Langton Capital – 2023-05-23 – SSP (H1), XPF (FY), labour costs, younger consumers, insurance etc.:
SSP (H1), XPF (FY), labour costs, younger consumers, insurance etc.:A DAY IN THE LIFE: Bit pushed, 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: Labour (costs): A study by Caterer.com shows that pay for pub workers increased by 11.3% over the last year… • 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. Meanwhile, Sky News reports that it has seen figures suggesting ‘a growing number of skilled workers from Africa and Asia are moving to Britain to plug crippling staff shortages…’ Demographics: The Guardian yesterday reported on ONS stats that show a larger proportion of younger people are living with their parents than had been the case a decade ago. Whilst noteworthy, the implication for spend depends very much on whether the younger consumers are saving for a deposit or have given up on owning their own home and are spending freely… • 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. Covid insurance claims: The UK’s financial ombudsman has ruled that interest must be paid on businesses whose Covid insurance pay out were delayed by insurers challenging the pay-outs… • 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: Footfall: Springboard reports footfall +0.3% Week on Week in shopping centres for the week ended 20 May. Less vineyard regulation. The UK could reportedly net a £180m boost from plans by the UK Government to change EU laws on the production and marketing of wine post-Brexit. Ireland will become the first country in the world to put health warnings on alcoholic drinks when it becomes mandatory to do so after May 2026. SSP GROUP – H1 NUMBERS: SSP Group has reported half year numbers and our comments thereon are set out below: Headline numbers: SSP reports revenue of £1.318bn (2022: £0.803bn, up 64%, with underlying EBITDA of £90.5m against £14.7m (both on a pre-IFRS 16 basis). The company reports an operating profit of £48.6m (2022: £26.0m) and it reports a £15.8m PBT against losses of £2.3m last year. The loss per share is 1.3p (2021: loss 4.1p). SSP reports that net debt was £1.201bn, which includes lease liabilities of £808.7m. It says its ‘liquidity position [is] strong, with cash and undrawn facilities of £516.7m at the end of March 2023.’ • 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: Restaurant Group hosts its AGM today. There is no trading statement as the company updated on Q1 trading on 2 May. XP Factory, which operates under the Boom Battle and Escape Hunt brands, has reported full year numbers to end-December saying that revenues rose by 228% to £22.8m… • 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 Caterer reports that thousands of workers at Pizza Express have signed a petition calling on the chain to abandon a policy which waiters fear could lead to a cut in their hours… • 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. Vinoteca is to close its vast Birmingham site at Paradise development after less than a year, blaming rising energy prices and ongoing train strikes…. Giggling Squid has submitted an application to open a restaurant in Exeter, replacing half of a Waterstones branch. Inception Group has secured a £6.7m loan from OakNorth Bank which will support the experiential bar business to open new sites. The company currently operates 13 sites under various brands of Mr Fogg’s, Bunga Bunga, Cahoots, Barts, Maggie’s and Control Room B. Financial distress. Wilko reported possible CVA, Tillery Foods administration… HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL: Heathrow insists no flights will be cancelled due to the 25-27 May industrial action by security staff…. Ryanair reported a profit of €1.43bn for the year to March, up from a loss last year as fares and passenger numbers rebounded…. The Marine & Property Group Ltd entered administration on 25 April, with RSM appointed as Joint Administrators… UK tourist numbers into the US remained 27% behind pre-pandemic levels in 2022. The UK market is nonetheless recovering more rapidly than other source markets. The US National Travel and Tourism Office says that some 3.47 million UK visitors crossed the Atlantic last year, up 652% on 2021 but still behind 2019 numbers. OTHER LEISURE: Following on from reports that action was imminent, Meta has been fined €1.2m under the EU’s GDPR privacy law… Zoom Video Communications yesterday reported Q1 numbers and raised its full-year forecasts for revenue and profit… FINANCE & MARKETS: Brexit. A YouGov survey has found that only 9% of voters think Brexit has been more of a success than a failure. Some 62% of people describe it as a flop – including 37% of Leave voters…. • 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 weaker at $1.2435 and €1.1501. Oil higher at $76.13. UK 10yr gilt yield firming above 4% at 4.05% (up 4bps). Markets mixed to down yesterday and London set to open 5pts lower 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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