Insolvencies, tube strikes, interest rates, Leon, BrewDog, GNK & other:

A DAY IN THE LIFE:

The case for sloping tables:

Do roads cause traffic or does traffic demand roads? Or is it a bit of both?

On the basis that you can’t measure something without changing it, it’s probably both but, on a more mundane level, I think there’s no doubt that the more flat surfaces you have around you, particularly in an office that hasn’t embraced the idea of going paperless, the more junk you accumulate.

And a case in point is that, after deciding what I really needed was a table next to my desk to put down the occasional cup or book – just for a moment or two – I find that I now can’t see the thing as it’s buried beneath about 30 or 40cm of assorted junk.

I know it’s there because I can see the legs but the junk covers every bit of the surface and it’s mostly, but by no means exclusively, paper-based.

There are envelopes, whatever came in them, some tax bumph, a couple of folders I’d swear I’d never seen before, ditto a book, some leaflets adorned with coffee rings, an old calculator that hasn’t worked this side of the millennium, a chunk of granite from Scotland ‘that might come in useful’ and an old metal tea-container with about twenty quid’s worth of copper in it.

And I can see a Langton business card from our office before last, a cardboard box with nothing in it, a ruler with the last two or three centimetres broken off and several batteries, which may or may not be dead.

Hum. The table’s been there just over a week. On to the news:

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PUBS & RESTAURANTS:

Tube strikes:

Rail union the RMT has suspended strikes due to take place on Tuesday and Thursday next week on the London. It says this is ‘following progress in talks with London Underground management’ but adds that the dispute is ‘far from over’ and, whilst ‘further talks are planned in the coming days and weeks to try and reach a negotiated settlement’, the union cautions that ‘all other strike dates from April onwards remain in place and additional strike action on 16 and 18 June has been put in place….’

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Insolvency stats:

The Insolvency Service has released company failure numbers for February 2026 for both corporations and for individuals. It reports that the number of registered company insolvencies in England and Wales was 1,878 in February 2026, 7% higher than in January 2026 (1,749), but 7% lower than the same month in the previous year (2,015 in February 2025)….

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Other news:

The MA reports that the Government’s launch of an energy saving tool for hospitality to tackle rising utility costs has now been launched. It aims to ‘advise operators on how to reduce unnecessary electricity use from wasted energy hotspots including extraction systems, fridges, ovens and lamps and claims that a sample pub in Bromley had cut its bills by £48 per week….

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US wine consumption has dropped with opinions divided as to whether or not this is due in part to President Trump’s now-deemed-to-be-illegal tariffs.

COMPANY NEWS:

Leon co-founder John Vincent, who five months ago bought back the chain that he co-founded and had sold to the Issa brothers in 2021, has told The Daily Telegraph that the chain had been in danger of disappearing…

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New owner of BrewDog, Tilray Brands, tells the FT that it hopes to restore growth at the ailing craft brewer by cutting prices and getting ‘more females drinking beer’. CEO Irwin Simon says ‘there’s times when having a glass of wine is good, or drinking one or two beers.’ He says ‘longevity and life is about socialisation and that’s our whole thing, that’s our big mission…’

Greene King is reported to have put up to 150 of its pubs up for sale and has announced that MD of its pubs division, Zoe Bowley, is to step down from her role….

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HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL:

Center Parcs Scotland. Work has reportedly started at Scotland’s first Center Parcs holiday village in the Borders. The work began with a ceremonial tree-planting to mark the beginning of the £450m project on the site, near Hawick, reports the BBC….

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Travel Trade Gazette reports Advantage Travel Partnership chief Julia Lo Bue-Said as saying that underlying confidence in travel is ‘undeniable.’ She says that many people either cancelling flights to the Middle East or failing to book them are re-booking to the Western Med or to the Caribbean….

Scandinavian flag carrier SAS has become the largest carrier so far to cancel flights as a result of the ‘sharp ⁠and sudden increase’ in jet fuel costs.

OTHER LEISURE:

Video games publisher Tiny Build has reported full year numbers to end-December saying that revenue from continuing operations came in at $35.5m (FY 2024: $30.4m), up 17% year‑on‑year. The company reports ‘adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations of $5.6m (FY 2024: $6.1m loss), a strong improvement due to favourable revenue mix and lower operating costs….’

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FINANCE & MARKETS:

The Bank of England’s MPC will opine on interest rates at 12 noon. This most likely outcome is a hold at 3.75% but the voting could be interesting…

The final estimate for Eurozone inflation has come in broadly as expected with the rate of CPI picking up to 1.9% in February from 1.7% in January. Eurostat reports that food, alcohol and tobacco prices were 2.5% higher than last year. They had been rising at an annual rate of 2.6% in the year to January.

Brent crude prices rose sharply yesterday, hitting near $110 at one point on the back of a reported Israeli strike on an Iranian gas field.

The US Fed yesterday held rates for its second policy meeting in a row amid concerns that the conflict in the Middle East will boost inflation.

Sterling weaker at $1.3261 and €1.1571. Oil up around $12 at $112.62. UK 10 year gilt yield up 5 basis points at 4.76%. World markets weaker yesterday and London set to open around 97 points lower as at 6.30am.

RETAIL WITH NICK BUBB:

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