Langton Capital – 2025-08-19 – Service charges, incomes, TGI Friday, Soho House, Brakspear & other:
Service charges, incomes, TGI Friday, Soho House, Brakspear & other:A DAY IN THE LIFE: I was considering the difference the other day between reporters, particularly investigative reporters, and influencers. The clue is in the name, I suppose. But, having recently watched the excellent documentaries Killer in the Post (Channel Four, The Times), The Undercover Police Scandal (ITV and The Guardian) and read Money Men (the Wirecard scandal, The FY), I’ve decided that some / many / most journalists know what they’re doing and have standards and influencers, well, don’t. Maybe I’m on the wrong side of history there but, like the influencers themselves, I’m entitled to my opinion. 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 sent separately PUBS & RESTAURANTS: Service charges: The Telegraph reports that ‘drinkers at a London pub have been hit with an automatic 4pc service charge when ordering at the bar.’ The charge, which is noted as ‘optional’ on receipts, is being applied to both food and drink at the Well and Boot in Waterloo station. It adds around 30p to the price of a pint of beer and takes the price of Camden IPA, for example, up to £7.95… • 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. Consumer sentiment: It’s hard to keep up with just quite which is the latest survey and whether apparently contradictory readings can be explained by timing differences or other issues. Still, S&P Global has updated on its consumer sentiment index for the UK saying that its reading has risen from 45.1 in July to 47.0 in August… • 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. Disposable incomes: Whilst the size of the rise has not yet been confirmed by the government, the fact that RPI, which is little-used as a measure these days, rose by 4.6% in the year to July, suggests that train fares next year could rise by 5.6% if the same pattern as has been used recently is followed… • 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. The BBC comments on rents saying that, in Bristol, they can easily cost families ‘well over a third of their household income’. Data suggests that typical private tenants in the city spent 44.6 percent of their income on rent in 2024. The BBC says this ‘is well above the 30 per cent deemed “affordable” by the ONS….’ COMPANY NEWS: TGI Fridays has seen covers rise by 10% since its relaunch in July reports the MCA. The turnaround strategy, which was enacted on 4 July, is said to have led to a ‘marked improvement’ in sales performance… • 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. JT Davies & Sons, the owner of Henley based pub operator Brakspear, has reported a 7% rise in revenues for the year to 29 December 2024. Sales came in at £41.3m but EBITDA slipped by around 2% to £10.7m…. • 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. Soho House yesterday confirmed that it was to be taken private in a deal valuing the company at $9 per share or around $2bn for the entire company… • 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. Northgate Restaurants, which operates a number of McDonald’s restaurants on a franchised basis in the West Midlands, has reported results for the year to 31 December 2024. Subsequent to its year end, the company sold all of its restaurants for £3.75m. Re FY24, the company reports that revenues slipped by 4.8% to £17.3m. Gross margin also fell (from 42.2% to 42.0%) and, unfortunately, admin costs rose by 1.4%. Interest received on the company’s cash balances more than doubled to £68k but this was insufficient to stop the moving to a loss before tax of £140k compared to a profit in the prior year of £320k… • 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. Understudy Ltd, which trades as Blacklock Steak Houses, has reported numbers to 29 December 2024 to Companies’ House saying that revenue rose by 24% to £19.6m (this after a rise of 36% in calendar 2023 vs 2022. The company reports GP% up a touch to 70.0% from 69.2% in the prior year. The widened margin & increased revenue take the absolute figure of gross profit up to £13.7m from £10.9m in the prior year. Admin expenses are up sharply to £13.5m from £10.8m. However, as interest charges have fallen and operational gearing has worked to the advantage of the company, it is able to report a profit before tax of £45k vs a loss of £65k in the prior 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. Punch Pubs & Co has reported that it acquired 35 community pubs during its 2024/25 financial year. It says ‘this expansion highlights their unwavering commitment to inspiring those moments and enhancing the pub experience across the UK….’ • 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. Homeslice has seen its CVA plan approved by its creditors. The proposed CVA was put forward by the company’s administrators at the end of June. HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL: Travel disruption. The RAC has warned that holidaymakers staying in Britain could face delays when travelling this coming weekend. It says that some 18 million car journeys are thought to be planned and the roads, particularly since many road works take place in better weather, will not be able to cope… OTHER LEISURE: Guild Esports, which owns a multi-storey gaming venue in Shoreditch and which has David Beckham amongst its investors, has been put up for sale on an insolvency marketplace, reports City AM. Elsewhere, City AM reports that some ‘twenty lower league football clubs in the UK have fallen into arrears to the HM Revenue & Customs, according to date from chartered accountants and business advisers Lubbock Fine.’ The clubs owed some £1.04m as of 22 May 2025. FINANCE & MARKETS: Sterling lower at $1.3505 and €1.1585. Oil higher at $66.08. UK 10 year gilt yield up a further 3 basis points at 4.73%. Markets mixed yesterday and London set to open around 9 points higher as at 6.30am. Further to the above, government borrowing costs are now sitting at around their highest levels in 27 years. 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. |
|
