Business confidence, jobs market, cruise taxes, Papa John’s & other:

A DAY IN THE LIFE:

Walking around a bit, it’s hard to miss the daffs.

They haven’t flowered yet up here but, when they do, they’ll be even more noticeable and that set me to thinking, just how many are there in the UK?

Well, lots, says AI.

It seems to have developed many and varied ways of saying ‘I don’t know’, which is at least honest.

But it advises that a billion are harvested so, given all those in gardens, parks and by roadways that aren’t, there might be, say, 2-3 billion in total.

That suggests that, whilst humans have got it in terms of weight (there are around 2,000 daffodil bulbs to the human) and, hopefully, in terms of intelligence, in sheer numbers alone, daffodils have it as they outnumber the country’s human population by maybe 30-50 to one.

And they’re the winners when it comes to wedging yourself in the mud and sitting around for months in the rain and snow whilst being trod on by various heavy, incontinent animals.

Anyway, just thinking. Let’s move on to the news:

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PUBS & RESTAURANTS:

Trains:

The RMT has suspended planned strike action in the Avanti Train Managers dispute following a new offer from the company. Strikes scheduled for 9 and 16 March will not go ahead while members vote on the deal in a referendum….

Business confidence:

Lloyds Bank has produced its latest survey of business confidence saying that it has bounced back in February and it now stands at a post-election high. This may come as something of a surprise to some businesses, which are looking forward to NIC and NLW wages in just over a month’s time with some trepidation…

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Jobs market

Aldi is set to cut around 350 roles at its UK headquarters in Atherstone, near Birmingham. Fellow grocers Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s have already announced plans to cut jobs ahead of the imposition of higher rates of NIC at lower salary thresholds….

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Other news:

Meaningful Vision has reported that chicken chains tend to discount more than do most other casual diners….

COMPANY NEWS:

The MCA reports that Urban Baristas is set for substantial expansion in 2025. It plans to grow its network to over 30 stores by December, a number via the franchise route. Urban Baristas tells the MCA ‘we’ve had a really strong uptake in our first year of franchising.’ CEO Huw Wardrope says ‘our goal is to end the year with over 30 stores across both franchise and equity sites, and that’s looking very achievable….’

Papa John’s in the US yesterday reported Q4 & full year numbers saying that North America comparable sales were down 4% from a year ago. Domestic Company-owned restaurants were down 6% and franchised restaurants were down 4%. Internationally, comparable sales were up 2% on a LFL basis…

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Amsterdam-based coffee company JDE Peet’s has posted strong 2024 results after raising prices by 4.5% in the year to partly cover increased costs. Sales were up 7.9% year-on-year to reach €8.8bn ($9.2bn). Adjusted EBITDA roes 11% year-on-year to €1.6bn ($1.7bn)…

A number of investors are reported to be considering taking a stake in Starbucks China…

China bubble tea chain Mixue is reported to be seeking to raise $443m in the IPO that will value the company at some $9.8bn….

HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL:

Alix Partners reports in its 2025 Global Consumer Outlook that attitudes to holidays are changing. It reports that consumers across a number of global markets are unwilling to compromise on the quality of their travel experiences. The survey suggests that they would rather travel less often, or shorter distances, than sacrifice standards.

Travel Weekly suggests that an element of the market at least takes the opposite view when it says that ‘cost-conscious consumers appear to be driving increased demand for ‘value’ destinations such as Tunisia and Bulgaria this summer….’

The Cruise Line International Association UK & Ireland is reported to be in discussions with authorities in Scotland about a potential cruise tax in the country. The Scottish government has begun a consultation seeking views on the potential imposition of a levy….

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Saga has announced that, following receipt of funds under new banking facilities, it is redeeming and cancelling existing notes and the existing £50.0m revolving credit facility has been cancelled in full.

On the Beach Group plc has announced that it has tweaked the terms of its share buyback programme due to the limited liquidity in its shares. It says its broker will now be able to exceed 25% of the volume of trade on any given trading day, but remain below 50%.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings has reported full year number saying that revenues hit a record of $9.5 billion for 2024, up 11% on the back of 3% capacity growth. Adjusted EBITDA was up 32% year on year to $2.45 billion.

OTHER LEISURE:

Tesla shares are now down 28% year to date. Yahoo Finance reports that boss Elon Musk is asking government employees to submit what they have accomplished in the past week. Tesla investors would like to ask Musk the same question.

FINANCE & MARKETS:

US president Donald Trump has said that he will impose a new 10% tariff on goods coming from China.

President Donald Trump has said that a UK / US trade deal could be settled ‘very quickly’. He says that, if this were to happen, tariffs on UK products would not be necessary.

Sterling mixed at $1.2583 and €1.2118. Oil higher at $73.54. UK 10 year gilt yield up 1 basis point at 4.52%. World markets mixed but heading lower yesterday and London set to open around 47 points lower as at 6.30am.

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