Langton Capital – 2023-03-06 – Labour issues, WFH, costs, Covid, RTN, SBUX, Gousto & other:
Labour issues, WFH, costs, Covid, RTN, SBUX, Gousto & other:A DAY IN THE LIFE: So, welcome to another working week. A busier one for results, this time, but at least it was lighter this morning than it’s been for months and, though that’s little more than stating the obvious given what always happens around this time every year, it does help to lighten the mood somewhat. Indeed, spring has pretty much sprung and the darkest of the dark nights are behind us. That’s the good news but the forecasters would have it that it’ll be minus five our neck of the woods tomorrow with the chance of snow later in the week. That’ll give the daffodils something to think about and, out in the financial world, it remains chilly. We’ll hear from Revolution Bars tomorrow and The Restaurant Group on Wednesday. Still, at least Hull City has managed to end its goals and points drought so let’s move 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 are £395 for one subscription, £695 for multiple, £995 for very large subscribers, all plus VAT. Or sign up for easy in, easy out monthly option per subscriber HERE https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=87YUG2Z5W7PSN PUBS & RESTAURANTS: Labour market: Research from CIPD shows that vacancies in accommodation and food services were almost twice the level of most other sectors… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £395, multiple £695. Limited time offer: PayPal alternative monthly £25 + VAT per sub. Easy in, easy out. The Guardian suggests that ministers are considering ‘allowing more hospitality staff to come from abroad in an effort to deal with labour shortages…’ WFH: Startups.co.uk reports that younger workers are among the first workers to return to the office. London Heritage Quarter asked over 2,000 workers in London about their attendance at the office this year & found that 54% of 16-24 year olds said they plan to increase their attendance in 2023… Costs to the consumer: Energy issues. Sky News reports that it understands that the government has asked energy suppliers to prepare for two scenarios; the current effective cap of £2,500 for typical annual household use to continue, and for the scheduled reduction in support, taking bills to £3,000, due in April… Other essentials: First class stamp costs up 16% & regulated rail fares in England and Wales will rise by up to 5.9% from this weekend…. • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £395, multiple £695. Limited time offer: PayPal alternative monthly £25 + VAT per sub. Easy in, easy out. Other news: Low & No-Alcohol. Research by Tesco has found that Christmas week 2022 saw very high demand for low- and no-alcohol beer, 43% greater than Christmas week the year before… Expectations. CGA and Reputation have considered expectations and say that consumers now expect more as prices have risen… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £395, multiple £695. Limited time offer: PayPal alternative monthly £25 + VAT per sub. Easy in, easy out. Covid. Eat Out to Help Out. Leaks have suggested that ministers considered that Eat Out to Help Out could have contributed to the second wave of Covid infections that hit the country in Q4 2020… Food Tsar Henry Dimbleby has said that Britain’s “weird supermarket culture” is to blame for the shortages of some vegetables. He says fixed price contracts mean that volumes will move – in this case down to zero – rather than prices. Pubs & bars will be allowed to stay open until 1am on the Friday and Saturday nights over the King’s coronation weekend (that of Saturday, 6 May)… COMPANY NEWS: Restaurant Group. In the news ahead of its full year numbers on Wednesday. The Morning Advertiser reports that there is mounting speculation about a The Restaurant Group possibly selling its premium pub chain Brunning & Price… The Times has a different angle saying that Oasis, ‘the activist investor targeting Wagamama’s owner The Restaurant Group, wants the company to look at selling its Brunning & Price pubs and its airport concessions business in an attempt to cut its debt pile…. • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £395, multiple £695. Limited time offer: PayPal alternative monthly £25 + VAT per sub. Easy in, easy out. The Telegraph reports that ‘Starbucks has put an end to speculation it could sell its British business with plans to invest £30m here and open 100 new coffee shops…’ • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £395, multiple £695. Limited time offer: PayPal alternative monthly £25 + VAT per sub. Easy in, easy out. Administrators from Interpath Advisory have completed the sale 10 El Mexicana and Don Churro food outlets across the UK… Wasabi is reported to have secured some £10m in new funding from Capdesia. Propel reports that Wasabi will go through a recapitalisation that strengthens its balance sheet and positions it for growth. Goldman Sachs Asset Management is reported to be one of the bidders for Subway, the sandwich chain, with a $10bn price tag… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £395, multiple £695. Limited time offer: PayPal alternative monthly £25 + VAT per sub. Easy in, easy out. Gousto. Sky reports that delivery service Gousto has cut its valuation from $1.7bn to $300m… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £395, multiple £695. Limited time offer: PayPal alternative monthly £25 + VAT per sub. Easy in, easy out. Pan-Asian noodle chain Chopstix will open a new site inside Brent Cross Shopping Centre on 6 March. Nirvana Brewery is seeking to raise £750,000 from private investors, stating its preference to avoid crowdfunding methods. The company hopes to use funds to expand its sales team and further develop export markets. Nirvana said it saw Dry January sales +50% YoY with online sales +260%. The Wolseley Hospitality Group aims to open ten Wolseley restaurants across the UK, Asia and the Middle East, according to Bloomberg… Pizza GoGo has reported a turnover of £37.3m for the year ended May 2022, with profit after tax of £1.8m – down from £2.3m the prior year. The 100-strong pizza chain operates predominantly in the Southeast. Busaba is set to open a new venue in Lakeside shopping centre on 15 March, marking the Thai bar & restaurant chain’s second site outside London. HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL: Travel Weekly reports that there has been strong demand for familiar European beach hotspots this summer, with bookings for next year and beyond also on the rise. Mainland Spain, the Balearic Islands, Canaries, and Greece remain the most popular summer destination choices. Travel Weekly reports that demand is holding up. It quotes Travel Counsellors as saying that February proved to be a second consecutive record month. Parkdean Resorts has announced a new partnership with the AdventureSmart.UK safety campaign, aiming to reduce the number of avoidable incidents that the rescue and emergency services deal with each year. OTHER LEISURE: Flutter is reported to be considering moving its main listing from the UK to the US. FINANCE & MARKETS: The annual Venture Forward study by website builder GoDaddy has suggested that hundreds of thousands of the UK’s smallest businesses risk failure this year as cost pressures continue to build… The CEBR reports that ‘forecasts that inflation will now quickly fall back to the Bank of England’s 2% target are likely premature…’ • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £395, multiple £695. Limited time offer: PayPal alternative monthly £25 + VAT per sub. Easy in, easy out. Sterling up at $1.2028 and €1.13. Oil higher at $85.24. UK 10yr gilt yield 2bps lower at 3.86%. World markets better on Friday. London set to open down around 2pts. RETAIL WITH NICK BUBB: • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £395, multiple £695. Limited time offer: PayPal alternative monthly £25 + VAT per sub. Easy in, easy out. |
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