Langton Capital – 2023-02-22 – Sales Tracker, supply, WFH, RTN, Molson, Pret, Microsoft, services etc.:
Sales Tracker, supply, WFH, RTN, Molson, Pret, Microsoft, services etc.:A DAY IN THE LIFE: So, it was nearly light when I got into the office this morning & surely that has to be a good thing. Certainly the birds seemed to appreciate it as they were squawking away as they swerved to avoid each other and the various pavement zombies, crazy cyclists and London’s buses that they had to share the streets with in order to investigate whatever had been left over from the culinary activities of the night before. Indeed, whilst it seems to be raining now, the sky to the east was most definitely lightening and, with yesterday’s economic stats somewhat less bad than expected and the chancellor seemingly finding the money to head off a strike or two, let’s hope that’s a sign of things to come. 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 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 https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=87YUG2Z5W7PSN PUBS & RESTAURANTS: Services: See Finance & Markets below for comment on yesterday’s Flash PMI readings. Tracker: The February Coffer CGA Business Tracker has reported that, in January, the hospitality sector achieved its fourth successive month of year-on-year growth. The Tracker reports that ‘Britain’s leading managed pub, bar and restaurant groups achieved like-for-like sales growth of 10.9% in January 2023.’ It says ‘sales beat inflation in the sector’s best January for three years…’ • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Limited time offer: PayPal monthly £25 + VAT. Easy in, easy out. Supply issues: With tomatoes (albeit from overseas) thin on the shelves out there ,the National Farmers’ Union has said ‘the clock is ticking’ to support Britain’s farmers as they suffer from soaring costs, labour shortages, bird flu and post-Brexit changes to support payments… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Limited time offer: PayPal monthly £25 + VAT. Easy in, easy out. Asda and Morrisons have announced that they are limiting the number of items of some fruit and vegetables. The limits will include items such as tomatoes, peppers and lettuce at three each per customer at Asda. Morrison’s will limit some products like cucumbers to two per customer. WFH trial: 56 of the 61 companies that entered a 4-day week trial have opted to extend their participation after a successful initial 6 months. Joe Ryle, the director of the 4 Day Week Campaign, said ‘Across a wide variety of sectors, wellbeing has improved dramatically for staff; and business productivity has either been maintained or improved in nearly every case…’ The consumer: Inflation & the cost of living crisis are not without consequence. Obviously, disposable income is under pressure but some lift-plans may be put on hold (or go into reverse). The Telegraph comments on a surge in ‘accidental landlords’. That is, people who can’t sell their homes but who still have to move house… Data from the ONS suggests that rental tenants are 4.4 times as likely to be experiencing financial hardship compared to homeowners…. The Together Through This Crisis initiative reports that nearly 40% of people end the month with no money left… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Limited time offer: PayPal monthly £25 + VAT. Easy in, easy out. Other news: Price rises. Sky has reported the boss of one of the UK’s largest fish and chips chains, James Lipscombe of the 38-strong Chesterford Group, as saying that, whilst industry prices are stabilising, they have not yet reached their peak…. • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Limited time offer: PayPal monthly £25 + VAT. Easy in, easy out. Per Poppleston Allen, Walsall Council is set to consult upon proposals for an Early Morning Restriction Order (EMRO) with the council considering ‘whether additional controls can be placed upon licensed premises to close earlier, for example 02:00.’ Law firm Irwin Mitchell reports that the volume of corporate deals within the UK’s hospitality sector reached its highest level for five years in 2022. There were 160 trade agreements during the year in the food and beverage services sector, 52 of which involved pub companies compared to 49 in 2021. Irwin Mitchell corporate partner Victoria Zivkovic said ‘operators were still on the lookout to complete deals and grow their portfolios through M&A…There were signs of a slowdown in activity in the final quarter’. Better than expected public finances, announced yesterday, may well be followed by more calls for taxpayer help. COMPANY NEWS: Oasis yesterday clarified its position on The Restaurant Group, saying ‘TRG had not disclosed any trading information on its performance since the publication of its interim results on 8th September 2022.’ It adds that ‘unlike other major listed companies in the UK hospitality sector, the Board decided not to issue a trading update in January 2022, missing a clear opportunity to inform stakeholders on the impact of those concerns…’ • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Limited time offer: PayPal monthly £25 + VAT. Easy in, easy out. Molson Coors Beverage Company reports revenue up 0.4% in Q4 primarily due to positive net pricing and favourable sales mix, partially offset by lower financial volumes…. • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Limited time offer: PayPal monthly £25 + VAT. Easy in, easy out. The MCA reports that Popeyes is aiming to open five or six drive-thrus this year. The company currently sits at 18 sites in the UK and reports that sales have been holding up with February half term trading ‘through the roof’. Pret-a-Manger has said it will stop selling smoothies, frappes and milkshakes. The blended drinks can be more expensive and take longer to make. Cold blended drinks were not included in the group’s subscription service… Black Sheep Brewery has partnered with burger business Slap & Pickle, serving burgers at its Black Sheep Tap & Kitchen. With sites in London, Manchester, Sheffield and Hebden Bridge, Slap & Pickle has built a strong following for its smash burgers. HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL: The first Scottish Tourism Index survey of 2023 shows a small decline year on year in the overall intention of households in Scotland to take a holiday. The research noted that there is ‘the tendency for some people to overclaim their holiday intentions’ at the beginning of the year. OTHER LEISURE: Microsoft has defended its bid for Activision Blizzard to the EU competition authorities. It says the bid could bring more choice to more gamers. Rival Sony says the merger would give Microsoft too much control. Microsoft also announced that it is to partner with Nvidia and Nintendo to bring games to Nvidia’s cloud gaming service… FINANCE & MARKETS: S&P’s Flash PMIs for the UK economy in February came in well ahead of expectations. The composite number was 53.0, Services were 53.3 and Manufacturing was 51.6… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Limited time offer: PayPal monthly £25 + VAT. Easy in, easy out. Unsurprisingly, Sterling strengthened on the above and bond yields rose. Coincidentally, the CBI looked at manufacturing yesterday, albeit over a different time period, and said that ‘manufacturing output volumes fell at their fastest pace since September 2020 in the three months to February…’ • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Limited time offer: PayPal monthly £25 + VAT. Easy in, easy out. The ONS reported yesterday that the Exchequer ran a surplus of over £5bn in January as tax receipts boosted government income… Sterling stronger on the economic news yesterday at $1.2103 and €1.1356. Oil down at $82.59. UK 10yr gilt yield up sharply on stronger economic news, up 13bps at 3.62%. World markets down yesterday and London set to open around 25pts lower. RETAIL WITH NICK BUBB: • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. 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