £25 + VAT per sub. Easy in, easy out. Bernard Matthews Foods, which is owned by Ranjit Singh Boparan, has confirmed that it is to close its factory in Derby amid as the unit is making ‘significant financial losses.’ The site will close by the end of this year.... HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL: Travelodge Group has reported a ‘solid H1 performance’ and announced that CEO Jo Boydell has stepped down as CEO of Travelodge. It reports that Ray Reidy, currently CFO, ‘will assume the role of interim CEO while we conduct a thorough search for a permanent successor....’ • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £395, multiple £695. Limited time offer: PayPal alternative monthly £25 + VAT per sub. Easy in, easy out. The FT has suggested that ballooning wealth caused by AI, crypto currencies and the like may mean that luxury travel and hotel prices will remain higher for longer than might have otherwise been the case.... Lodging Econometrics reports that some 300 new hotels look set to open their doors in 2026 as a whole. Some 112 opened in H1 with as many as 195 set to open in the remainder of the year. The BBC reports that ‘dozens of people have accused TUI River Cruises of operating vessels with faulty facilities including persistently broken air conditioning, after they spent thousands of pounds on holidays.’ PPHE Hotel Group has announced that it ‘has successfully completed the sale of its development site located in Manhattan, New York.’ It says that the transaction was structured as a sale of the freehold site to a US real estate developer for the purchase price of $33.5m. PPHE adds that ‘the sale proceeds were used to repay the associated debt of $6.75m and the balance of funds will be deployed in accordance with the Group's capital allocation strategy.’ CoStar reports that the UK hotel industry had another positive week in the week to 15 August. Occupancy was up by 2.6%, ADR was some 3.5% higher and REVPAR rose by 6.2%. Roomex reports that travel bookings to cities in the UK outside London rose by 12.5% in 2025 compared with a year earlier. Roomex suggests that regional cities may continue to perform strongly ‘as new UK prime minister Andy Burnham focuses on giving more powers to regional mayors, as well as setting up Number 10 North in Manchester as a regional office for his administration.’ Uber Technologies has announced that Baidu’s ‘fully driverless Apollo Go vehicles are officially available to riders on the Uber platform in Dubai, with New Horizon Luxury Transport serving as the fleet operator.’ FINANCE & MARKETS: The CBI has noted a pick up across its manufacturing members saying that ‘order books saw a noticeable improvement in August.’ The latest Industrial Trends Survey notes, however, that ‘output volumes fell again in the three months to August’ albeit at a slower pace compared to the three months to July.... • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £395, multiple £695. Limited time offer: PayPal alternative monthly £25 + VAT per sub. Easy in, easy out. Minutes from the US Fed’s July meeting suggest that a number of US Federal Reserve policymakers believe that interest rate rises may be necessary later this year if inflation does not fall. US national debt has more exceeded $40 trillion, having doubled in the decade since Donald Trump first became president in 2016. Sterling up at €1.1665 and $1.3640. Oil a little higher again – and creeping towards $100 – at $93.34. UK 10 year gilt yield up 3 basis points at 5.07%. World markets mixed & London set to open little-changed as at 6.30am. RETAIL WITH NICK BUBB: • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £395, multiple £695. Limited time offer: PayPal alternative monthly £25 + VAT per sub. Easy in, easy out. |
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