M&B, DGE, 888, ROO, Tasty, Everyman, Marriott, Uber, trading etc.:

A DAY IN THE LIFE:

You have to keep your wits about you when buying bits and bobs on the internet,

Because, leaving to one side major issues like ID theft and mis-selling, it’s easy to miss the wood for the trees with delivery charges, delivery times and the rest.

For example, when sourcing a floppy disk reader, don’t ask, it seemed that the market price was about £16 to £18, which struck me as a bit steep for something that might get used once and then sit, gathering dust for a decade, before being thrown out.

But then one popped up at £9.50.

Much more reasonable but, on closer examination, delivery costs were also around £9.50 with an arrival time nearer Christmas than Bonfire Night and that, whilst it might not have been the end of the world, kind of spoiled the deal.

Because I’d have probably then had to buy another one to see what’s on these disks that bit quicker and then two of them would have been heading for the bin.

Not very green. On to the news:

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Sent separately Thurs 28 Sep 23

MITCHELLS & BUTLERS – Q4 TRADING UPDATE

M&B has this morning updated on Q4 trading and our comments are set out below:

Headline figures: The full year results will be for a 53-week year. Comments here are for the first 52-weeks. M&B reports that ‘strong trading has continued through the fourth quarter, bringing year to date like-for-like sales growth to 9.1%, with total sales growth now of 10.5%’. At week 43, the LfL figure (now 9.1%) was 8.9%. Inflation has abated since then meaning that, in real terms, the last 9-weeks have seen an acceleration in trade.

The company reports that ‘like-for-like sales in the fourth quarter increased by 9.7% supported by sustained growth in both food and drink volumes and reflecting an increasing out-performance against the market.’ It says ‘against FY 2019, year-to-date like-for-like sales are up 10.5%, with growth driven by spend-per-head.’ At week 43, food was up 7.0% (now 8.6% for 52-weeks). At week 43, drink was up 10.7% (now 9.9% with the slowdown reflecting less good late-summer weather).

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PUBS & RESTAURANTS:

Trading:

Lumina Intelligence reports that eating and drinking out penetration increased by 11ppts YoY vs weak 2022 comparatives in the four weeks to 6 August….

Other news:

Cask Marque has been criticised by elements of the beer industry for announcing its intention to appear on GB News, with industry onlookers saying it was a ‘misjudged move’ that aligned with the ‘right wing’ — an image that the sector has made efforts to shed over the years.

COMPANY NEWS:

Deliveroo is pitching to buy back up to £250m of its shares at between 115p and 135p via a tender offer. It says this represents ‘a premium of 6 per cent to 24 per cent to the closing price of A Ordinary Shares on 26 September 2023.’

ROO says ‘having received confirmation from Will Shu, the holder of all of the issued B Ordinary Shares, that he would not participate in the Tender Offer, the Board has determined that only A Ordinary Shares will be eligible.’

Incoming Diageo CEO Debra Crew has updated on trading ahead of its AGM later today. Ms Crew says she is ‘excited to lead our teams around the world and by the many growth opportunities we see in front of us’ and adds ‘our expectations for fiscal 24 are unchanged from when we reported our fiscal 23 preliminary results on 1 August….’

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Tasty yesterday reported H1 numbers for the 26 weeks ended 25 June 2023 saying that revenue rose marginally to £21.7m (H1 2022: £21.5m) but adjusted EBITDA slipped to £1.1m from £2.7m last year. After an impairment charge of £4.0m, the loss before tax was £6.24m vs a loss last year in H1 of £2.66m. The company reports that it had cash balances at H1 end of £2.8m against £8.0m a year ago…

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Listed English sparkling wine producer Gusbourne has reported H1 numbers saying that it has seen continued strong growth. It says direct sales to customers were up ‘21% driven by investment in digital marketing and direct wine sales arising from our tour and experience programme’. It says ‘UK Trade sales [are] up 25% with several key partnerships established….’

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The MCA reports that Honest Burgers has launched its crowdfund for its ‘Honest Smashed’ premium QSR concept….

Timothy Taylor’s is continuing to invest in cask ale despite CEO Tim Dewey admitting that the company has ‘noted, with concern, the decline in cask sales in recent years’. Dewey said that Timothy Taylor’s is ‘doing [its] utmost to help the category, by ensuring our brands reach the consumer in excellent condition.’

Molson Coors must pay Stone Brewing $56m after a San Diego court threw out its request for a retrial over trademark breach….

Morrison’s yesterday announced that current boss David Potts, who has led the company since 2015, was to step down and be replaced by Rami Baitiéh, the former boss of retailer Carrefour France. Mr Potts will step down in November. Hard-discounter Aldi overtook Morrison’s as the UK’s 4th largest supermarket earlier this year.

Chapel Down Group yesterday suggested that it might move its listing to Aim from the Aquis market in plans that could see it double the size of its business by 2026

HOTELS & LEISURE TRAVEL:

Marriott has outlined its growth plans through 2025, expecting to add 230,000-270,000 net rooms and achieve compound annual growth rates of 5-5.5% for net rooms, 3-6% for RevPAR, 7-10% for adjusted EBITDA, and 10-15% for adjusted diluted EPS….

Uber Technologies has announced that Prashanth Mahendra-Rajah will join the company as Chief Financial Officer on November 13, 2023.

OTHER LEISURE:

888 Holdings profit warning. 888 has updated on trading saying that ‘performance across the Group has been mixed, with overall revenue for Q3 2023 expected to be down around 10% to approximately £400m.’ The company says it ‘has made significant and ongoing improvements to the sustainability and quality of the mix of the business, and while this is weighing on short-term performance, the Group continues to drive strong double digit active customer growth….’

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Everyman Media Group yesterday reported H1 numbers, saying that revenue came in at £38.3m (H1 2022: £40.7m) with adjusted EBITDA of £5.8m (H1 2022: £7.5m, including a £0.9m VAT benefit). Remembering that Barbenheimer fell in H2, the company reports a loss before tax of £4.3m compared with a loss of £0.8m in H1 last year….

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Creative UK has launched a new £35m fund to help the UK’s creative industries meet growth targets, including adding £50bn in value and 1 million jobs by 2030. The fund aims to provide financing to creative businesses to support their growth potential through emerging technologies like AI.

The president of games company King, Tjodolf Sommestad, says mobile gaming still offers huge potential, projecting $115 billion in mobile gaming revenues by 2025….

The Guardian reports Farhad Moshiri, owner of Everton Football Club, received over £400m from companies owned by sanctioned Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov before the Ukraine war…

FINANCE & MARKETS:

According to a report by the Peterson Institute, the UK economy will shrink 0.3% this year and 0.2% in 2024 due to high inflation and labour shortages, while the US and Eurozone grow. The UK’s unequal recovery and Brexit fallout make its prospects more gloomy than other developed economies….

London has seen a 24% drop in first-time home buyers in the past year as high mortgage rates crush dreams of ownership, with the average first home now £288,000 nationally and £448,000 in London, nearly 11 times local earnings.

Abolishing inheritance tax would cost the UK government £15 billion annually by 2032, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies…

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Political uncertainty (or certainty). Long-time Tory donor Lord Harris of Peckham has said that the Conservative Party does not “deserve” to win the next election. Lord Harris recently donated £5,000 to shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves….

City Minister Andrew Griffith has said that the UK is ‘committed to working closely’ with the EU on financial service sector rules…

Sterling mixed at $1.214 and €1.1555. Oil sharply higher at $97.20. UK 10yr gilt yield up 6bps at 4.38%. World markets mixed yesterday. London due to open up around 26pts as at 6.30am.

RETAIL WITH NICK BUBB:

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