Compass Group, YUM & KFC, C&C, Vianet, services, trading & other:

A DAY IN THE LIFE:

I had to give myself a talking to the other day because I found that I’d started apologizing to the dog.

And, whilst that has its place, it’s as well to apologise to the thing if you stand on it because it might think you’re being aggressive if you don’t, for example, overall, they don’t want apologies, they just want biscuits.

And explaining things to them is likewise pretty pointless.

If she’d only bark once when the postman arrives, for instance, that would do the trick but no, it has to be a fifteen minute howl accompanied by overturned  furniture and, if you shout at her to shut up, she’ll just think you’re joining in and get even more excited.

So maybe aloof disdain is what you should aim for. The word mercurial comes to mind. Keep them guessing, make them think there’s some hidden genius at work when all you’re really done is trip over your slippers.

Anyway, enough of that, 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:

UK services sector:

S&P has updated on the UK services sector – both B2C and B2B – in January saying that the data ‘highlighted a robust increase in business activity across the service economy, which contrasted with only marginal growth during the final quarter of 2025.’ So far, so good. S&P toes on to say that its ‘Business Activity Index registered 54.0 in January, up from 51.4 in December and above the 50.0 no-change mark for the ninth consecutive month….’

• 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.

Guilt and health foods:

Worldpanel’s data does seem to show that demand for more healthy food such as fruit and yoghurt increased as we entered the New Year. Numerator reports that sales volumes of fresh fruit and dried pulses, for example, were up 6% year on 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.

Access to labour:

The NIESR has suggested that the UK economy would be 3.6% smaller by 2040 if net migration fell to zero.

VAT in hospitality:

Reform has committed some £3bn to cutting drink duty should it win the next election. A 10% cut could either see the price of a pint drop by 5p or operators widen their margins. Reform has also said that it would halve the rate of VAT for the whole of the hospitality sector to 10%. It would pay for the above by reimposing the two child cap on Child Benefit.

Other news:

Meaningful Vision has reported that customers sought value last year, saying that ‘quick-service chicken restaurants were the strongest performers in 2025 with footfall up nearly 6% year-on-year. Bakery and sandwich formats follow with growth of around 3%, while coffee shops recorded a 2% rise….’

• 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.

Bad weather in the US hits footfall. Winter storms in the US have seen spend down 1.8% and footfall down 3.6% for restaurants in the second half of January.

Minimum pricing in Wales. The minimum price per unit of alcohol in Wales is to rise by 30% from 50p to 65p from October. The move would bring Wales into line with legislation in Scotland.

Hospitality collapses: Begbies Traynor has reported that liquidations in the hospitality sector between 2023 and 2025 were higher than prior to the Covid pandemic.

COMPANY NEWS:

YUM Brands – KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell – yesterday reported Q4 numbers saying that Q4 operating profit rose by 12% and full year GAAP operating profit was up by 7%. CEO Chris Turner says the company ‘delivered another year of outstanding results at KFC and Taco Bell with our fundamentals stronger than ever at both brands….’

• 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.

C&C Group plc has announced the appointment of Adam Phillips to the Board as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director. This follows the resignation, to join Domino’s Pizza Group, of incumbent Andrew Andrea…

Flow management and data company Vianet has announced ‘a significant USA contract’ saying that it has entered a long-term, multi-year agreement with a large full-service restaurant company. It will ‘deploy its Beverage Metrics inventory solution nationally across multiple locations, within one of the restaurant company’s major brands….’

• 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.

Pizza Group plc is to change its representative on the board, replacing Derk “Stoffel” Thijs with David Telford. The company adds that the ‘nomination right is in accordance with the Subscription Agreement disclosed in the April 2024 Circular.’ Mr Thijs will ‘continue to serve as a non-executive director on the Board of DP Poland.’

KFC in the UK & Ireland. YUM reports that UK & Ireland system sales grew 6.8% during 2025, supported by sustained growth in transactions. It says that ‘restaurant sales grew 6.5% across the year’ and ‘Q4 sales grew 7.4% compared to 2024, with sales in restaurant increasing 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.

Starbucks yesterday hosted its first investor day in three years to announce that it was back. Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol said that the ‘Back to Starbucks’ campaign had been critical in reconnecting the brand to customers. Mr Niccol says ‘customers are responding to our commitment to world-class service, compelling menu innovation, and marketing that truly resonates.’ He says ‘we’re putting the customer at the centre of everything we do and setting our partners up for success.’

Costa Coffee has been named the UK’s Favourite Coffee Shop for the 16th consecutive year by The World Coffee Portal. The recognition for the still-Coca Cola owned brand follows major investment in the store network in the UK….

Davy’s wine bar The Boot & Flogger has been named the No.1 best-reviewed outlet in London by DesignMyNight. The looked at five star reviews only. Davy’s says ‘this recognition is a huge credit to our brilliant team and our customers, who continue to support us every day.’

Restaurant Brands International has completed the sale of a majority stake in its China business to Asian asset manager CPE. CPE will own 83% of the business and RBI will own the remaining 17%. CEO Josh Kobza maintains that ‘China remains one of the most important long-term opportunities for the Burger King brand globally.’

Hospitality tech company Zonal has been acquired by Volaris Group, a software and technology company based in Toronto, Canada.

COMPASS GROUP – Q1 TRADING UPDATE:

Compass reports organic revenues up 7.3% in Q1. It says it has ‘delivered another quarter of consistent growth and strategic progress.’ US organic revenue was up by 7.3% and international rose 7.1%. The weak US dollar will have aided conversion. Compass says ‘we delivered strong performances across both regions and all sectors, with Sports & Leisure and Business & Industry remaining our fastest‑growing areas.’ The company says ‘B&I achieved double‑digit organic growth in North America, driven by robust first‑time outsourcing wins and continued expansion within the technology sector.’ The company adds that ‘net new business growth was within the 4-5% range, underpinned by strong client retention above 96%.’ It says that ‘pricing moderated as anticipated in a lower inflation environment, while volumes continued to contribute positively to growth.’

• 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:

Whitbread has opened a new hub by Premier Inn hotel at London Farringdon (Old Bailey) in the City of London saying it ‘sets a new standard for affordable hotel accommodation in the City of London.’

Uber has reported Q4 numbers to end-December saying that quarterly trips grew 22% year-over-year and Gross Bookings grew 22% year-over-year. The company reports quarterly GAAP Income from operations of $1.8 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $2.5 billion, up 35% year-over-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.

CoStar reports that U.S. hotel occupancy in December dropped 0.9 percent year over year, the 10th consecutive month it has fallen. CoStar reports that U.S. REVPAR in December held steady year over year at $83.93, while occupancy declined to 53 percent and average daily rate increased 0.8 percent to $158.37.

OTHER LEISURE:

Playtech has updated on trading saying it is upgrading FY25 EBITDA ‘driven by stronger-than-expected performance in the Americas.’ It says it is ‘pleased to report strong trading in H2 2025 driven by performance in the US and Mexico in the fourth quarter. As a result, the Company now expects Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended 31 December 2025 (subject to audit) to be at least €195 million, significantly above the current analyst consensus.’

Games publisher Tinybuild has updated on FY25 trading saying that revenue has been ‘slightly ahead of expectations.’ It says this ‘resulted in positive EBITDA for the second half of the year after the very strong first half performance, with a solid contribution from both new releases and back catalogue.’ Re Current Trading, the company says that trading is ‘slightly ahead of expectations, despite a challenging landscape. The games industry outlook is slowly climbing out from a deep trough.’

BetMGM LLC yesterday updated on full year trading saying that ‘FY 2025 performance exceeded expectations, reflecting benefit of a full year of strategic initiatives driving strong underlying growth in both iGaming and Online Sports.’ The company says it generated ‘Net Revenue of $2.8 billion, up +33% YoY.’

FINANCE & MARKETS:

S&P has updated on its composite PMI for the UK economy in January saying that the ‘data signalled stronger growth momentum across the UK private sector economy. At 53.7, up from 51.4 in December, the seasonally adjusted S&P Global UK PMI Composite Output Index was the highest for since August 2024 and pointed to a solid upturn in business activity.’

The NIESR suggests that chancellor Rachel Reeves has run out of Budget headroom despite £26bn of tax rises in November.

Euro zone inflation slid to 1.7% in January, per flash data from Eurostat. The drop is in line with analyst’s expectations.

The Bank of England is expected to hold interest rates at their current 3.75% when it announces its February decision at 12.00.

Sterling lower at $1.3617 and €1.1557. Oil higher at $68.00. UK 10 year gilt yield up 3 basis points at 4.56%. World markets mixed yesterday and London set to open around 19 points lower 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.