Langton Capital – 2023-03-15 – Insolvencies, new openings, costs, Britvic, MAG, Brittany Ferries & other:
Insolvencies, new openings, costs, Britvic, MAG, Brittany Ferries & other:A DAY IN THE LIFE: We had a spot of good fortune yesterday in that somebody has found $12.5m dollars in a random suitcase at San Francisco airport and, if we can just help them with the $3,800 needed to get the case out of bond, they’ll send 70% of the money to us and keep the rest. And it’s better than that, they’ll pay half of the $3,800 not the 30% that would be fair given the suggested cash split. Brilliant, huh? But, since it went to our spam folder, we have to assume that the email was sent out to a few people. Maybe even a few thousand people, maybe a few tens of thousands of people meaning that we’d better hurry and get the $1,900 to them quickly before somebody else snaffles the goodies. Salutary, hein? Two or three points to make here. • The proposal is ludicrous but there’s some logic to that. If you’re sending out 10,000 emails, you want a handful of idiots to respond, not 5,000 people who ask you ten or a dozen searching questions each. • And we’re not after a sainthood. Far from it. But the tacky and probably illegal proposition is the flipside of the saying ‘you can’t cheat an honest man.’ Something along the lines of ‘join me in the dirt and we’ll keep this hush-hush.’ • It’s a 10,000 to one-on chance that this is a scam but, what if……? • Maybe there is a room somewhere with suitcases full of cash, African princesses with their diamonds, deposed presidents of South American countries and their bearer bonds and the rest, all waiting to share their good fortune. Anyway, we’ll still pass. Maybe somebody else needs the money more that we do, here’s 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: Openings & closures: The Local Data Company has updated on openings & closures and says that the gap between the two has narrowed to its smallest level since 2016. It says its report ‘indicates continued recovery overall for the GB retail and leisure market. The analysis, which covers retail and leisure market performance over 2022, reveals that the gap between store openings and closures has narrowed to its smallest since 2016. Further findings show signs of recovery across the market in spite of persistent economic challenges…’ • 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. Consumer squeeze: A Barnett Waddingham survey has found that more than a third of workers have used buy now pay later loans to give their finances to deal with the cost of living crisis…. Labour issues: UKHospitality CEO Kate Nicholls has responded to the ONS labour figures, saying ‘it’s encouraging that there’s a slight fall in vacancies but they remain stubbornly high, still 56% higher than pre-pandemic levels….’ • 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. Insolvency stats. The Insolvency Service has published its monthly numbers for February. This has been running since Covid impacted in Q1 2020 and is intended to give an almost-real-time signal as to how the economy is performing… • 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: Costs: CGA by NIQ and Fourth’s 2023 Business Leaders’ Survey has found that rising wage bills are putting added pressure on managed hospitality firms despite labour shortages beginning to ease… • 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. Design My Night has suggested that St Patrick’s Day ‘will provide a bumper weekend of trade for hospitality despite searches and bookings for venues getting off to a slower start than in 2022….’ The NTIA claims that the night-time culture economy has lost more than 4,000 businesses since the start of the pandemic and is ‘heavily reliant’ on support in the Spring Budget… The Scottish Hospitality Group, commenting on recent hospitality closures, says ‘there are so many things that are being thrown down upon us’ and it says that closures are ‘a sign of the times’… • 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. CACI states that food-to-go operators have an opportunity to benefit from shifting consumer spending behaviours… COMPANY NEWS: Britvic has announced that, ‘further to the announcement on 8 November 2022, concerning the resignation of Joanne Wilson as Chief Financial Officer, the Company announces that Joanne’s resignation will take effect from 18 April 2023.’ The company reports ‘the process of appointing a new CFO is already well underway, and we will make a further announcement as soon as this is finalised.’ Jamie Oliver Restaurants plans to open its first airport site in India at Bangalore International Airport. Indian master franchisee Dolomite Restaurants plans to grow the chain to 60 sites in India, up from its current estate of 20. Chick-fil-A, which is based in Atlanta, Georgia, is reported set to push ahead with a $1 billion plan to open stores across Europe and Asia. CEO Andrew Cathy tells the Wall Street Journal ‘we feel like it’s time to continue to innovate and try [to] test how we will do in international markets so that we can learn.’ Sky News reports Advent International has entered the race to acquire Subway, with its indicative offer valuing the company at between $8-10bn. Other rival bidders include Goldman Sachs’ asset management arm, Bain Capital, TDR Capital – the joint owner of Asda – and TPG. Döner Shack is set to open its debut London site on Baker Street on 27 March. The company has already opened sites in Manchester, Leicester, Leeds and Glasgow. The London site is the first of 10 restaurants planned in the next year. The Telegraph reports that Ivy owner Richard Caring has been hit by legal action from a number of guests over a malfunctioning air-conditioning that forced diners to dine in sweltering conditions. HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL: Manchester airport says it has added hundreds of new members of staff and says systems have been put in place to cut queue times to below 15 minutes… • 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 Chinese government has announced that it will resume issuing visas to foreign tourists for the first time since the start of the Covid pandemic. Areas in China that required no visas prior to the pandemic will revert to visa-free entry, the ministry said. Whitbread added 1,500 rooms to its network via new or extended hotels during the year to 2 March 2023…. Brittany Ferries has reported revenues down to €444.7m last year, down €22 million on pre-pandemic and Brexit figures. The ferry company carried 1.84 million passengers, down 26% on the 2.5 million in 2018-19… • 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. Merlin has begun work on a £35m Lego Woodland-themed holiday village at its Legoland Windsor resort. OTHER LEISURE: Facebook, Instagram & WhatsApp owner Meta has said it will cut another 10,000 jobs. It axed 11,000 staff in November last year… The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has been tasked with looking into TikTok after governments around the world have begun banning it from their work phones. The EU Commission and more than half of US states and Congress have already introduced a ban over concerns around potential cyberattacks. FINANCE & MARKETS: Budget day today. The chancellor will speak at 12.30. The CBI has responded to yesterday’s wage and employment data saying ‘the numbers of inactive people due to long-term sickness is at a record high…’ • 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 US yesterday reported that its CPI had fallen from 6.4% in January to 6.0% in February. Sterling mixed at $1.2154 and €1.1317. Oil lower at $78.22. UK 10yr gilt yield up 12bps at 3.51%. World markets better yesterday and London set to open 5pts higher. 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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