XPF (profit warning), Evoke, TUI, Oakman, jobs, Scotland & other:

A DAY IN THE LIFE:

I was told the other day that a number of furries, people who like dressing up as animals, meet locally in the town centre early in the month.

The furrst, of the month, of course, it couldn’t be any other date, really.

I had to have it all explained to me – thankfully not by an afficionado but rather by somebody who simply knew about such pursuits (furrsuits) – and I didn’t know quite how to respond.

They apparently have their furrsonas and their individual furrsonality and, as I don’t suppose they go about weeing on lampposts or chasing busses or, indeed, savaging postal workers, they can hopefully be left to get on with it.

On to the news:

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PUBS & RESTAURANTS:

Hospitality employment levels:

The British Beer & Pub Association has called on the Government to help the hospitality industry to better cope with cost increases, blaming the rising cost of doing business for sluggish level of recruitment – and indeed job shedding – across the industry…

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The Employment Rights Bill.

The Employment Rights Bill is currently in the House of Lords. It should get Royal Assent early in the autumn. City AM reports that ‘the hospitality and leisure sector is already experiencing a rising number of Employment Tribunal claims, a situation likely to worsen further when the Employment Rights Bill becomes law….’

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Scotland:

The NTIA reports that it has outlined a ‘clear roadmap to revitalise Scotland’s nightlife.’ It suggests that there should be a dedicated Minister for the Night Time Economy and adds that ‘local planning policies protect iconic venues and cultural heritage…’

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Other news:

Wine production across France could be up by as much as 17% in 2025, reports the French agricultural statistics service. The service says that ‘weather conditions were more favourable. The dry and warm start to summer helped limit disease pressure, and no major weather hazards are expected at this stage….’

In the US, data produced by the Bureau of Labour Statistics suggests that restaurant output prices are rising more rapidly than prices as a whole. Restaurants raised prices by 0.3% in July whilst general inflation was 0.2% and grocery & supermarket prices actually fell by 0.1%.

COMPANY NEWS:

Hot weather hits XP Factory. The company, which operates the Boom Battle Bars and Escape Hunt escape rooms, has updated on trading for the 19 weeks of its current financial year, the period to 10 August, saying that ‘unseasonally hot weather and economic uncertainty saw the experiential industry suffer negative 10% LFL sales….’

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Meatailer yesterday reported to Companies’ House that David Page had resigned as a director on 29 July. Mr Page is set to become chair at a newly-refinanced Tasty after raising around £10m in a placing and retail offer to new and existing shareholders.

The FT comments on Luckin Coffee’s opening in New York saying that, in the US, Luckin is ‘largely sticking to its proven formula: a digital-first model with a heavy emphasis on speed, convenience and data…’

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Oakman Group: Although events have moved on and Oakman Group has sold assets and appointed administrators, it has just reported (very late) accounts for the year to end-June 2024 to Companies’ House. Headline numbers: The Numbers are less meaningful than they might have been but, nonetheless, they show that turnover rose by around 2% and gross profit rose by 8.7% on the back of higher turnover and an increased GP margin….

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Writing in the MCA, former Times leisure reporter Dominic Walsh comments on the current refinancing at Tasty, which will see David Page return to front-line restaurant management. Mr Walsh says that ‘Page is believed to have been looking at potential casual dining concepts such as Casa do Frango, a chain of three Portuguese venues; a “cooler version” of Gail’s bakeries called Lockdown Bakehouse; and Pasture, a small chain of upmarket steak houses….’

Butcombe Group reports that it is to partner with Jeremy Clarkson’s Hawkstone Brewery and Farmer’s Dog pub to ‘offer customers a taste of each other’s beers this summer. ‘

Shake Shack reports that it is expanding its partnership with Maxim’s Caterers Ltd in order to open 15 Shacks in Vietnam by 2035 ‘with the first flagship location set to debut in 2026.’

HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL:

TUI has reported Q3 numbers saying they are its best results for Q3 result to date: It reports ‘EBIT growth of +38 per cent to 321 million euros, revenue up 7 per cent to 6.2 billion euros.’ It adds that the ‘Increase [was] driven by record results in the Holiday Experiences segment with Hotels & Resorts, and Cruises…’

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OTHER LEISURE:

Evoke, which owns the William Hill, 888 and Mr Green brands, has reported H1 numbers saying that revenue rose by 3% to £999m with EBITDA up by 223% at £141m. The company reports a loss after tax of £65m (2024: loss £143m) and a loss per share of 14.3p (2024: loss 31.9p). There is no dividend (2024: nil)…

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An Australian court has ruled in favour of games company Fortnite and found Apple and Google misused their market power. Google says it will ‘review the full decision when we receive it and assess our next steps.’

Entain, which reported Q2 numbers yesterday, has suggested that customers may be driven to the black market if gambling is taxed much more heavily…

AI company Perplexity is reported to have made a $34.5bn takeover bid for Google’s Chrome internet browser.

The Guardian reports that ‘UK toy sales have bounced back as adults increasingly muscle in on the market, snapping up everything from Pokémon trading cards and Lego sets to collectibles and action figures based on movie and TV franchises.’ Toy sales are said to be up 8% so far in 2025 to date.

Red Bull has taken over Newcastle Falcons, the Rugby Union team. The club will compete as Newcastle Red Bulls.

FINANCE & MARKETS:

Employment market. The ONS yesterday reported that the number of payrolled employees fell in the quarter to July by around 164,000 compared to a year earlier. The unemployment rate for over-16s rose to 4.7%….

US inflation came in at 2.7% in the year to July, the same rate as was recorded in the year to June.

City AM reports that fund managers in the UK believe that inflation will rise over the next year. Some 40% believe that the global economy will weaken.

Sterling mixed at $1.3503 and €1.1559. Oil lower at $66.23. UK 10 year gilt yield up 6 basis points at 4.62%. World markets better yesterday & London set to open around 20 points higher as at 6.30am.

RETAIL WITH NICK BUBB:

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