Langton Capital – 2022-09-14 – C&C, inflation, energy, Artisanal, labour, SBUX, Center Parcs etc.:
C&C, inflation, energy, Artisanal, labour, SBUX, Center Parcs etc.:A DAY IN THE LIFE: Well, it’s truly dark in the mornings and, having finally succumbed to the various exhortations to have a Smart Meter fitted, we can see the difference. And the rate hasn’t gone up to whatever the £2,500 limit implies yet, so we’re due another bump before too long but, as stumbling around in the dark and tripping over the dog at stupid o’clock in the morning isn’t really an option, what are you going to do? Anyway, it already seems like a long week but, without further ado, let’s move on to what news there is: 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: Inflation: The ONS has reported that the rate of CPI in the UK fell to 9.9% in August from 10.1% in July… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Work from home: The Times reports that workers are resisting pressures from their employers to return to the office, according to a survey by Manpower… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Energy costs: The government is being urged to clarify the extent of support being offered to businesses in the energy crisis… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Sacha Lord has told BBC’s World at One that as many as 7 in 10 pubs will close this winter unless they get govt support to cover higher energy costs soon. Mr Lord says ‘we are probably entering the most critical week for my industry in my lifetime.’ The FT reports that businesses face delays in accessing the recently announced £150bn energy support package… Supply and delivery issues: The Port of Felixstowe said it had received notice from Unite the union, with workers due to walk out from 27 September until 5 October. The labour market: UKHospitality CEO Kate Nicholls has said the latest ONS unemployment figures show ‘what an important sector hospitality is as a UK employer, showing one in six new jobs in the year were generated by the industry…’ • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Lending (to consumers and corporates): The Bank of England is to stress test the UK’s largest banks to assess their ability to withstand a rise in loan defaults linked to higher energy prices… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Other news: World Coffee Portal’s Project Café USA 2023 suggests that the branded coffee shop market is worth some $45.8bn p.a. and it is now approaching the size it attained prior to the Covid-19 pandemic… Nottingham City Council has removed its late night levy… The Guardian reports that the UK government could ‘scrap its entire anti-obesity strategy after ministers ordered an official review of measures designed to deter people from eating junk food…’ COMPANY NEWS: C&C Group plc has updated on H1 trading for the 6mths to 31 August 2022 saying the company ‘expects to deliver net revenues of c.€900m, approximately +35% on the same period last year and broadly in line with the comparable period pre COVID-19 (H1 FY2020).’ The co saw a robust return to growth but has seen a slowdown more recently… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Starbucks interim CEO Howard Schultz has updated shareholders saying that ‘as we execute on our Reinvention plan, we are building on our 51-year history of market leading innovation to position our business and our brand for the next chapter of growth…’ Naked Wines has said it is ‘reviewing potential operational and financial plans for the next 18 months and will update on these plans alongside our trading update.’ Artisanal Spirits, a curator of limited edition whiskys, has reported H1 numbers saying revenue increased to £9.9m from £7.9m last year. The group reports an EBITDA loss of £0.3m vs an EBITDA profit of £0.2m in the same period last year…. • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Temper is set to open its fourth London site on 1 October… Starbucks is offering sweeteners to staff in non-unionised stores saying that it is able to sprinkle goodies in a way that it would not be able to do if everything was as a result of collective bargaining… Kantar reports that Aldi has overtaken Morrisons to become the fourth-largest UK supermarket for the first time. Kantar said that discounters are grabbing more market share as shoppers take steps to manage their budgets. HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL: Death of Queen Elizabeth: Center Parcs had said that its sites will shut next Monday. It was asking guests to leave their holiday parks having made the decision “as a mark of respect” and to allow employees to “be part of this historic moment”. This prompted a predictable backlash and the group is reported to have reversed its decision… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. STR reports that hotels in Europe’s major cities have surpassed pre-Covid profit levels… Working from home in travel. Whilst some elements of travel employment do not lend themselves to WFH, writer and consultant Christine Armstrong claims that flexible working is here to stay despite resistance from some employers… TripActions analysis reports that this autumn will be a ‘blockbuster season’ for business travel… OTHER LEISURE: Twitter’s shareholders have voted in favour of a deal to allow Elon Musk to buy the company for $44bn. Mr Musk does not wish to proceed with the deal, alleging that he was misled by Twitter about the number of spam and bot accounts operation on the platform. The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) said on Monday it opened an investigation into British sports betting giant Entain Plc… FINANCE & MARKETS: For the CPI, see Pubs & Restaurants above. The ICAEW says that, despite a blip into positive territory in July, ‘economic indicators are further fuelling concerns of the UK economy dipping into recession in Q3, with the extra bank holiday for the Queen’s funeral likely to further impact on this month’s output…’ • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. UK unemployment dipped to3.6% in the three months to July. Commenting on the tightness of the UK labour market, the British Chambers of Commerce says ‘despite a second month of a decrease in job vacancies, the overall number of vacancies in the labour market remains high. With over 1.2 million unfilled jobs across the country, labour shortages have reached crisis levels for businesses across many sectors and regions.’ US inflation fell to 8.3% in August from 8.5% in July. This is the second month that the rate has declined, though the fall was less than had been anticipated. Sterling weaker at $1.1528 and €1.1527. Oil lower at $92.70. UK 10yr gilt yield up 10bps at 3.15%. World markets lower yesterday on fears that US inflation was not slowing as much as expected and London due to open some 56pts lower as at 5.30am. FORTHCOMING NEWS: This week remains quiet on the company front with numbers from Fever Tree yesterday and C&C and Artisinal Spirits today. The Bank of England’s MPC announcement has been postponed following the death of the Queen. Official GDP stats on Monday, Labour Market stats yesterday and CPI numbers today. Retail sales on Friday. RETAIL WITH NICK BUBB: • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. |
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