Time Out, Hostelworld, the consumer, trading, Shep Neame & other:

A DAY IN THE LIFE:

Got back to York yesterday and, after 20 degrees in London last week, it was 3.5 degrees, surely some mistake?

But, no.

It got colder still, and then it started to snow meaning that, as is often the case, there will be at least two plantings of runner beans this year chez Langton, the one that survives and the one – or maybe the more-than-one – that didn’t.

Anyway, it’s not that odd for March. Or even, as it will be tomorrow, for April. 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.

See Twitter for in-day comment. Let us know if you would like an example of the Premium Email or to comment on the new format.

Prices for the Premium, unchanged for 2yrs, are £295 for one subscription, £495 for multiple, both plus VAT. Reply to this email to order & request invoice.

Or sign up for easy in, easy out monthly option HERE

PUBS & RESTAURANTS:

Trading:

UK Hospitality has urged hospitality businesses to make the most of extended licensing hours over the Platinum Jubilee weekend. The Government has confirmed licenced premises will be able to extend their opening hours to 1am on the Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings of the long bank holiday weekend (2nd to 5th June).

• See premium. Reply to this email to upgrade.

The consumer:

Much remains to be seen but Kantar has suggested that the poorest families could find their spare cash squeezed once essential purchases have been accounted for. It suggests that the poorest could have around £850 less each year to spend on non-essentials.

• See premium. Reply to this email to upgrade.

AG Barr has commented on the cocktail boom that it first mentioned last spring. The trend has been mentioned by leisure operators who have previously signalled that it is perhaps tied to younger consumers, who make up a larger proportion of cocktail sales than their older peers, returning to the on-trade more rapidly than other consumers.

The weather: The Met Office has warned that snow & ice could impact parts of eastern Scotland, north-east England and Yorkshire overnight.

Inflation:

Inflation has the potential to make LfL comparisons less important than they would otherwise be. First because, when comparing pre-Covid numbers (from 2019 to today) there has been a lot of inflation baked into the later number and secondly because, if costs re inflating even more rapidly than sales, then margins will be falling and this is not captured in the LfL numbers

• See premium. Reply to this email to upgrade.

The VAT rise:

BBPA CEO Emma McClarkin comments ‘the rise in VAT is anticipated to cost our sector over half a billion pounds, a cost businesses will be forced to make back elsewhere.’

The BBC reports on likely price rises in hospitality once VAT returns to 20% from tomorrow. It says ‘with hospitality businesses facing soaring costs, some are warning that a rise in VAT from Friday will force them to increase prices for customers.’ The Beeb speaks with Clive Watson of City Pub Group, who speaks for most of the industry when he says ‘everything’s coming at once.’

• See premium. Reply to this email to upgrade.

Scotland is to drop the legal requirement to wear face coverings on a ‘phased basis’. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says that he Scottish government has ‘concluded, subject as always to the state of the pandemic, that the legal requirement to wear face coverings will be replaced with guidance on the following phased basis.’

Company Rescue points out that ‘as of April 1, 2022, any remaining temporary insolvency measures will be lifted. The insolvency regime will return to its way of work, before the COVID-19 pandemic.’ There were a number of measures introduced by the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 and, come tomorrow, they will all be gone.

COMPANY NEWS:

Shepherd Neame yesterday reported H1 numbers to 25 December saying that it has seen a ‘strong rebound in sales, a return to profits and the payment of an interim dividend.’

• See premium. Reply to this email to upgrade.

Deliveroo has been called ‘the worst IPO in history’ by The Daily Mail. It says that CEO Will Shu’s share ‘jackpot’ (i.e. a share options package) has dropped in value from £106m to £33m. The company offered its shares to the market in an IPO at 390p last year and have since fallen to just 120p. Mr Shu has other shares worth around £140m.

Time Out Group has reported H1 numbers for the six months ended 31 December 2021 saying that net revenue was up by 106% on last year to £24.7m.

• See premium. Reply to this email to upgrade.

HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL:

Tour operating giant TUI is winding up some of the state aid that it has been given in Germany and has said that summer bookings will be close to 2019 levels. Chief executive Fritz Joussen is expecting “stable business development” this year. Summer bookings are currently 80% of summer 2019 levels, up from 72% at the start of February.

Hostelworld Group has reported FY numbers to 31 December 2021 saying that the year was in line with expectations and that the group believes it has made ‘solid progress on [its] growth strategy and cost base positions.’

• See premium. Reply to this email to upgrade.

The British Ports Authority has said, regarding Transport Secretary Grant Shapps’ response to the P&O debacle, ‘the expectation that port authorities will need to enforce minimum wage rules in the shipping sector could be unworkable.’

Travel insurance provider Staysure has said that holiday bookings for Easter are running at new highs. Chief executive Ryan Howsam says ‘consumers are ready to get back to travelling like they used to, and the increase in demand that we’re seeing clearly reflects that.’

March Atol renewals close this week with the CAA saying that they are “in a pretty good place.” The CAA says renewal levels will be “not particularly different to historic renewals”.

British Airways has been hit by “technical issues” again.

London mayor Sadiq Khan is to launch a £10 million international tourism campaign in May. This will come as welcome news to inbound travel companies and to the capital’s pubs, restaurants & visitor attractions.

Hotstats has reported that demand across US hotels was good in February but it cautions that higher costs are impacting margins.

The EC is to allow the proposed merger between Eurostar and Belgium’s Thalys, which runs high-speed trains between France and Belgium.

Sky reports that the friendless ‘P&O’s plans to double the time crew members spend aboard cross-Channel ferries could increase stress and fatigue and compromise safety.’

OTHER LEISURE:

Everyman Media Group has announced the appointment of Jeremy Summerfield to the Board as Chief Financial Officer.

Sportech has reported full year numbers to end-December saying that revenue rose to £22.9m from £17.4m with a loss before tax reduced to £246k from £11.9m.

The Times reports that ‘a boutique London fitness chain backed by Rishi Sunak’s wife has collapsed, leaving the taxpayer with debts of £415,000.’ It says Digme Fitness owes creditors about £6.1 million. The company owes the HM Revenue & Customs for tax and took ‘between £310,000 and £635,000 in furlough between December 2020 and September last year.’

FINANCE & MARKETS:

The Bank of England has reported that UK consumer credit growth accelerated in February to up 4.4% year on year. Credit card lending rose by £1.5bn, the largest monthly rise since at least 1993.

The Independent reports that the government is considering a further delay to post-Brexit checks on imports from the EU. The paper points to fears that imposing the regulations could either increase costs or lead to EU suppliers giving up on exports into the UK.

Sterling mixed at $1.3114 and €1.1748. Oil price lower at $107.89. UK 10yr gilt yield up 2bps at 1.67%. World markets broadly lower yesterday but London set to open up around 7pts as at 7am.

RETAIL WITH NICK BUBB:

• Nick is taking a well-earned break.