Langton Capital – 2023-04-24 – March Tracker, PIER, ROO, XPF, trading comments, labour & other:
March Tracker, PIER, ROO, XPF, trading comments, labour & other:A DAY IN THE LIFE: We had a blackbird in the garden a while back that sat on the wing mirrors of the car in order to fight with its reflection every day for a couple of years. Which sounds interesting but, as it left scaredy-cat poo-stripes down the vehicle on an almost daily basis, it came as a mixed blessing and now, whilst said blackbird is presumably ‘living on a farm’ somewhere, we have a bluetit that guards its matrimonial nest and which fights with its own reflection in one of the bedroom windows every morning. And, since this a) kicks off at dawn and b) dawn in the northern hemisphere is getting earlier and earlier every morning at this time of year, has driven the inhabitant into one of the other rooms usually occupied by one of her brothers. And that seems like a short term and hopefully short-dated relatively humane, for the bird at least, quick fix. 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: Trade (differing time periods, differing comments). The sales tracker for the snow-impacted March 2023, produced by CGA in partnership with The Coffer Group and RSM UK, has been released. The key takeaways comprise sales up (but by less than inflation) and costs a problem. Pubs and restaurants OK but bars a big negative and modest London (relative) revival continues… • 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. Considering the week to 15 April, CGA reports that drinks sales slipped after and ‘Easter surge’… • 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. Elsewhere, Zonal reports that bookings were up 14% YoY for the Easter weekend, with brunch bookings up 98% YoY, lunch bookings up 48% YoY and dinner bookings 22%… Inflation & prices: S&P’s flash estimate PMIs for March have shown that ‘inflationary pressures have…continued to cool in manufacturing, but price pressures have picked up in services following the resurgence of demand….’ The ONS reports that the average cost of a pint of draught lager soared by 11.9% YoY in the year to March 2023, from £3.98 to £4.45… Labour: A report from the Labour-led Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy select committee claims that over-50’s are dropping out of the workforce because of ‘ageist’ companies. Lucy Standing, co-founder of Bravestarts, said outdated recruitment processes were blocking people from making career changes…. • 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. Services growth (see also Finance & Markets below): S&P reports ‘the fastest rebound in private sector output in a year showed businesses were enjoying the pockets of recovery emerging in the UK economy and activity levels leapt up as a result of new orders and improved supply chain performance.’ It adds ‘however, the difference between the manufacturing and service sectors was stark. Services saw the fastest new order growth for 13 months as consumer confidence grew and spending on a few more luxuries increased…’ Other news: German brewer Klosterbräuerei Neuzelle has launched the world’s first powdered beer with the 0.0% abv brew coming in regular and gluten-free styles. The brewer claimed the sachets could mark a ‘turning point’ for reducing carbon emissions of beer exports. Re the upcoming coronation, Bloomberg has suggested that UK pubs & restaurants could bag £350m in sales… • 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: The Brighton Pier Group PLC has reported final results for the 18mth period to 25 December. It says the period reflects ‘the first uninterrupted trading period post pandemic’ and adds that ‘the change of year end date will enable more meaningful comparison of the Group’s financial performance going forwards.’ The period reported includes two summers. PIER says that ‘overall, the business rebounded strongly, benefitting from pent-up consumer demand and government assistance, this enabled the Group to repay £9.1 million of debt (44% of borrowings) and enter the current more challenging market in a good financial position.’ It adds that ‘trading in 2023 is in line with market expectations and we are well placed to take advantage of any upturn…’ • 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. Commenting on trading, PIER says that LfL sales in the bars division were +2% on the last pre-Covid year. It says that the Golf sites are up 12% on pre-Covid and the pier is up 11%. Lightwater Valley was acquired during the pandemic. The Telegraph reports that hedge fund Citadel has taken a £27m short bet against Deliveroo. Deliveroo’s shares have risen from all-time lows of around 80p to their current 110p in the last three months. Kirkstall Brewery has announced that it is to take over the site of ARC Inspirations former Banyan site in Horsforth. The New Road Side venue operated as a Banyan bar until earlier this month. XPF, which operates that Escape Hunt and Boom Battle Bars sites, is to open its newest Boom Battle Bar in September in Southend… Per MCA, Jamie Oliver Restaurants plan to expand from its current 70 sites to 200 sites worldwide by 2027. The company will open 22 restaurants this year with plans to focus on international growth, opening 50-60 restaurants in India alone in the coming years… Camile Thai Kitchen (UK) Ltd and Camile Thai Franchise (UK) Limited have appointed Robert Young and Chris Tate of Azets in Southampton as liquidators…. HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL: The ONS claims the weather was to blame as retail sales volumes fell by 0.9% in March, with the Met Office stating that it was the sixth wettest March on record. However, Travel Weekly’s Lucy Huxley claims that the inclement weather may encourage undecided customers to revisit their holiday plans… Parkdean Resorts has agreed a refinancing of its senior debt with funds managed by Ares well in advance of its facilities maturing in March 2024 and March 2025. The statement claims that Parkdean will accelerate its growth plans with backing from its shareholder Onex Corporation… • 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. TransPennine Express’ cancellation rate leapt from 5.8% to 17% due to staff shortages, the highest figure among rail operators. However, this was a decline compared to the 23.8% cancellation rate in the previous period to 4 March. The troubled rail company is due to have its contract renewed next month. Clermont Hotel Group will rebrand London’s only Hard Rock hotel into a venue called The Cumberland at the end of May. The 1,000-room hotel, which opened in 2019, is located opposite Marble Arch on the corner of Oxford Street and Great Cumberland Place. IHG Hotels & Resorts has signed for The Halyard at Ropewalks Liverpool, introducing its Vignette Collection to the UK. The hotel will open later this year under a franchise agreement with Molo Hotels and will be operated by Lighthouse Hotel Management. FINANCE & MARKETS: S&P’s flash PMI numbers, which came on the back of the earlier-announced GfK Consumer Sentiment numbers and which were released on Friday morning, provided some grounds to suggest that sentiment is displaying some signs of having turned for the better… • 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. Sterling slightly lower at $1.243 and €1.1322. Oil price lower at $80.61. UK 10yr gilt yield unchanged at 3.75%. Markets mixed on Friday & London set to open down around 13pts 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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