Langton Capital – 2023-03-13 – Casual dining, labour, confidence, Nightcap, Naked Wines, RTN & other:
Section TitleCasual dining, labour, confidence, Nightcap, Naked Wines, RTN & other: A DAY IN THE LIFE: Cloths moths, which one tends to think of something more suited to the Agatha Christie era than the modern day, seem to be making a comeback. There are various articles out there saying their population has trebled in a five-year and, as they’ve eaten another pullover of mine and have chewed up the insoles in a pair of shoes that had been ignored for a while, I’m inclined to think its that and perhaps a lot more. And they’ve made a start on our carpets suggesting that, alongside deer, urban foxes, rabbits, squirrels, rats, mice and a whole host of other verminous fauna, they need adding to the list of pests that I never used to see in everyday life when I was younger but which, with their voracious appetite for things I’d like to keep as well as whatever happens to be on our birdfeeder or in the dustbin, seem to be more of a feature these days. Anyway, worse things might well happen at sea. 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: Casual dining: In a lengthy interview with The Telegraph, CEO of Restaurant Group Andy Hornby has said that UK chain restaurants ‘will never be as ubiquitous as they were pre-pandemic, but [he] insisted they will not disappear from Britain’s high streets altogether.’ He said the industry will never be quite as big as it was. Mr Hornby, who announced full year numbers last week and who is facing criticism and a possible AGM revolt led by 6.5% shareholder Oasis, says people were still “prepared to spend money on good quality food and drink” as he argued that “good performing, well-run food and drink operators do have a good future in this country….” • 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. Confidence: The latest UK Business Outlook by Accenture / S&P Global suggests that ‘UK business confidence rebounded in February to its highest level in 12 months…’ • 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. Sport in pubs: KAM research reports that 43% of sports fans say watching live sport is the main reason they go to a pub mid-week, with 92% of sports fans saying that showing live sport during the week positively influences their visit frequency to a pub… Costs and prices: The ONS reports that 69.4% of businesses in the ‘food and drink services’ sector have said their outgoings have risen but only 29.2% have said they have passed those costs on to customers… • 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. Trading: CGA’s latest Consumer On Premise Impact Report has found that around 7 in 10 consumers have visited restaurants and/or bars for food-led occasions in the past 2 weeks, while 2 in 5 have visited for drink-led occasions. Consumers plan to continue visiting the On Premise in the near future, with 3 in 5 intending to visit bars and/or restaurants in the next week. Delivery: Lumina Intelligence reports that the delivery market is expected to grow by 7.8% in 2023 to reach a total value of £14.4bn… Labour issues: The CBI comments on the government’s suggestion that it wishes to help people back into the workforce saying ‘childcare costs are a barrier to many parents returning to work, especially those on lower incomes. It’s absolutely right that Government childcare support for those on Universal Credit is now paid upfront. The Government needs to announce the launch of a review into childcare to ensure it works for everyone….’ Regional issues: London is likely to be overrepresented in terms of consumers who are both the most squeezed in the country and also b) the most wealthy… • 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: BII CEO Steve Alton said that ‘Collaboration and partnership are key’ for the pub industry and late-night economy when it comes to ‘getting the Government to recognise the unique role of hospitality beyond its economic contribution of £42bn a year’. See also Finance & Markets. The US restaurant industry added 99,000 jobs in February re the US Bureau of Labour Statistics… COMPANY NEWS: Naked Wines has reported that its relationship with failed bank SVB ‘shows us having less than £0.6m of cash which we considered, prior to the US Treasury Announcement referenced below, to be at risk and potentially uninsured due to the closure of SVB.’ It adds that… • 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. Nightcap has reported H1 results to 1 Jan saying that its revenue rose to £23.5m from £15.8m with adjusted EBITDA up to £4.1m from £2.5m in the period a year ago. The loss before tax is £0.9m compared with a loss of £0.5m last year. The loss per share is 0.50p against a loss of 0.39p last year… • 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. Restaurant Group – see also comments on wider market above. Per MCA, The Restaurant Group CEO Andy Hornby has said that the company’s three-year strategy has ‘not been impacted by any of the shareholder issues’, referring to activist investor Oasis Management… • 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. Tim Hortons CCO Kevin Hydes said the company is keen to explore opportunities to open sites within UK travel networks, including motorway service stations, roadside, rail and air locations. Tim Hortons currently has 72 sites in the UK and plans to open 25-30 new locations this year. DP Poland non-executive director Peter Furlong has resigned from the Board, stating ‘In recognition of the improved operating team and growing importance of having an independent board with strong Dominos operating experience I have decided to step down. I am encouraged by what I see and look forward with confidence as a shareholder.’ The MCA reports that Wingstop UK is aiming for a 50+ strong estate by the end of 2024, with £100m of revenue. Director Tom Grogan said ‘Right now, we sit at 30 restaurants. If we can get close to 50 or 60 restaurants by the end of next year, we’d be very happy.’ Turtle Bay is set to open in Blackpool this summer. Fever-Tree is set to launch its first cocktail mixers this week. HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL: Kantar research has found that 17% of UK adults have already booked their main 2023 holiday – almost unchanged year on year… • 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. Tui UK and Ireland commercial and business development director Richard Sofer has said the ocean and river cruise ‘bookings for January and February have been absolutely flying – and not just for the existing summer seasons but also for winter and for summer next year’. Consumer magazine Which? is pushing for urging the government to retain EU package holiday protections. Which? believes that the government will consult on changes to the regulations. OTHER LEISURE: Disney is considering the future of streaming platform Hulu. CEO Bob Iger also said the company might have been a ‘little too aggressive’ with price rises at resorts. FINANCE & MARKETS: Plenty of speculation in the weekend press concerning the upcoming (Wednesday) Budget. The US economy added 311,000 jobs in February. The unemployment rate edged up to 3.6% from, 3.4% in January. PM Rishi Sunak says “confidence is returning” in the economy. There are concerns that the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in the US could have implications for UK operators, particularly for tech companies. Sterling up at $1.2109 and €1.1296. Oil price higher at $83.06. UK 10yr gilt yield down 15bps at 3.63%. Markets down on Friday but Far East mixed today and London set to open up around 7pts as at 6.30am. 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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