Langton Capital – 2025-11-24 – Budget, business optimism, incomes, jobs, JDW, Nando’s & other:
Budget, business optimism, incomes, jobs, JDW, Nando’s & other:A DAY IN THE LIFE: Well, a bit of snow on the moors over the weekend, drifts around The Lion, Blakey and quite a bit on the Wolds near Fridaythorpe. But mostly gone now and it chucked it down yesterday and, with the BBC saying that it’s a random mix of drizzle, light rain, rain and heavy rain for the next 10-14 days, there’s plenty more to come. But enough of the weather. Hull City led twice and lost on Saturday and I know how that feels. But York City, where I really should make the effort and pop along a couple of times to the new stadium before Christmas, came from behind to register their fifth successive league will and move up to third in the National League, which is a pig to get out of. Anyway, quite a busy week to come featuring not least the Autumn Budget on Wednesday so 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: Hospitality business optimism: CGA and Sona report their latest Business Confidence Survey reveals that ‘soaring costs of doing business and pressure on consumer spending have pushed hospitality leaders’ optimism down to a five-year low.’ The survey finds that only ‘26% of leaders feel optimistic about prospects for their business over the next 12 months—a dramatic drop of 15 percentage points from the second quarter of 2025.’ The poll suggests that ‘the number of leaders feeling optimistic about the future of hospitality in general slipped by 5 percentage points to 13%….’ • 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: The energy price cap now looks set to rise rather than fall in the New Year and and energy bills could rise by £3 from January. This is largely as a result of levies and comes despite a drop in the wholesale price of gas. The cap is expected to rise further in April… • 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. On a slightly brighter note, many rail fares in England are to be frozen next year for the first time in 30 years. The freeze will apply to regulated fares, including season tickets and off-peak returns. Rail fares have risen in recent years in January, based on the July rate of RPI plus 1%. Economy: S&P’s flash PMI readings for the UK in November suggest that the composite figure, for the economy as a whole, will fall to 50.5 from 52.2. The numbers suggest that the Services PMI will fall to 50.5 as well, from a higher 52.3 in October… • 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. Jobs: Sky News reports that ‘struggling energy supplier Ovo’ is to cut ‘hundreds of jobs.’ It says that several hundred job cuts will be announced ‘as soon as the middle of next week…’ • 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. And jobs website Adzuna reports that vacancies have fallen to a four-year low as recruitment has slowed ahead of Rachel Reeves’s Wednesday Budget. It says the number of jobs advertised in October fell to 796,385, down by 7% on the same month a year ago… • 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. COMPANY NEWS:
Nando’s Group Holdings, the company that owns the majority of Nando’s trading assets, has reported numbers to 23 Feb 2025 to Companies’ House. Nando’s reports that revenue rose by 8% to £1.476bn (FY24: £1.267bn). The company reports that its GP% rose to 22.7% from 21.0% in the prior year and GP in absolute terms was £335.5m (FY24: £287.3m). Nando’s reports that the increase in admin expenses was limited to 3.1% and operating profits rose by 145% to £146.6m (FY24: £59.8m). The increase was in large part due to a rise in Other Income from £13.9m to £61.4m. Nando’s reports that ‘the largest item within other operating income is funds received from insurers of £59.2m (2024: £12.2m) as a result of successful claims.’ The company reports interest and lease costs of £108.4m (FY24: £109.9m). PBT is £38.2m against a loss before tax of £50.1m in the prior year. The bulk of the interest charged is • 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. J D Wetherspoon is to open its first pub in continental Europe – at Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernandez Airport in Spain. The pub, which will be named Castell de Santa Bàrbera, is set to open at the end of January 2026 and will be located airside in the airport… • 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. Leon is set to end its coffee subscription service from the end of this year. Leon co-founder John Vincent says ‘I want to bring Leon back to its original purpose and remove all the parts that don’t feel like Leon anymore.’ Black Sheep Coffee has signed a franchise agreement for Hertfordshire that should bring it a minimum of nine new units over time. St Andrews’ based gin & whisky producer Eden Mill is reported to have been been sold in a prepack administration to Ruby Capital after rising debt, falling sales, and project delays pushed the business into insolvency…’ HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL: The CAA reports that Ickenham Travel Group has ceased trading as an Atol holder. BUDGET The CBI says it doesn’t want any more ‘Groundhog Day Budgets’. CEO Rain Newton-Smith will tell the CBI’s Annual Conference later today that the government has to ‘choose growth’. She will ‘underline the huge scale of opportunities for the UK economy and will acknowledge the many positive announcements from ministers since taking office – including the Industrial Strategy, the Trade Strategy and Infrastructure Strategy.’ But she will caution that ‘businesses are concerned that if the wrong choices are made in the Budget.’ She will say ‘we risk getting locked in a stop-start economy.’ • 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. Budget leaks and rumour: Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has somehow managed to tell Laura Kuensberg programme that leaks and U-turns ahead of the Budget have not damaged the economy… CGA comment: Commenting further upon hospitality business leaders’ waning confidence, CGA says ‘the latest problems for leaders add weight to calls for greater government support for the hospitality sector, with taxes, rates and labour costs the three urgent priorities….’ • 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 Daily Mail comments that ‘businesses are braced for a battering this week as the Chancellor lines up a string of tax rises for firms in her Budget.’ And a number of the UK’s leading hotel groups have warned the Chancellor that a tourist tax would ‘not make good business sense.’ A group of hotel bosses, including those at Accor, IHG Hotels and Resorts, Hilton, Marriott International, Travelodge and Whitbread, have said that it would hit investment. OTHER LEISURE: Florentino Pérez, the president of Real Madrid, is reported set to sell 5% of the club in order to bring in outside investors for the first time. The Daily Mail & General Trust has reportedly agreed to buy the Daily and Sunday Telegraph titles for £500m. FINANCE & MARKETS: City AM quotes entrepreneur network Helm as saying that UK founders are increasingly losing confidence in Labour’s approach to businesses, as they brace for potential tax rises in the upcoming Autumn Budget. US President Donald Trump has removed his additional 40% import levy on Brazilian food products, including coffee & beef. 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. |
|
