DP Poland, Gear4Music, Playtech, business confidence, CPI & other:

A DAY IN THE LIFE:

We have a creature scurrying around in the bushes on the patio near our front door and it’s either a wood mouse (cute, native to this country, minds its own business) or a baby rat (filthy vermin, associated with disease) and, whilst it matters to me which it is, why should that be?

Maybe it’s PR.

For example, I’ve been stung by many a bee and, believe me, they can sting you more than once, the pesky little bleeders just won’t die, and never by a wasp yet, if you asked me which I associate with the pleasant things in life, it still wouldn’t be the latter.

And I don’t think I’m alone.

Because a reputation, arguably both good or bad, can often survive contact with reality for much longer than it should and a degree of discernment may be called for, treat each judgement point as ground zero when it comes to making your mind up.

We could, of course, apply this to people but, as some of them seem to be litigious devils and we don’t want to go there, we won’t bother. Nearly Easter, 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:

Business Confidence:

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales has produced its Business Confidence Monitor (BCM) for Q1 – 2025. It shows that ‘business confidence continued to fall and turned negative for the first time since late 2022, reflecting forthcoming tax rises, rising inflation, weak UK growth, and increased global uncertainty.’ This is indeed something of a watershed…

• 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.

Hospitality inflationary pressures:

Meaningful Vision reports that ‘the UK foodservice sector is bracing itself for a fresh wave of inflationary pressures in 2025 following a period of relative price stability in the preceding year.’ It says that ‘early 2025 saw a significant upturn [in food inflation], driven in no small part by escalating labour costs….’

• 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:

Fiscal drag will ensure that ‘millions more Brits will be dragged into paying income tax in the coming months as Rachel Reeves squeezes the spending powers of lower earners with a freeze on tax bands’ reports Yahoo Finance.

DP POLAND – Q1 TRADING UPDATE:

DPP has updated on Q1 trading and our comments thereon are set out below.

Headline numbers: In Poland: The group reports total system sales in Q1 up 6.5% at PLN 66.3m with LFL sales up 2.9%. This splits as to down 2.0% in dine-in and up 4.8% in delivery. In terms of orders, toral system orders are down 0.1% and LFL system orders are down 4.5%. DPP reports that ‘trading in Poland remained stable in Q1 2025’ and says ‘growth was primarily driven by higher average ticket values, reflecting a strategic shift in pricing.’ The company says ‘this approach helps offset cost pressures, notably in labour, while order volumes were flat to maintain healthy margins.’

In Croatia: The group reports total system sales in Q1 up 12.7% at €1.0m with LFL sales also up 12.7%. In terms of orders, toral system orders are up 1.1% and, with the same number of stores open, LFL system orders are also up 1.1%. DPP reports ‘our operations in Croatia delivered a strong performance, with total and like-for-like system sales both growing 12.7% YoY.’ It says ‘despite implementing pricing adjustments to offset rising labour costs, sales remained strong. The brand continues to gain momentum in the market, with two new stores scheduled to open in the coming months.’

• 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:

Shepherd Neame yesterday reported that Jonathon Swaine, Managing Director, Pubs, will step down from his role and as a Director of the Company on 17 April 2025. It says ‘in the light of our decision to reduce the number of our managed houses, the Company plans to reorganise roles and responsibilities to reflect the composition of its pub estate. These roles will report to Jonathan Neame, CEO, and Mark Rider, CFO, who will take on added responsibilities….’

Hydes Brewery has opened a boutique city centre hotel in Manchester’s Northern Quarter. The Abel Heywood has opened after a £235,000 capex programme.

Chicken restaurant chain Wingers reports a 40% rise in like-for-like net sales in Q1 this 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.

Burger King franchisee Consolidated Burger Holdings LLC, which franchises 75 Burger King units in Florida and Georgia, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection…

• 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.

HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL:

Travelodge has announced the acquisition of 11 hotels across the UK, nine of which will be former Hotel Campanile properties. Five of the Campanile units will be acquired on a freehold basis, and four will be secured long-leasehold.

OTHER LEISURE:

Playtech reports that ‘John Gleasure has been appointed to the Board with a view to his succeeding Brian Mattingley as Non-executive Chairman.’ It says that John will ‘assume the role of Chairman after Playtech’s annual general meeting in May 2025, at which time Brian will step down as Chairman and from the Board.’

Gear4music (Holdings) plc has today reported that it has ‘purchased stock with a cost value of £1.8 million, together with certain intangible assets including websites, trademarks, and commercial data, for a total consideration of £0.6 million’ from the Administrators of GAK.co.uk Ltd and The Guitar, Amp & Keyboard Centre Ltd.’ Re trading G4M reports that ‘the marked improvement in UK and European like-for-like sales in the latter half of March has been sustained over the first two weeks of April…’

FINANCE & MARKETS:

Inflation:

The ONS reports that the CPI in the UK rose by 2.6% in the 12 months to March 2025, down from 2.8% in the 12 months to February. Estimates were for around 2.7%….

• 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.

Tariff wars:

Bloomberg reports that the Chinese government has told airlines not to take any further deliveries from Boeing. Carriers have also been told to halt purchases of equipment.

Shipping activity at Chinese ports is reported by the WSJ to have fallen by 9.7% in the week of April 7-13.

Ships are reported to be drifting around outside European ports as a number of motor manufacturers pause deliveries to the U.

VP JD Vance says there is a ‘good chance’ of the US doing a ‘great’ trade deal with the UK. He says ‘we’re certainly working very hard with Keir Starmer’s Government.’

Bloomberg reports that European exports to the US are once again under major threat as talks between the EU and US failed to make progress….

Nvidia has said it will be hit with $5.5bn in extra costs as a result of export restrictions to China. The company will now need export licences to sell its H20 AI chip to China, a major market.

Other financial news:

Sterling up at $1.3263 and €1.1695. Oil lower at $64.34. UK 10 year gilt yield down 3 basis points at 4.63%. Markets better yesterday but US down and Far East lower in Wednesday trade. London set to open down around 59 points 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.