Langton Capital – 2022-06-27 – Drinks’ sales, WFH, labour, economy, Pat Val, T Cook, TUI etc.:
Drinks’ sales, WFH, labour, economy, Pat Val, T Cook, TUI etc.:A DAY IN THE LIFE: Zombie telephone numbers have been causing me a bit of trouble recently. This because I was leaving increasingly desperate messages on our lawnmower repairer’s voicemail only to find out subsequently that the business had apparently stopped trading and someone, whether the phone company or some equally out-of-touch body, had failed to disconnect the phone. Fortunately (on this occasion if not as a general rule), patience is not one my stronger points and, after maybe seven or eight calls over three days or so, I went elsewhere and was told with a smirk about the other company’s demise. Anyway, the youngest’s GCSEs have finished and the sun’s shining. So here’s to another full week and 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. Prices for the Premium at time of writing are £345 for one subscription, £595 for multiple, both plus VAT. Or sign up for easy in, easy out monthly option HERE PUBS & RESTAURANTS: Current trading: CGA Nielsen and Wireless Social have updated on food & drink consumption out of home and say that ‘sales in Britain’s cities [are] back in growth as workers and visitors return’… • See premium. Reply to this email to upgrade. The latest CGA Drinks Recovery Tracker reports that drink sales in the week to 18 June were down by 1% on the same week in 2019… WFH: Views on this seem to divide some employers from each other and others from their staff but, for what it’s worth, The Telegraph comments on a survey by the CIPD and reports ‘employers across the country are preparing to slash pay for home workers…’ Consumer behaviour. The ONS reports that as many as 44% of adults surveyed are cutting back on the amount of food they buy… At the other end of the spectrum, Bentley CEO Adrian Hallmark is quoted in the Daily Mail as saying that trade is very strong… Labour – costs & availability: Barclays Corporate Banking research shows that senior managers have received the biggest salary lift across the hospitality sector, with an average increase of 7.7% this year, equivalent to £2,014 a year… Recession fears: The Times reported over the weekend on a number of surveys and said ‘the odds of the UK economy falling into a recession shortened…after data from companies, households and the government’s finances illustrated the impact that high inflation is having on businesses and consumers… Transport strikes: London Underground workers have voted to strike again, with the date yet to be set. Transport for London (TfL) have announced plans to cut 600 jobs and reform the pension scheme that Mayor Sadiq Khan has described as ‘generous’. Discounting: M&B’s Toby and Harvester brands are offering 50% off main meals until the end of this month. COMPANY NEWS: The Telegraph reports that former Pat Val chairman Luke Johnson is ‘set to benefit as Grant Thornton settles over coffee chain’s collapse…’ Travel Weekly reports Carnival Corporation as saying that booking volumes during the second quarter of 2022 were nearly double those during the first quarter of this year. Deliveroo and Spar have launched a partnership to deliver from all 2,160 of the convenience retailer’s stores. The partnership will begin operating from 66 Spar stores with plans to roll out the service to the rest in due course. Admiral Taverns has sold seven pubs, as part of its requirements from the CMA, after its purchase of Hawthorn. The pubs were acquired by FB Taverns. Fuller’s is opening The Queen’s Arms in Terminal 2 of Heathrow in early August.. Joe & The Juice intends to operate 10 stores across the Middle East by the end of 2022… HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL: CEO of Tui, Fritz Joussen, has announced his resignation after 10 years as boss of the firm and leading it through the pandemic. Joussen will step down from the German holiday giant at the end of September, when he will be replaced by the company’s CFO, Sebastian Ebel… The latest Post Office Travel Money Holiday Spending Report has suggested that the high price of staycations is encouraging holidaymakers to go abroad… Thomas Cook achieved an eight-fold year-on-year growth in UK business volume in Q1 of the year. Owner Fosun Tourism Group also pointed to its wholly-owned Club Med subsidiary ‘leading the recovery’ of the global leisure and holiday sector with bookings for the second half of the year exceeding pre-pandemic 2019 levels by 3%… Summer strikes will affect numerous airlines, prompting Not Just Travel’s co-founder Steve Witt to urge travellers to book cruises instead. BA pilots are demanding better pay. Union leaders will meet this week to open pay talks. The Mail on Sunday reports that the ‘owner of Generator Hostels is understood to be considering a sale that could value it at up to £1billion.’ The Times reports that Hard Rock Cafe is ‘on a roll with plan for more hotels.’ The first Hard Rock Café in London opened some 50yrs ago. The latest poll of GBTA members has found that 41% of respondents reported staff shortages having a ‘significant impact’ on corporate travel programmes, ahead of government restrictions reported by 39%… OTHER LEISURE: Netflix announces it is cutting 300 more jobs – roughly 4% of its workforce – mostly in the US… FINANCE & MARKETS: Sterling mixed at $1.2286 and €1.1623. Oil price higher at $112.94. UK 10yr gilt yield broadly unchanged at 2.30%. World markets sharply higher on Friday and London set to open around 37pts better as at 6.30am. FORTHCOMING NEWS: Quiet week. Playtech AGM Thursday and Constellation Brands Q1 on the same day. RETAIL WITH NICK BUBB: • See premium. Reply to this email to upgrade. |
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