Langton Capital – 2025-09-12 – Rates, trading & trends, Azumi, Dalata, Vue, Burger & Lobster & other:
Rates, trading & trends, Azumi, Dalata, Vue, Burger & Lobster & other:A DAY IN THE LIFE: I think my feet are getting wider. That’s probably natural, supportive of my weight as they have been for all these years, but I am a bit concerned that, if we carry on like this, I’ll end up with feet like flippers and getting shoes could be a bit of a problem. But that’s a bridge we’ll cross when we come to it. For the moment, concerns lie elsewhere and the main issue for the weekend seems to be the question as to whether or not we can get the grass cut again before the weather turns. Anyway, let’s see if Hull can score a few at the right end down in Swansea tomorrow. Have a good weekend and let’s move 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 PUBS & RESTAURANTS: Business rates: The Government yesterday published an interim report on business rates reform suggesting that there should be changes to Small Business Rates Relief and ‘cliff edges’ at which bills jump materially should be softened or removed… • 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. Trading: S4 Labour reports a 2.9% increase in hospitality sales in August 2025 compared to the same period last year. It says that London once again was stronger than the provinces with ‘a standout 10.5% rise in like-for-like sales, while non-London regions recorded a modest increase of 0.9%….’ • 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. Market Trends: Lumina Intelligence’s latest UK Pub & Bar Market Report 2025 suggests that the UK pub market is undergoing a ‘major structural shift…as operators face rising costs and evolving consumer behaviours.’ It picks out a number of trends it says worthy of attention including the outperformance of managed houses, closures currently being driven by economic headwinds and the continued demand for quality & experiences… • 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. Other news: Vietnam’s coffee exports this crop year (Oct to July 2025) have totalled 1.35m tons and been valued at US$7.5 billion. The agriculture ministry says ‘in the final months of 2025, Vietnamese coffee is expected to benefit from favourable external conditions.’ US tariffs (and bad weather in Brazil) seem to be having an impact in that US retail coffee prices have recorded their largest year on year rise in 25 years with ground coffee hitting a record of $8.87 a pound. The consumer price index for coffee was up 21% y-o-y. The FT reports Vizion as saying that imports from other big producers, such as Vietnam and Colombia, have failed to fill the gap left by a Brazilian shortfall. CAMRA has cancelled Britain’s biggest beer festival amid an existential crisis as it launched a cost-cutting drive to address “budget shortfalls”, reports The Guardian…. • 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. Coffee shops: Lumina Intelligence reports that the coffee industry in the UK will continue to expand, driven by the growth of premium operators such as WatchHouse, Knoops, and Black Sheep Coffee… Prestige Purchasing. Mel Marriott, latterly CEO at Darwin & Wallace, has joined Prestige Purchasing as Commercial Director…. Food prices within overall US inflation rose by 3.2% in the year to August. Food at home prices were up 2.7% and food away from home (restaurants) up 3.9%. Black Box Intelligence in the US suggests that there are some signs that younger consumers are cutting back on their restaurant spend. COMPANY NEWS: Azumi, which operates restaurant brands including Zuma, ROKA, Oblix and others, has reported results to 29 December 2024 to Companies’ House. Azumi says that revenue slipped by 1% to £203.1m. GP% rose to 75.1% from 74.6% but expenses rose materially and PBT fell by 27% to £29.9m (FY23: £40.8m). The company paid out a dividend of £39.5m, which reduced retained profits (even in a profitable year) to £66.0m from £83.4m in FY23. Shareholders’ funds have fallen for the same reason to £82.1m from £100.8m 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. Starbucks. Reuters reports that Starbucks has drawn up a shortlist of five preferred bidders to take a majority stake in its 7,800-store China business by the end of October 2025… The Grocer reports that Heineken has increased its stake in Ellie Goulding’s Served ready-to-drink cocktail brand as it looks to grow outside of beer and cider. Heineken paid £2.4m to increase its minority shareholding in Served to 40% last year, according to newly filed accounts filed by its UK subsidiary. The Burger & Lobster Restaurant Group Ltd has reported full year numbers to 29 Dec 25 to Companies’ House saying that turnover fell by 5,7% to £34.1m. GP% also fell to 40.4% in FY24 from 42.1% in the prior year. Admin expenses were reduced by 12.3%, enabling the company to report an increase in PBT of 19.4% to £1.52m. Retained losses have been shaved back to an accumulated £9.2m (loss) from an accumulated loss of £10.1m at the end of FY23. Shareholders’ funds remain positive at £5.0m (FY23: £4.1m)… • 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. HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL: Dalata has announced that its shareholders have voted in favour of the Scheme Meeting Resolution to approve the Scheme whereby Pandox AB will acquire the company. Pandox adds that the ‘approval of Dalata’s shareholders is an important step in the process of completing the Acquisition….’ Heathrow has reported that it handled over eight million passengers in August. It says that it is the first European airport to pass the 8m mark after a busy summer of travel…. • 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. Shorewood Leisure Group, which operates caravan parks in the Yorkshire & Durham area, has reported results for the year to 31 Dec 24 to Companies’ House saying that revenue fell by 47% to £4.95m. The group reports a loss before tax of £1.5m (FY23: loss £943k) and retained losses since incorporation now amount to £7.4m…. • 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. OTHER LEISURE: Sky News reports that Vue, the largest cinema operator in Europe, will today announce the appointment of a new finance chief as its owners pave the way for a strategic review which could lead to a stock market flotation…. • 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. Shares in Warner Brothers Discovery and Paramount Skydance rose sharply yesterday on reports that the latter was considering buying the former… Newbury Racecourse has produced H1 numbers saying that turnover rose by 4% to £9.67m and the consolidated group loss was £0.15m. The company says that attendances to 30 June 2025 were 53,569 (vs 43,733 last year)…. Savoy Cinemas Ltd, which is Nottingham-based and which operates cinemas in smaller cities & towns, largely in the East Midlands, has reported full year numbers to Dec 24 to Companies’ House saying that revenues rose by 10.6% to £7.4m. Costs rose but so did other income (rent and investment income) and the group reports PBT up by 14.9% to £1.79m (FY23: £1.56m). The company paid a dividend of £3.31m (FY23: £0.38m), leading to a drop in retained earnings to £6.3m from £6.8m in the prior year. Shareholders’ funds are also £6.3m… • 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. Chelsea football club has been accused of 74 charges of breaching agent regulations by the Football Association. The charges relate to the period between 2009 to 2022, a time when the club was owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich. FINANCE & MARKETS: US inflation rose to 2.9% in the year to August, up from 2.7% in the year to July. The US Fed is nonetheless expected to cut interest rates next week by a quarter of a point. A net balance of 20% of members of the RICS expect UK house prices to fall in the next three months. Over the coming 12 months, they expect some modest price growth. Re activity levels, a net balance of 17% of respondents said new buyer inquiries had fallen. The ECB has held interest rates across the Eurozone at 2%. Sterling mixed at $1.3554 and €1.1565. Oil lower at $65.92. UK 10 year gilt yield down by 3 basis points at 4.60%. World markets better yesterday and London set to open up around 27 points as at 6.30am. 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. |
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