Heineken, DoorDash, Costa, ROO, Marriott, TUI, coffee market & other:

A DAY IN THE LIFE:

Bit going on again today.

So we’ll keep this brief but just time to say that there appears to be some ‘anti-malingerer’ action going on in the office such that the property owner has turned off the heating in the loo, screwed the windows open and disabled the Wi-Fi and my goodness that seems to have done the trick.

At least in the very short term because, apart from the obvious and reading back of the Domestos bottle for the umpteenth time, there’s little to do in there and linger time must have collapsed.

However, people being people, you can almost feel them, I should say ‘us’, ordering fleece-lined jackets and furiously downloading mobile games, podcasts and the like ahead of the next visit.

Such is state of the push and shove in the employment market. Good luck to the once-Mighty Hull City tonight and let’s move on to the news:

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PUBS & RESTAURANTS:

Coffee Market:

Allegra’s latest Project Café UK report has suggested that the UK branded coffee shop market grew by 5.2% (in terms of outlet numbers) over the past 12 months with some 11,456 units now operating. Allegra reports that revenues were around £6.1bn and it expects growth to around 13,260 units by the end of the decade…

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WFH:

London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has thrown his weight behind the call for workers to return to the office. He says London cannot afford to become a city where ‘the centre has been hollowed out’. F&B operators with units in office-heavy districts will echo this call. Mr Khan says that younger workers will miss out on interaction with older and more experienced colleagues.

Other news:

The Michelin Guide Great Britain & Ireland 2025 has been published showing that the pubs that had been awarded stars previously have maintained their rankings. The guide says ‘London in particular is a city for whom the phrase ‘melting pot’ could have been invented, with more authentic international restaurants being added to The Guide every year….’

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COMPANY NEWS:

Heineken has reported full year numbers saying that revenue came in at €35.955bn with beer volumes up 1.6% and the Heineken brand up 8.8%. The company reports that operating profits were €3.517bn with net profit of €978m. Heineken reports diluted EPS of 489c and says it is to launch a 2-year €1.5bn share buyback programme…

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DoorDash has reported Q4 and FY numbers saying that, in Q4, total Orders increased 19% Y/Y to 685 million and Marketplace Gross Order Value increased 21% Y/Y to $21.3 billion. The company adds that revenue increased 25% Y/Y to $2.9 billion and Net Revenue Margin increased to 13.5% from 13.1% in Q4 2023. The group reports net income of $141 million compared to a loss of $154 million in Q4 2023…

The Times points out that, within the wider Coca Cola Q4 numbers, ‘the British coffee brand Costa performed poorly last year…denting a post-pandemic recovery built on its vending machine business….’

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Sky News reports that Deliveroo CEO Will Shu could retire from the company as soon as this year. It says Mr Shu is ‘contemplating stepping back as CEO’ and adds ‘under one scenario being discussed by Deliveroo’s board, chaired by Claudia Arney, Mr Shu could leave the role in the autumn.’ A Deliveroo spokesperson has said ‘there are no plans for Will to step down.’ The company adds ‘Will remains relentlessly focused on the long-term future of Deliveroo and delivering for consumers, merchants and riders.’

The Telegraph reports that Pret A Manger has abandoned plans to double the price of its coffee subscription service following a backlash from customers. The monthly fee is currently £5 and gives customers 50pc off five drinks per day.

Coca-Cola has intimated that it may turn away from aluminium and steel and use more plastic containers if President Trump’s tariffs distort input prices.

Loungers’ shares were yesterday delisted from the London stock exchange.

Shares in Tasty fell by 22% yesterday to 0.63p. The shares hit a post-Covid peak of 7.2p in May 2021.

HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL:

Shares in TUI yesterday fell by around 10% on the Frankfurt market as investors digested the news that its growth rate was slowing. CEO Sebastian Ebel says ‘bookings have been slower . . . We have been less aggressive with the capacity and pricing.

Marriott yesterday reported Q4 and full year numbers saying that Q4 REVPAR rose by 5.0% worldwide, including 4.1% growth in the US and Canada. Net adjusted income in the quarter was $686m and adjusted EPS was 245c….

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A survey conducted by Business Travel Show Europe has suggested that around 40% of corporate travel managers expect their budgets to rise this year…

Heathrow yesterday reported a successful start to 2025 with a record-breaking January. The company said ‘last month was Heathrow’s busiest January on record, with over 6.3 million passengers travelling through the UK’s only hub airport – up over 5 percent on the same time last year….

OTHER LEISURE:

Newbury Racecourse yesterday announced that its 2025 Party in the Paddock line-up will include Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Ella Henderson and Bjorn Again.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has told Sky that his business is not for sale. Re the c$100bn bid reportedly tabled by a consortium led by Elon Musk, Mr Altman says ‘the board will decide what to do there… the mission is really important and we’re totally focused on making sure we preserve that.’ he says ‘the company is not for sale, neither is the mission.’

Entain shares dropped by 11% yesterday after the company announced that the CEO, Gavin Isaacs, was to leave his role after less than a year in the job.

FINANCE & MARKETS:

Governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey has said that watering down City regulations introduced after the 2008 banking crash may raise the level of risk in the financial markets. He says ‘there is a reaction taking place against regulation, and the responses to the global financial crisis. We must not forget the lasting damage done by the GFC.’

EY-Parthenon has reported that 82 per cent of chief executives feel optimistic about the outlook for business over the next 12 months.

Sterling up at $1.2443 and €1.2016. Oil higher at $78.74. UK 10 year gilt yield up 4 basis points at 4.50%. World markets mostly better yesterday & London due to open around 4pts higher as at 6.30am.

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