Labour, inflation, service sector, Budget, JET, Nichols, NCL & other:

A DAY IN THE LIFE:

Bit busy but enjoy the first day of meteorological spring. On to the news:

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PUBS & RESTAURANTS:

Inflation:

Kantar grocery data showed that UK grocery inflation had climbed to a new high during February, reaching 17.1%. The increase over the past 12 months meant that families faced a potential £811 annual rise in the cost of their regular shopping basket.

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Service sector:

Despite somewhat less downbeat stats from other sources, the CBI reports that the private sector saw activity decline in the three months to February for the seventh consecutive rolling quarter…

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The Labour Market:

The CBI will today update on the market saying ‘the principles of the labour market have forever changed post pandemic.’ It says ‘the shift towards early retirement, greater mental health difficulties, and desire for more flexible and part-time work require a major rethink by government and business alike….’

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Budget submissions:

The BBPA has suggested that a further 2,000 pubs are at risk of closure. It says some 25,000 jobs could be lost unless the chancellor does more to help the sector in next month’s budget…

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The consumer:

Some 2m families fell into fuel poverty last year in England alone. Such households will likely have to cut their spending on leisure goods and services. Data suggests that some 7.39m households spent more than 10% of their income, excluding housing costs, on energy last year, up from 4.93m households in 2021.

Delivery:

The Telegraph reports that ‘Ocado is the biggest loser in the supermarket price war’ and it would appear, from the company’s share price, that the market has some sympathy with this view. The loss of traction mirrors that seen in delivery in the hospitality sector…

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Other news:

In the US, the National Restaurant Association forecasts the foodservice industry to reach $997bn in sales in 2023…

Only A Pavement Away has announced the charity has reached the milestone of placing 300 members into work since the charity’s founding, 5 years ago. The charity also announced the onboarding of Caterer.com as its first Events & Campaigns partner.

In the US, the NRA suggests that the foodservice and restaurant workforce will expand by about 500,000 workers in 2023.

JUST EAT FULL YEAR ANNUAL REPORT:

Just Eat Takeaway has produced its full year report with CEO Jitse Groen saying ‘in 2022, our priority was to enhance profitability and strengthen our business. As a result, we materially improved our financial performance and generated Adjusted EBITDA of €19 million in 2022 compared with minus €350 million in 2021. We expect a further improvement to Adjusted EBITDA in 2023 and our ambition to create a highly profitable food delivery business is firmly on track…’

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COMPANY NEWS:

Nichols has reported full year numbers to end-December saying revenue rose 14.3% to £164.9m with adjusted PBT of £25.0m against £21.8m in the prior year. It says the Out of Home market is recovering but adds that the pace of recovery is expected to slow. The company reports adjusted EPS of 55.4p against 46.2p and reports a full year dividend of 27.7p against 23.1p in the prior year…

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The MA reports that Stonegate has admitted non-compliance over rent reviews when combined with a RPI linked rent assessment…

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Sainsbury’s plans to close two Argos depots, impacting 1,400 jobs. It is expected to take place over the next three years as part of a wider shake-up of its general merchandise operations across the group.

The Inn Collection Group is set to add as many as 1,000 jobs in the current year.

HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL:

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings has reported full year numbers with a “record booking position” for the current year but a net loss of $482.5 million in Q4 of last.

GO Technology by Zonal & CGA by NielsenIQ reports that 44% of consumers say that they will avoid hotel stays overseas due to cost-of-living increases, with 39% planning to have a staycation because they would prefer to travel within the UK rather than abroad this year…

IHG Hotels & Resorts is adding 9 new hotels under 5 different brands to its UK portfolio. Matt Walton, Senior Development Director, UK&I, IHG Hotels & Resorts said ‘The addition of these hotels is a mark of confidence from both our owners and our guests for IHG brands in the UK, where we have a well-established presence already.’

Privately owned budget hotel chain Travelodge has announced it is grow its Spanish business. It is acquiring the lease of the NH Villa de Coslada hotel in Madrid and has appointed advisors Aldaba Partners to help grow the operation further.

Tui River Cruises adds seven more festive sailings to its winter 2023-24, after bookings were up more than 30% YoY. The expanded programme now features five additional Christmas market sailings on Tui Skyla, with five-night itineraries sailing from Mainz.

OTHER LEISURE:

Start-up Athlo, ‘the world’s first peer-to-peer fitness marketplace’, allows gym members to rent out their membership when they are not using it. Using a made up example, the economics are as follows: a £100 gym membership can be sublet for a month, the lessor receives £60, Athlo gets £25 & the gym gets £15. The company is currently looking to fundraise £3m for its expansion.

The New York Times reports that new boss Elon Musk has fired another 200 staff at Twitter…

FINANCE & MARKETS:

Estate agent Zoopla has reported that house sellers are cutting prices. It still believes that house price inflation is running at around 5.3%, down from 8.6% last year.

Sterling mixed at $1.204 and €1.1365. Oil up at $83.96. UK 10yr gilt yield up 2bps at 3.83%. World markets down yesterday but Far East up in Wednesday trading and London set to open up some 31 points as at 6.30am.

RETAIL WITH NICK BUBB:

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