Visitor levies, delivery, franchisees, hotel trading, Fever Tree & other:

A DAY IN THE LIFE:

I’ve never been particularly interested in cars.

Not in what they look like, what they cost nor, provided that they’ve got at least one seat and they get me from A to B, in how they perform.

So, when it comes to the time when I really have to buy another one, I tend put it off.

The Skoda, which has left us but which is still in the family, is 18 years old and our ‘new’ car was registered in 2013 and, with the best will in the world, it probably needs changing.

Hence, we’re at the time when, unless somebody invents Buy-Me-Any-Car.com pretty soon, I’ll have to talk to a car dealer, and that’s never much fun.

Because they’ll shine their teeth at you, ooze sincerity, try to sell you any old junk they have lying around and then financial extras by the boatload and, at the end the day, you’ll still have the feeling that they’ve picked your pocket even if you can’t quite work out how.

Anyway, got that to look forward to but, for the moment, 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:

Overnight visitor levies:

UKH has commented on modelling by Oxford Economics that suggests that the imposition of a holiday tax would shrink GDP, cause thousands of jobs losses and see the Treasury lose hundreds of millions in tax revenue. The modelling, says UKH, ‘lays bare the devastating impact a holiday tax in England would have on holidaymakers, businesses and the 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.

A ‘night out’:

Asahi reports on data collected by Time Out and Peroni Nastro Azzurro 0.0%, suggesting that ‘the meaning of a night out is shifting.’ Their research ‘suggests moderation is now part of everyday social culture, with nine in ten UK drinkers (90%) saying they actively moderate their alcohol intake in some way.’

Higher petrol prices & food delivery

In the US, DoorDash has launched ‘an emergency relief program to help ease the impact of rising prices at the pump for Dashers and keep more money in their wallets.’ It says its programme ‘includes 10% cash back on gas for U.S. Dashers using the DoorDash Crimson card and weekly relief payments for Dashers who drive 125 miles or more while dashing….’

FEVER TREE FULL YEAR:

Fever Tree reports that revenue for the year came in at £372.7m, up 4% in constant currency terms. The company had previously updated that ‘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. Adjusted EBITDA is £42.4m against £50.7m in the prior year. Earnings per share have slipped to 18.8p from 20.9p in FY24. The dividend has been raised from 16.97p to 17.31p…

Highlights:

• 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:

Domino’s Pizza franchisee Team West, which is based in Wiltshire, reports numbers to 31 March 2025 saying that revenues rose marginally to £11.38m (FY24: £11.31m). The GP% has risen to 37.1% from 35.7% and, despite a rise in admin costs, the operating loss has been reduced to £75k from £103k in the prior year. The loss before tax is £112k. This compares with a PBT of £1.23m in the prior year, which benefited from a £1.37m profit on asset disposals (FY25 – nil). The accumulated profit is £1.59m (down due to the loss in the current year) and shareholders’ funds are £1.60m (FY24: £1.8m)….

• 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.

Joe & the Juice. Denmark-based Joe & the Juice has reported delayed full year numbers to 31 December 2024 to Companies’ House saying that revenue rose by 15.3% to £88.8m. Metrics moved in the right direction and the group reports that its GP% rose from 80.5% to 81.3%. Admin expenses rose at a slower rate than sales, up 6.3% at £63.9m and net interest charges fell. The company, as a result, reports £8.12m against £1.36m profit 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.

HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL:

CoStar reports that ‘as the 2026 FIFA World Cup nears, there are concerns about the level of international inbound demand U.S. hotels will capture during the tournament….’

• 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.

Adagio Hotels has reported well-overdue numbers to end-December 2024 to Companies’ House saying that revenues rose by 4.3% to £22.4m and the GP% slipped slightly to 79.3% from, 80.8% in the prior year. Admin costs were well-controlled and the operating profit rose by 37.5% to £5.4m/ PBT was up by 89% at £3.2m. Accumulated profits as at the balance sheet date were £4.0m and shareholders funds rose to £5.1m from £2.8m at the prior year end.

• 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:

GB News, which is jointly-owned by hedge fund manager Sir Paul Marshall and Dubai-based investment firm Legatum, has reported numbers to 31 May 2025 to Companies’ House revealing that it lost £29.8m before tax in the year. Accumulated losses since incorporation in 2019 totalled £149.7m as at its last balance sheet date…

• 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.

FINANCE & MARKETS:

Markets see-sawed yesterday. Stocks fell and interest rates and the price of oil rose early in the day on the back of weekend news that President Trump was set on obliterating Iran’s oil infrastructure. All the above markets reversed their moves when Mr Trump tweeted that peace talks had taken place and then wobbled a bit when Iran said they hadn’t.

Sterling up at $1.3396 and €1.1569. Oil down around $11 at $102.78. UK 10 year gilt yield 4.94%, down around 5 basis points. World markets better yesterday but London set to open around 10 points lower as at 6.30am.

KPMG says that growth estimates for UK economic growth this year are around half the level of 2025 (0.7% vs 1.5%) following the US and Israeli attacks on Iran….

• 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.

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.