Confidence, words v action, PFD, C&C, GNK, soft drinks, RTN & other:

A DAY IN THE LIFE:

So, the weekend is almost upon us and, as the grass has not responded to my entreaties to stop growing, I’ll have little choice but to leap into a phone-box, Clark Kent-like, and throw on my gardening trousers.

And that, I must say, is something that I would rather not do because sunshine , a light breeze and 18 degrees or so is when you should be in a pub’s beer garden and not your own.

Have a great weekend and 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

PREMIER FOODS – FULL YEAR NUMBERS:

Premier Foods has held its FY analysts meeting and our comments thereon are set out below: Headline numbers: Premier Foods reports revenue up 11.8% at £1.006bn. Trading profit is up 11.5% at £157.5m and adjusted PBT is up 13.0% at £137.2m. Adjusted EPS is up by 12.7% and the dividend per share has been raised by 20% to 1.44p.

Comments: PFD said that high food inflation and the cost-of-living crises have driven more people to cook their own food at home as a cheaper alternative, with noodles being a popular choice due to their low cost. Prices passed on by the company have been less than inflation with it saying it is ‘probably done’ on pricing this year. It claims it has tried to limit the costs passed on to consumers….

• 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.

PUBS & RESTAURANTS:

Consumer confidence:

GfK has reported that consumer confidence ‘continues to recover with [a] three-point increase to minus 27 in May.’ It adds that there are ‘great expectations for personal finances over the coming 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.

Soft drinks review:

Britvic has produced its Soft Drinks Review 2023 in which it says that ‘soft drinks has delivered more growth to convenience retailers than any other food and drink category in 2022, shifting an extra 67.9 million litres and 133.7 million extra units. It says ‘sales of soft drinks have surged by +14.1%, putting an extra £347.4m through retailers’ tills – more than the combined growth of beer, wine, spirits, confectionery, crisps, snacks and nuts…’

• 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.

Business rates:

Colliers states that the business rates appeal system ‘isn’t working’ after figures show 133k appeals were lodged in Q1 this year…

Regarding rates in Scotland, UKHospitality Scotland Executive Director Leon Thompson comments ‘the current system of business rates is holding our businesses back, with the punitive rates they pay preventing investment….’

Exiting underperforming units:

Some things are more easily said than done, amongst them things like the advice that you should ‘exit your bad units and keep your good ones’….

• 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:

In a move that may run counter to various promises regarding a ‘high wage economy’, Asda is reported to be considering whether to cut the pay of 7,000 staff in the south east of England to bring it in line with its other stores….

• 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.

COMPANY NEWS:

The Times reports that ‘the investor revolt at The Restaurant Group intensified yesterday when the hedge fund leading the rebellion accused the Wagamama operator of excluding “certain” shareholders from key information ahead of next week’s annual meeting.’ RTN’s AGM will be held on 23 May. Oasis has expressed ‘deep concern regarding the equal treatment of shareholders’.

Profit warning from C&C Group plc: The company has announced ‘that it has encountered significant challenges, in terms of time, cost and customer service, in the implementation of a complex Enterprise Resource Planning system upgrade in the Matthew Clark and Bibendum businesses in Great Britain…

• 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.

Greene King is to trial cashless only payments at a number of pubs. The regional press (in Yorkshire, Birmingham & elsewhere) variously has its readers shocked…

• 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.

Sky News reports that Royal London Asset Management (RLAM), which owns just under 5% of The Restaurant Group, will vote in favour of its board on all resolutions including directors’ re-election and remuneration. Activist Oasis has called for a strategic shake-up of the group.

Richard Grainger will be stepping down as the Chairman of Liberation Group in the summer, with the company yet to announce a successor….

India’s Nothing Before Coffee (NBC) plans to open between 50-80 new outlets within the next 12 months…

HOTELS & LEISURE TRAVEL:

Travel Weekly reports that two top-five Atol holders saw ‘strong’ bookings last week despite interest rates rising. Tui said the UK was its ‘most advanced’ market with summer bookings up 10% on 2019 levels. On the Beach reported ‘significant top-line growth’ year on year after ‘record sales’ in 2022….

• 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.

Yesterday, easyJet CEO Johan Lundgren commented on the budget airline’s results, saying ‘easyJet’s optimised network combined with the strong demand seen for flights and holidays, enhanced revenue capabilities and operational resilience, means we enter the summer with confidence….

Lastminute.com bookings rose by 19% YoY in the first quarter of 2023, driven by strong demand from customers and a higher share of holiday packages. The European OTA said it has paid back all outstanding Swiss state aid sourced during the pandemic.

Travel Counsellors reports that 26% of bookings since January have been for all-inclusive breaks, compared with 20% in the same period in 2019. It added that research showed 70% of its customers are thinking about going all-inclusive for their next trip.

The CMA’s decision on Heathrow airport’s price cap appeal has been pushed back from August to 17 October….

Staycity Group has acquired a site in Stratford for the development of a 240-apartment Staycity Aparthotel property due to open in H2 of 2026. The £40m project is expected to attract a potential guest profile of around 60:40 leisure/business.

OTHER LEISURE:

Cineworld’s 4DX extreme cinema screen at its flagship Leicester Square venue has reportedly been boarded up by the landlord….

Montana has become the first state in the US to ban Chinese-owned popular video-sharing platform TikTok from personal devices…

The business of the parents of the Princess of Wales, Carole and Michael Middleton, which supplied party good online, is reported to have been sold after collapsing into administration.

FINANCE & MARKETS:

For GfK numbers, see Pubs & Restaurants above.

Despite having said that inflation was transitory, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has suggested that The Bank is facing a wage-price spiral…

• 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.

Barclays is to hire 200 new traders in Paris as it moves some functions out of London to locate them in the EU.

PM Rishi Sunak, who said yesterday that cheap beer and more lowly taxed tampons are a Brexit win, is reported to be ‘engaged in a dialogue’ to protect the currently somewhat bigger UK car industry…

Sterling mixed at $1.2396 and €1.1515. Oil price lower at $76.51. UK 10yr gilt yield up sharply at 3.97%. World markets better yesterday and London set to open up some 22pts 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.