Diageo, Vianet, confidence, train strikes, cost of living crisis & other:

A DAY IN THE LIFE:

Having nearly missed my fair share of meetings and trains – when they are running – recently, here’s a memo to clocks: tell the right time.

I know a poor tradesman blames his tools but faulty clocks can play their part, particularly when they are ten or fifteen minutes slow.

Because, if they were six hours off, there would be no problem. You would know they were wrong and, at the other end of the spectrum, if they were only a minute or so awry, it wouldn’t really matter – but there is something of a negative-Goldilocks vibe about a ten minute error as it’s not large enough to be immediately obvious but significant enough to do some serious damage.

Anyway, that’s enough of that. We’re embarking on another five-day week so, without further ado, 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:

Train strikes:

BrewDog reports that sales fell by as much as 70% week on week due to the train strikes in recent months, with BrewDog Bars CEO James Brown saying ‘They hurt, and they disproportionately impact hospitality businesses!’ Rail strikes this week are expected to cost the hospitality industry £132m, bringing the total impact on the sector to £3.25bn….

• 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.

In addition, train strikes over the weekend hit the FA Cup Final as well as a Beyoncé concert at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, a Test match at Lord’s Cricket Ground and the Epsom Derby….

Business confidence:

CGA and Fourth report in their latest Business Confidence Survey that business confidence is rising in the hospitality industry despite inflationary pressures. It says there are concerns about profitability and cash reserves….

• 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.

Cost of living crisis:

The Telegraph reports that ‘green levies due to be imposed from next year will increase food prices within months, pushing up total shopping bills by up to £4 billion a year, retailers have warned. It says ‘senior Tories’ have ‘ urged Rishi Sunak to drop the “nonsensical” plans’….

Which has reported that ordering groceries for delivery via apps such as Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just East can double the cost of some items in a regular shop…

• 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 RAC reports that diesel prices fell by a record 12p per litre on average in the UK last month. The motoring group argued the drop in price was ‘both long overdue and smaller than it should be’ due to wholesale prices being lower.

Trading:

CGA by NIQ’s Drinks Recovery Tracker shows sales in managed pubs and bars were up 2% YoY in the week ended 27 May, down from 5% growth the week prior. The Tracker found that cider sales were up 22% due to the warm weather, but that spirits were 11% weaker.

Other news:

In the US, the  leisure and hospitality sector added 48k jobs in May, with employment in the sector inching back toward pre-pandemic levels; the sector is now 349,000 – or 2.1% – below February 2020 levels.

The Guardian reports that ‘billionaire Tory donors [David & Simon Reuben have] been accused of pushing pubs into bankruptcy after demanding tenants pay full rent owed from the months during the Covid lockdowns.

COMPANY NEWS:

Diageo reports that outgoing CEO Sir Ivan Menezes ‘is currently in hospital receiving treatment for medical conditions including a stomach ulcer.’ It says ‘over the weekend, we learned that Ivan’s recovery suffered a significant setback due to complications, which followed emergency surgery on the ulcer.’ As a ‘result of these developments, the Board of Directors has appointed Debra Crew Interim Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect…’

• 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.

Vianet reports on the application it has made for a tax refund in respect of R&D losses incurred in FY 2021 and FY 2022. It says it ‘is pleased to confirm that the Group has now received a refund amounting to £924,774 from HMRC….’

• 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.

Leon is set to open its first site in Italy, located in Rome’s Termini Station in a partnership with SSP Group and Grandi Stationi. The site will be operated by SSP and marks its entry into its 37th market and Leon’s second international market.

Pizza Union is reportedly  looking for new sites across central London, and negotiating on a few potential locations. The 6-strong quick service pizza brand  is backed by Babby Hashemi’s Union Ventures.

Brown-Forman Corporation plans to expand its Casa Herradura tequila distillery in Jalisco, Mexico as part of a $200m investment….

HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL:

A leading airline has downplayed the reported issues with passport e-gates over the final May bank holiday weekend, saying ‘We’re getting a lot of people through these e-gates, which are not falling over all the time. The system is pretty solid. [But] it was a major outage and challenging.’ But aviation leaders conceded that ‘no one saw this [disruption] coming’.

OTHER LEISURE:

Sky News reports that landlords are joining forces to challenge Fitness First’s restructuring plan that is due to be heard in court later this month….

FINANCE & MARKETS:

The US jobs market has continued to show signs of strength with 339k jobs added in May. Estimates centred around 190k jobs….

LSEG Deals Intelligence has suggested that the volume of mergers and acquisitions in the UK has fallen to its lowest level since 2016…

Gary Smith, the general secretary of the GMB union, has called in The Observer for an “honest debate” about the economic damage caused by Brexit. He suggests that it is fuelling inflation and driving jobs and investment abroad….

• 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 down at $1.2428 and €1.1614. Oil up at $77.10. UK 10yr gilt yield up 2bps at 4.15%. World markets better on Friday & London set to open up some 9pts 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.