Langton Capital – 2022-09-28 – Shepherd Neame, XPF, Everyman Media, DP Poland, mini-Budget etc.:
Shepherd Neame, XPF, Everyman Media, DP Poland, mini-Budget etc.:A DAY IN THE LIFE: Don’t you ever wake up and wonder ‘is it the weekend yet?’ Because sometimes it’s hard to avoid the feeling and, if it kicks in about Tuesday, you know it’s going to be a rather long week. And the feeling is often not associated with the actual amount of work that needs doing, the volume of companies reporting figures or whatever. It can be more to do with the weather, where we are in the calendar, whether the nights are pulling in or drawing out, if there are any holidays coming up etc but, before we consider just how much sympathy we might be due, let’s give a thought to those living in the true north, Sweden, for example. Or Finland, for that matter, because I remember once, in Stockholm, being told that the southernmost tip of Finland only starts half way up towards the north of Sweden and that, there, it gets dark again before it even gets light. Still, TINA as the currently-emulated Mrs Thatcher once said. Let’s move on to the news: LANGTON EMAIL: The Free Email is now written in short form. Extended versions of many stories are in the Premium Email. Reply to this email if you would like to upgrade. Prices for the Premium at time of writing are £345 for one subscription, £595 for multiple, both plus VAT. Or sign up for easy in, easy out monthly option HERE https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=87YUG2Z5W7PSN PUBS & RESTAURANTS: Christmas or the World Cup? Or both? The MA reports that UK pubs have to decide between hosting Christmas parties or screening the football World Cup… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Limited time offer: PayPal monthly £25 + VAT. Easy in, easy out. Other trading issues: A Simply Business report suggests that 54% of small and medium-sized businesses in the UK say that rising fuel and energy costs are one of their greatest threats to their survival. It would perhaps be odd if they didn’t… The NTIA claims that night-time economy and independent hospitality businesses are being marginalised by government. Help for consumers: Ofgem’s review has found failures in firms being able to identify which customers were having payment difficulties and a lack of help with payment plans as the cost of living crisis continues to bite. The increase to the new £2,500 energy cap comes in on 1 October. A household is considered to be in fuel poverty if it has to spend 10% or more of its income on energy. Government: Plenty of news out there about the pros and cons of the chancellor’s Friday mini-Budget. The IMF has said ‘we are closely monitoring recent economic developments in the UK and are engaged with the authorities…’ • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Limited time offer: PayPal monthly £25 + VAT. Easy in, easy out. Inflation: The BRC and Nielsen have reported that food prices are now rising at 10.6% per annum (in the year to September). This is disturbing as a) food is such an essential and b) it illustrates that inflation is not confined only to energy costs… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Limited time offer: PayPal monthly £25 + VAT. Easy in, easy out. COMPANY NEWS: Shepherd Neame has reported full year numbers for the 52 weeks ended 25 June 2022 saying that revenue rose from £87m to £152m. It says ‘the period under review has been dominated by the impact of COVID-19 in the first half and by the effects of the war in Ukraine in the second half. In this context, we are pleased to have achieved the strong rebound in sales and profits. Shepherd Neame reports ‘a return to profits and final dividend recommended’… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Limited time offer: PayPal monthly £25 + VAT. Easy in, easy out. DP Poland has reported H1 numbers and has provided a trading update on July and August sales. The company says that ‘H1 2022 saw the company move into a profitable EBITDA position’ and it adds ‘positive sales trends have accelerated in H2, with July and August like for like sales growing at a rate of >30% year on year.’ The company cautions ‘we remain vigilant against the strong inflationary environment facing companies and consumers alike, although we are seeing early signs of some pressures easing.’ DPP says ‘our recently completed capital raise puts the Company on a strong financial footing to continue to grow market share…’ • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Limited time offer: PayPal monthly £25 + VAT. Easy in, easy out. Escape game and experiential bar company XP Factory has reported h1 numbers saying that revenues rose from £1.2m to £8.1m with a loss before taxation of £3.3m, up from a loss of £2.4m in H1 last year. The loss per share is 2.2p against a loss of 2.8p last year… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Limited time offer: PayPal monthly £25 + VAT. Easy in, easy out. Just Eat Takeaway.com reported on trading yesterday afternoon saying that it ‘expects to generate positive Adjusted EBITDA in the second half of 2022…’ • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Limited time offer: PayPal monthly £25 + VAT. Easy in, easy out. Döner Shack will open its fourth restaurant on 1 October, located in Glasgow. The new opening follows the success of sister locations in Leeds, Manchester, and more recently Leicester. Boxpark is to open a new venue, its first outside London, in Liverpool next year. The venue will be a part of the Cains Brewery Village estate in the Baltic Triangle. Arc Inspirations, owner of Banyan, BOX and Manahatta, reports revenue of £38.9m for the 12 months to 31 March 2022, a 27% increase compared to the year ended 31 March 2020 which only saw a few weeks of Covid disruption. Like-for-like sales were up 18% versus the year ended 31 March 2020. 200 Degrees, the East Midlands coffee roaster, is opening a coffee shop in Derby within Derbion shopping centre on London Road. The new Derby coffee shop is the roaster’s 18th across England and Wales and is the 7th in the East Midlands. Propel reports that We Are Bar Group has been placed into administration: It reported earlier this month that an accelerated sales process has been begun for the seven-strong City of London business, which operates the Jamies wine bars brand. Mr Ji has closed its Soho site to free up staff for its imminent launch in Camden. The restaurant said that It’s been a really tough year with staffing, our industry has felt the pain’.‘ The COO at Morrison’s, Trevor Strain, is reported to have resigned. HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL: Saga’s shares fell by 24% yesterday on the back of rising insurance costs and pay-outs. The travel side of the business was reported to be recovering. Per The Telegraph, Liz Truss has already failed to deliver on one of her first pledges to the ‘red wall’ – to keep Doncaster Sheffield Airport open. Truss had said that regional airports are vital to her economic growth plans. Jet2.com and Jet2holidays is increasing capacity to Greece to 1.3m seats for next summer, introducing three new routes: Bristol-Chania, East Midlands-Santorini and Stansted-Athens. The chair of the Business Travel Association, Suzanne Horner, warns on staffing saying that the industry must accelerate efforts to attract new talent. Only three of the 13 TMC representatives on the BTA’s newly created Next Generation board are under the age of 36, signalling the dearth of young talent. OTHER LEISURE: Everyman Media has reported H1 numbers saying that revenues rose from £7.7m last year to £40.7m. Operating profit was £0.8m compared with an operating loss of £7.7m in H1 last year… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Limited time offer: PayPal monthly £25 + VAT. Easy in, easy out. The DCMS has placed Worcester Warriors into administration after the club failed to deliver a ‘credible’ financial plan. The Warriors have been ejected from all competitions by the RFU and now face relegation and a player exodus. Elon Musk is reported to have knocked Jeff Bezos off the top spot to become the richest man in America. FINANCE & MARKETS: Mini budget backlash continues. The Times quotes a poll by YouGov as suggesting that only 9% of voters thought that the measures outlined in the budget would improve their finances… The spread on borrowing costs between those paid by the British and German governments has risen to its highest since the UK left the ERM back in 1992. The Telegraph points out that, during the Tory leadership contest, Rishi Sunak ‘said that Liz Truss’s plans to borrow to fund tax cuts were ‘dangerous’ and risked ‘making everything worse’. It adds ‘and lo, his prophecy, dismissed as doomsterism at the time, has already come to pass’. The Telegraph points out that ‘Friday was the biggest fire sale of sterling and gilts in almost 35 years.’ Labour conference. The CBI responds to Labour’s suggesting that it would remain business-friendly saying ‘against the backdrop of a cost-of-living crisis, it’s welcome to hear Labour re-state its pro-business credentials…’ Bank of England chief economist Huw Pill has given a speech in which he says he sees the Bank needing to make a ‘significant’ response to last Friday’s mini-budget… The cost of (i.e. the coupon on) British government debt is now required to be higher than that in Greece and Italy. Sterling weaker at $1.0646 and €1.1144. Oil price higher at $85.10. UK 10yr gilt yield up another 29bps at 4.44%. It has now risen by over 130bps in less than a week. Markets lower yesterday and London set to open down around 66pts as at 6.30am. RETAIL WITH NICK BUBB: • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Limited time offer: PayPal monthly £25 + VAT. Easy in, easy out. |
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