Insolvencies, golf, contract catering, LfLs, Cake Box, Vinoteca, Entain etc.:

A DAY IN THE LIFE:

Well, it’s the last full week of August and, with a Bank Holiday weekend coming up and the ‘out-of-office’ replies to this email hitting biblical proportions, it’s clear that it’s very quiet out there.

That being the case, and in the almost complete absence of company updates, we’ve commented more fully on some general issues today alongside what news there is.

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

THE CONSUMER:

With GfK’s UK consumer confidence numbers due on Friday, here a few recent pointers as to what may be influencing the current mood:

Jobs:

Job search site Adzuna suggests that vacancies and advertised starting salaries both fell in July, giving early signs that the labour market is losing some of its inflationary heat….

Housing costs:

Zoopla reports that it is now cheaper for first time buyers to rent than to buy a property due to the rise in mortgage rates. The property website said the average UK rent is £1,163 per month, while average mortgage repayments are £1,285 for first-time buyers on a 15% deposit.

Utility prices:

Energy prices are currently falling (though the price of oil is not). However, events in Australia have caused a blip in gas prices (in the wrong direction)…

Petrol costs:

AA data shows that the average petrol price has risen above the 150p-a-litre mark for the first time since early January. Luke Bosdet, the AA’s spokesman said ‘Wholesale cost increases appear to have peaked for the moment but the fallout from the recent surge is still finding its way to the pumps’.

Other financial data:

Inflation is easing (though of course the absolute cost of goods is not). Real wages are now positive. That is a double-edged sword. Bond yields have  risen. Rates are likely to go up again in September.

PUBS & RESTAURANTS:

Interactive leisure – Too much of a good thing?

Figures compiled by the curator of the Crazy Golf Museum, Richard Gofffried, suggest that the number of miniature or adventure golf courses in the UK has risen by around 25% since the pandemic with the UK now home to over 1,200 courses…

• 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.

Contract catering:

CGA has updated on contract catering sales saying that Q2 sales were ‘18.5% above the same period in 2022.’ CGA says ‘another positive performing quarter reflects the sector’s recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and consumers’ bounding return to workplaces and venues served by contract caterers. Caterers’ sales in the private sector were also up 20.4% 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.

Footfall:

Springboard reports that weekly footfall was up 1.1% YoY for the week ending 19 August. The insights company said that with the school summer holiday period entering its second half – footfall in UK retail destinations dipped from the week before.

Other news:

The Insolvency Service has published its monthly numbers for July. This has been running on a monthly basis since Covid impacted in Q1 2020 and is intended to give an almost-real-time signal as to how the economy is performing. In July 2023, there was a total of 1,727 registered company insolvencies across England and Wales, 97 in Scotland and 13 in Northern Ireland….

IN SEARCH OF MEANINGFUL LIKE-FOR-LIKE COMPS…

• 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:

Cake Box Holdings plc has updated on trading ahead of its AGM saying that, in the 17 week trading period to 30 July 2023, ‘the positive trading momentum from the second half of the previous year has continued, with franchisee store like-for-like sales increasing 6.8%.’ The company says ‘is an increase from 5.4% like-for-like sales growth for the first 11 weeks of the new financial year reported at the Group’s FY23 results on 26 June 2023….’

• 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.

Vinoteca has announced its intention to appoint administrators. It may yet be rescued but the company says ‘the move is in answer to difficult trading conditions during and post-pandemic which has had a huge impact on leisure operators across the country.’ Vinoteca adds ‘the challenges of a much-changed economic landscape over the past 12 months of rising costs, inflation, spiralling energy charges and regular train strikes have proved too great for a site which Vinoteca had hoped to continue to grow over the coming years.’

Star Pubs & Bars is planning to increase its Just Add Talent (JAT) managed operator business from 150 pubs to 250 by 2026….

HOTELS & LEISURE TRAVEL:

Edinburgh Airport had to  temporarily suspend flights on Monday after its runway required emergency repairs. Four flights were diverted and planes scheduled to take off were held back ‘for a short period’, before resuming shortly after 8.30am.

Lost luggage volumes are reported to be falling after hitting records in the period immediately after the pandemic. The BBC reports Sita, which handles IT systems for 90% of airlines, as saying that the improvement is down to higher staffing numbers and improved tech.

OTHER LEISURE:

Entain plc has updated on its tender offer for Polish sports betting company STS Holding saying its offer was accepted by approximately 99.3% of the total issued share capital of STS. Entain says it ‘intends to initiate compulsory acquisition proceedings in respect of those STS shares not tendered in the Offer, and commence the de-listing process from the Warsaw Stock Exchange.’

Games company Team17 has announced that chairman Chris Bell ‘has decided to step down from his role at the end of the year to focus on his other business interests.’ The company reports that Frank Sagnier has been appointed Non-Executive Chair designate.

FINANCE & MARKETS:

UK microchip giant ARM has filed to list its shares in the UK.

The High Pay Centre has said that FTSE CEOs saw their pay rise by 16% last year at a time when they were under pressure to keep the wages of their workforce down.

Sterling mixed at $1.2768 and €1.17. Oil lower at $84.32. UK 10yr gilt yield up 5bps at 4.73%. Bank of England to meet on 2 Sept and a further 0.25% rise in interest rates to 5.5% is likely. Equities mixed globally. London set to open around 6pts higher 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.