RNK, FEVR, SAGA, Naked Wines, Chapel Down, business rates & other:

A DAY IN THE LIFE:

There are a few euphemisms out there when it comes to sacking people.

You’re letting them go, you’re downsizing or, more arrogantly because you don’t need the person in question any more, you’re ‘right-sizing’, but I came across another one yesterday.

UPS, when announcing that it would boot out, sack or dismiss some 30,000 employees worldwide this year, said it was embarking on an ‘accelerated glide-down plan.’ That sounds almost fun, recreational, and it didn’t make mention of the human beings whose plans, aspirations and mortgage payment schedules would be clobbered in the process.

Still, hardly anybody wants to be the bearer of bad news, the Holy Grail being that the sacked employee leaves the room – or more commonly these days reads the text flagged ‘important’ – and still isn’t sure what’s happened to them.

And I’m told that ‘de-recruiting’ is now a thing.

I’ve never seen that one in a stock market RNS but you could also ‘de-employ’ somebody or suggest that they, and a reflexive verb this one, ‘outplace’ themselves on a somewhat accelerated table, maybe even before the end of the working day.

Anyway, enough of that. On to the news:

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PUBS & RESTAURANTS:

Eating out over the Christmas period:

Lumina Intelligence has produced its latest Eating & Drinking Out Panel data, suggesting that eating out participation fell by 0.6ppts over the Christmas period in 2025 to 59.3%. However, it says that frequence of spend rose by 3.2% and average spend per visit was ahead of inflation at plus 4.8%. It reports that delivery took an additional 1.1ppts of market share to take it up to 15.8%…

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Business rates:

UKH Scotland has ‘called for the Scottish Government to make good on its promise to use new funds to support the sector.’ Director Leon Thompson says ‘now we have seen the details of the business rates support package in England, I urge the Scottish Government to move swiftly to make good on its promise at the Scottish Budget to use these funds to support hospitality….’

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Drinking habits:

The Government-backed Health Survey for England has found that an increasing proportion of adults had not drunk alcohol in the last 12 months last year. Some 24% of adults in England fell into that category, up from 19% in 2022. The Health Survey for England finds that the number broke down as to 22% of men and 26% of women. Older consumers were less likely to be abstainers. Some 39% of those aged 16 to 24 had not drunk an alcoholic drink in the last 12 months but only 17% of those aged 75 and over….

Other news:

Australian wine exports fell by around 6% in 2025 to 613m litres according to Wine Australia’s Export Report. Export values fell by 8% to $2.34 billion.

COMPANY NEWS:

Marston’s shares fell by 9.1p (13.4%) to 59.7p on high volume yesterday after the company updated on trading in the first 17 weeks of its current financial period. The group reported that LFL sales over the period were flat (0%) with a 4% plus period over Christmas and tougher trading since. Shares in Tortilla, which also updated on trading yesterday, moved in the opposite direction and finished the day up 1.5p (2.9%) at 53.5p.

Chapel Down has updated on full year trading to end-December saying that ‘as a result of strong Christmas trading, Net Sales Revenue (NSR) is expected to be slightly ahead of guidance1 at £19.4m….’

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Naked Wines has updated on trading for the quarter in respect of the 13 weeks ended 29 December 2025 saying that ‘the Company delivered a successful peak trading period across all its markets and continues to trade in line with its published FY26 guidance…’

JD Wetherspoon yesterday confirmed that it will run real ale festivals in London and nationwide between 28 Jan and 8 Feb and between 4 March and 15 March respectively…

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Brava Hospitality Group, which trades as Prezzo Italian and which will shortly reintroduce Jamie’s Italian to the UK market, has reported that it generated revenue of £100.2m in the year to December 2025, up from £92.6m in 2024. It reports that LFL sales were up by 8% for the year as a whole, rising to 8.2% in December…

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Starbucks, which has a September year end, yesterday reported Q1 numbers ahead of expectations. The group reported Q1 Comparable Store Sales up 4% in the US. This comprised a 3% rise in the number of transactions and a 1% price increase. Internationally, SBUX reports that comparable sales were up by 5% (3% volume, 2% price). China was up by 7%, being 5% up in transaction numbers and 2% higher prices. SBUX adds that net revenue in the quarter rose by 6% to $9.9bn….

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McDonald’s is reducing its vegan menu from next week to just one burger. McDonald’s told Sky News ‘while McPlant remains a firm fan favourite and will continue to be the go-to choice for our vegetarian and vegan customers, we recognise these changes may be disappointing for some.’ It says ‘we are actively learning from other markets to understand which vegetarian and vegan options are proving most popular and exploring exciting new offerings that we know customers will love.’

Chopstix has announced that it opened its first unit in France, located at 58 rue du Faubourg, on Monday this week.

FEVER TREE – FULL YEAR TRADING UPDATE:

Fever Tree reports that ‘adjusted revenue and adjusted EBITDA for FY25 are expected to be marginally ahead of current market expectations.’ It says adjusted revenue was around £372.7m, up 4% in constant currency terms. The company says ‘in the US, the transition into Molson Coors’ national distribution network is progressing to plan and, alongside an upweighted marketing investment, will provide a strong platform for 2026. FEVR reports that US revenue is up 6%, UK revenue is down 2%, Europe is up 2% and the rest of the world is up 22% ‘reflecting particularly strong growth in Australia, New Zealand and Canada as well as some beneficial phasing of orders.’

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SAGA – FULL YEAR TRADING UPDATE:

Saga reports the ‘Group is expected to report an Underlying Profit Before Tax that is ahead of the prior year, and an improvement on our half year guidance.’ It says Ocean Cruise has ‘continued to deliver an excellent performance, with a strong load factor of 93%, a 2ppt improvement on the 91% previously achieved in the prior year, and a per diem of £394, a 10% increase on the prior year.’ It adds that ‘River Cruise Underlying Profit Before Tax has also continued to grow’ and says  that ‘Holidays is expected to report a stronger Underlying Profit Before Tax than last year, supported by booked revenue growth of around 13% and passenger growth of 11%.’

It says ‘this performance reflects the positive impact of our decision earlier in the year to consolidate our Travel businesses under one management team.’ Re the insurance business, ‘Broking outperformed our expectations’ and ‘underlying PBT is now expected to be marginally higher than last year and ahead of our expectations.’ The group says ‘trading EBITDA is still expected to be ahead of 2024/25.’ Net Debt ‘is expected to be marginally lower than the half year and significantly lower than the prior year, an improvement on previous guidance.’

HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL:

Budget hotel chain Travelodge has cautioned that recent Government action has made trading conditions ‘more challenging’. Hotels, many of which would be too large to have benefited in any case, have not been included within the package of business rates relief being offered to pubs in England….

VisitBritain is to host over 70 international buyers of educational trips from 11 different countries across England, Scotland and Wales….

US social media checks. A survey conducted for the World Travel & Tourism Council has found that around a third of international travellers would be put off from visiting the US if proposals to investigate their social media accounts were brought in. Around 66% of respondents were aware of the proposed changes.

Crystal Holidays has generate bookings up 67% in 2025, reports Travel Weekly. It reports that ‘the luxury line’s 2026 Asia programme has sold out and its Alaska season is approaching capacity, with sailings in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe ‘continuing to perform strongly.’

The GBTA reports that professional travel buyers are ‘cautiously optimistic’ for business levels this calendar year. A poll suggested that 59% of respondents were optimistic and 31% were neutral.

OTHER LEISURE:

The Rank Group has reported H1 numbers to end-December 2025 saying that Net Gaming Revenue rose by 6% to £419.8m. Underlying operating profit is up by 15% at £40.6m and the group reports underlying EPS of 5.6p against 4.8p in the prior year…

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City AM reports that ‘betting giant Coral, which is owned by Entain, has ditched the Cheltenham Festival after over 50 years due to government taxes on gambling.’ Entain says ‘the decision follows the significant increase in betting taxation announced in the recent UK Budget, which has required the business to reassess the commercial viability of certain sponsorships as part of a broader review of marketing investment.’

Meta Platforms yesterday reported Q4 numbers towards the top of expectations. The company reported that  EPS rose to $8.88 on revenue of $59.9 billion, ahead of the $8.16 and $58.4 billion analysts were expecting. The company is set to increase its spending on AI. The group’s shares rose on the news.

Tesla yesterday reported Q4 numbers ahead of estimates. It reported revenue of $24.90 billion against $25.11 billion estimated by analysts. The number was still down around 2.4% on a year ago. Adjusted EPS came in at 50c, against estimates of 45c. The group’s shares were up around 3% in after-hours trade.

Microsoft, a June year-end company, yesterday reported its Q2 numbers ahead of estimates. The company said ‘we are only at the beginning phases of AI diffusion, and already Microsoft has built an AI business that is larger than some of our biggest franchises.’ CEO Satya Nadella said ‘we are pushing the frontier across our entire AI stack to drive new value for our customers and partners.’

FINANCE & MARKETS:

As expected, the US Federal Reserve held interest rates at their current levels of between 3.5% and 3.75%. The Fed cut rates three times in Q3 and Q4 last year.

The SMMT reports that the number of motor vehicles built in the UK fell by 15% in 2025 to 717,371 cars and 47,344 commercial vehicles, down 8% and 62% respectively….

Sterling higher at $1.3838 and €1.1553. Oil up at $69.19. UK 10 year gilt yield up by 2 basis points at 4.55%. World markets mixed yesterday but Far East better in Thursday trade & London set to open around 27 points better as at 6.30am.

RETAIL WITH NICK BUBB:

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