Trading, loyalty, London, Carlsberg, DOM, Oakman, Aspinall’s & other:

A DAY IN THE LIFE:

Well, the weather’s about to break and then it’ll be too wet to cut the grass.

But, when the sun’s shining, it’s just too nice to clear out the spare room, deal with all those pre-Millennium bags of, well, something at the bottom or the freezer or don those gloves and clear all the junk out of the garage, which set me to thinking that, really, the answer is that there’s never a convenient time to do something that you don’t want to do.

Which, looking at my ‘to-do’ list, the frightening heap that represents my In-Tray and those various emails that the FCA, the ICAEW and various other official bodies with more time on their hands keep sending me, would explain a lot.

Anyway, no grass cutting. And it’s time to find a handy excuse not to do all those other jobs that piled up while the sun was shining. On to the news: 

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PUBS & RESTAURANTS:

Trading:

CGA by NIQ’s Daily Drinks Tracker declares that .bright weather has helped pubs, bars, restaurants and suppliers to start April with strong growth in drinks sales after a slow end to March.’ It reports that LFL drink sales were up by 5% in the week to 5 April from the same period in 2024. It says that ‘on the back of a decent March, it raises hopes for some sustained real-terms growth for the On Premise after a sluggish start to 2025….’

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Other news:

The All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group (APPBG) is calling for evidence as part of an Inquiry into how the beer and pub sector can drive economic growth. Individual licensees, organisations and other interested parties have all been asked to contribute. The deadline for submissions is Friday 9th May 2025….

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Loyalty. KAM & Access Hospitality have commented on loyalty saying it ‘is a critical factor for hospitality businesses.’ They say that ‘great food and value for money are the top factors influencing return visits, each cited by 53% of customers….’

London: A new report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) and Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence has suggested that London has the highest-earning consumers in the country but it adds that, after housing costs are taken into account, they tend not to be big spenders…

Clarkson’s Farm. Season Four starts on 23 May and Mr Clarkson’s pub, the Farmer’s Dog, will feature heavily…

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The Telegraph suggests that there could be chicken shortages in supermarkets. It quotes Adam Couch, CEO of Cranswick, as saying ‘there is white shelf space now because chicken is in huge short supply and farmers can’t expand any more because we can’t get planning permission.’ He adds ‘on poultry, the UK is around 65pc to 70pc self-sufficient and that’s reducing at the moment.’

USA. Coffee prices are set to rise as a result of Mr Trump’s tariffs. Coffee cannot be grown in the US…

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COMPANY NEWS:

The MA reports Carlsberg Britvic on-trade sales boss Chris Pratt as saying that ‘it is a challenging time for the sector. The combination of the high cost of living, interest rates, and the headwinds of extended producer responsibility are a combined pressure on many businesses working in the on-trade.’ He adds that the ‘cost of living is also impacting consumers who, as a result, are going out less….’

Speaking to The Sunday Times, Domino’s Pizza Group CEO Andrew Rennie says that he is looking for a second brand in order to secure ‘decades of growth…’

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Propel reports that Oakman Group founder and CEO Peter Borg Neal has stepped away from the business due to illness…

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The FT reports that the founders of Topgolf and Puttshack have raised $34mn of seed capital from investors for a venture aiming to invigorate the game of pool. The funding round for Poolhouse, a “tech-enabled” version of the table-top game, has also attracted backing from New York-based VC fund Sharp Alpha and Simon Sports, co-owner of English football club Ipswich Town….

Micro-cap spirits company Distil plc has announced ‘it has agreed a new partnership with a U.S. distributor to bring Blavod Black Vodka back into the U.S. market.’ it says this is a ‘significant step in the North American relaunch of Blavod.’ It says that shipments are planned to commence by the end of June this year. From a planning point of view, we are assuming tariffs will remain in place for the foreseeable future. ‘Current levels are manageable, with a benefit across the supply chain should they be lifted.’

OTHER LEISURE:

The Bannatyne Group, run by former Dragons’ Den star Duncan Bannatyne, has reported revenue of £149.6m for its latest financial year, up from £138.9m in 2023. PBT rose from £10.1m to £14.4m over the same period.

Apple, which had reportedly flown 600 tonnes of iPhones, around 1.5m handsets, to the US from India since March in order to beat China tariffs, will now benefit from the fact that President Trump has exempted phones, computers and other electronic devices, from his 145% charge. It’s not immediately clear if the above devices will fall back to the ‘baseline’ 10% tariff, or if they will be totally exempt.

Aspinall’s Casino, which was set up by John Aspinall in the 1960s and which now trades as Crown London, was sold earlier this year by Crown UK to Wynn Resorts. The single club, on Curzon Street in London, still produces accounts independently and it this week reported full year numbers to 30 June 2024 to Companies House….

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CEO of Fitness First has told The Telegraph that ‘we do have a nation of great entrepreneurs. We’re a very inventive country and we’re known for it around the world, so let’s keep our expertise local, if we can, and succeed together.’ He says ‘the NI and minimum wage [increase] is really challenging for business. Some would argue bad for business. But we know we have to absorb it. In real terms, we’re growing our business.’

FINANCE & MARKETS:

See above. President Trump has exempted smartphones, computers and other electronics from its so-called reciprocal tariffs.

British Steel. The CBI says ‘the government’s decision to take control of British Steel is a necessary outcome of last resort needed to preserve the UK’s primary steel production capability.’

Tariffs: The Times reports that ‘major ports across the UK and mainland Europe are clogging up as ships carrying goods between the US and China are left in limbo due to the trade war between the world’s largest two economies….’

Sterling up at $1.3102 and €1.1531. Oil higher at $64.59. UK 10 year gilt yield up 9 basis points at 4.72%. World markets broadly better on Friday. Far East good today & London set to open around 144 points to the good as at 6.30am.

RETAIL WITH NICK BUBB:

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