Business, tube strikes, FEVR, Stonegate, Chipotle, Playtech & other:

A DAY IN THE LIFE:

Whilst I’m not much of a risk-taker in one sense of the word, no sky-diving, bungee jumping or croc wrestling for me, I am prepared to let the battery on my mobile get well down into single figures.

And, while that would have many people out in a cold sweat, I can bear it because that’s just the sort of person I am.

No need to applaud but, when I got down to four percent the other day and things stopped working, I did get a bit of a wobble on and asked my daughter whether I could borrow her charger.

She was using it, of course.

When isn’t she and she replied that she would love to but she was only on ninety-two and that kind of put it all in perspective.

And pulling rank didn’t do me much good. And nor, my bluff having been called too many times to mention did vague suggestions that I might throw her, her phone and her charger in the bin so I had to wait until, at 98 or 99, she took pity on me and lent me the thing.

Chastened but back on-line, let’s move on to the news:

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PUBS & RESTAURANTS:

UK business:

The ICAEW, whose members either run or advise thousands of businesses in the UK, has said that the ‘UK is at an economic inflection point.’ CEO Alan Vallance says ‘business confidence is fragile, investment is stalling, and everyday decisions are being slowed by complexity, cost and uncertainty….’

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Rail strikes:

The RMT’s general secretary Eddie Dempsey has called on Mayor Sadiq Khan to attend a summit with the union to find a resolution urgently to the escalating London Underground dispute. Mr Dempsey says ‘instead of going on social media, instead of the old tired clichés, telling trades unionists to get round the table, you’re the Mayor of London, you’re the Chair of TfL.’ He says ‘invite us to the meeting, let’s have a discussion, because I want to know what is going on in London….’

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Contactless payments:

The FCA has proposed that contactless card payments should be allowed to exceed £100 – and potentially could be unlimited. There are currently no restrictions on payments made by phone app, as they are not capped at £100 per transaction. The limit was originally £10 when contactless payments were introduced in 2007. Changes could be in place by early next year.

Openings / Closures:

Harden’s reports that London has seen the biggest number of new restaurant openings since 2017. It reports that some 146 new venues opened in the past 12 months with 65 reported closures, the lowest figure for a decade. The resultant 81 net new openings is in the top five over Harden’s 35-year history….

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Employment legislation:

The departure of Angela Rayner as Deputy PM has led unions to call for no watering down on proposed employment legislation whilst some employers’ organisations are calling for a radical rethink – or even a scrapping – of the proposals…

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Disposable income levels:

The Guardian points out that some 350,000 households, currently benefiting from fixed rate mortgages that are cheaper than those that could be obtained today, will be in for a financial awakening when ‘their costs jump this winter as they reach the end of their deals….’

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Other news:

Strongbow and Jägermeister have pulled ads on social media ads after the Advertising Standards Authority ruled that the ads either implied that alcohol was “a key component of social success” in the case of Jagermeister or “implied that alcohol might be indispensable or take priority in life” in the case of Strongbow. Fair enough but, as Strongbow says, the ‘ad was meant to entertain’.

Scotland’s First Minister, John Swinney, is reported to have held talks with US President Donald Trump at the White House during which he called for a “zero for zero” tariff arrangement on whisky….

FEVER TREE – H1 NUMBERS:

Fever Tree reports H1 adjusted revenues virtually unchanged at £172.2m (2024: £172.9m). It says that adjusted EBITDA is also similar to last year at £18.4m (2024: £18.2m). The group reports £4.1m of exceptional items and higher finance income leading to PBT of £8.4m against £7.6m in the prior year. Normalised EPS is 10.435p (2024: 9.04p) and the dividend has been raised by 2% to 5.97p.

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COMPANY NEWS:

Burger & Lobster has announced the appointment of Dino Sura as CEO. He will take over from founder Misha Zelman, who will take a non-executive role….

Stonegate is putting 23 of its pubs up for sale. The group has commissioned Savills to sell the properties, which are on long leases and which will be disposed of either individually or as packages….

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Chipotle Mexican Grill has announced it has signed a joint venture to open restaurants in Asia for the first time. In partnership, SPC Group, a leading South Korea-based food company, and Chipotle plan to open the first Chipotle restaurants in South Korea and Singapore in 2026.

KFC franchisee Gastronomy has committed to opening over 50 new restaurants by 2030. The Gastronomy estate will expand from its current 44 to over 100 sites….

Sandwich chain Potbelly has been purchased by C-Store operator RaceTrac in a deal worth $566m. Potbelly has over 445 company-operated and franchised units in the US.

HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL:

easyHotel has announced that it is rolling out the capacity for guests to add their keys into their Apple Wallet. It says the move ‘brings a fully digital check-in experience as guests can now seamlessly and securely unlock their room at easyHotel London City Shoreditch & easyHotel Paris Aubervilliers with a simple tap of their iPhone or Apple Watch.’

Countrylarge is to develop a new 17-key, 25-bedroomed aparthotel, located in the centre of Harrogate’s historic town centre after securing a £3.6m loan from OakNorth.

OTHER LEISURE:

Playtech has reported H1 numbers saying that revenue fell by 10% to €387m. The group reports that EBITDA on an adjusted basis was down by 16% at €91.6m. It reports that its adjusted post-tax income was down by 12% to €16.6m. Adjusted EPS is 5.4c, down 13%.

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Billionaire Labour donor John Caudwell has called for a gambling tax to combat ‘mayhem in society’ reports the FT.

The BBC reports that two former Meta safety researchers told a US Senate committee on Tuesday that the social media giant covered up potential harms to children stemming from its virtual reality products. Meta says the claims are ‘based on selectively leaked internal documents that were picked specifically to craft a false narrative.’

FINANCE & MARKETS:

Former governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, has said that the UK’s national debt is ‘not in a comfortable position.’ He told the House of Lords that the UK was in a ‘much stronger position’ before the financial crisis in 2008 than it is now.

US president Donald Trump has called on the EU to impose tariffs on China and India of up to 100% to help persuade them to stop buying Russian oil.

Sterling little changed at $1.3523 and €1.1566. Oil up at $67.26. UK 10 year gilt yield up 1 basis point at 4.63%. World markets mixed yesterday and London set to open up around 18 points as at 6.30am.

RETAIL WITH NICK BUBB:

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