Saga, Bow Street, Stonegate, BOWL, RNK, incomes & other:

A DAY IN THE LIFE:

Developing yesterday’s comments on British birds, I think that whoever does PR for Red Kites, deserves at least a quick shout out.

Because the birds do look, and as far as I know they are treated, as magnificent birds.

Majestic creatures soaring above us eating, well, when I looked it up, that’s the problem, eating virtually nothing but carrion.

Rotten, squashed or not and that’s pretty much roadkill to you and me. Which certainly explains why there are populations of the creatures alongside motorways and wildlife-heavy A-roads and the like, particularly our neck of the woods.

And contrast the rep that Red Kites have with that of Buzzards which, I must say, with their vulture-like screeching, do conjure up images of death in the desert, but which at least have the gumption to kills something – albeit something small, preferably injured – for themselves sometimes.

Anyway, just saying. On to the news:

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PUBS & RESTAURANTS:

Disposable incomes:

The RAC reports that the price of petrol and diesel has stopped rising after having done so for 43 days on the trot, It says that the recent drop in the crude price, and this may be overtaken by events by the time this email goes out, which reflects continued ceasefire hopes, has fed through to prices…

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Other news:

The Society of Independent Brewers and Associates suggests that, if pubs ignore independent local beer in favour of big brands, they could see their customers move elsewhere. Some 89% of 18-24 year olds say it’s important to have a range of beers from small breweries alongside global brands.

The cocoa price has risen once again with bean prices up by 23 per cent in March. This effectively reverses the recent easing in the price after earlier rises. Easter egg prices were reported to be up around 9% this year on last.

COMPANY NEWS:

Stonegate Group, which is the largest pub owning company in the United Kingdom, with 4,259 operating sites at the period-end (2024: 4,370), has reported results for the 52 weeks to 28 September 2025 to Companies’ House. The group reports that revenue slipped by 7.3% to £1.619bn (FY24: £1.747bn). Adjusted EBITDA was down by 5.5% at £443m…

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BOW STREET – FULL YEAR NUMBERS:

BOW reports revenue down by 14.5% at £31.3m. Adjusted EBITDA is £2.1m against £3.6m in the prior year and the group reports an adjusted loss for the year of £1.7m against a loss of £0.9m in FY24. The number of restaurants is down to 32 at the year end, compared to 36 at the prior year end. EPS is negative 0.20p on an adjusted basis (FY24: loss 0.50p) and there is no dividend (FY24: nil). BOW announces an impairment charge of £7.3m (2024: £1.9m) following a review across the Group’s right-of-use-assets and property, plant and equipment. It reports that it had net cash balances at year end (excluding property lease liabilities) of £11.1m (2024: £3.3m).

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SAGA – FULL YEAR NUMBERS:

Saga reports Underlying Profit Before Tax up to £44.2m, up 19% from £37.2m in the previous year, ‘despite expected higher finance costs’. It says that Underlying Revenue increased 11% to £654.6m, with growth across both Travel and Insurance, resulting in a 16% increase in Trading EBITDA. The company adds that ‘Net Debt reduced significantly, falling by 16% to £499.5m. Leverage Ratio also improved, from 4.4×7 to 3.7x.’ The company adds that ‘profit and cash flow generation outperformed our expectations, reinforcing the progress we are making towards our Underlying Profit Before Tax target of at least £100.0m by January 2030, and the corresponding reduction in Leverage Ratio5 to below 2.0x over the same period.’

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HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL:

The FT reports that US hotels are cutting summer room rates after 2026 World Cup demand fell short of projections, causing a ‘softening’ in bookings. There are reports of cancellations of bookings of previously held hotel room blocks by FIFA….

Dublin-based aparthotel operator Staycity Group has signed a 20-year lease on a property at the Brooks on East development in Berlin’s Friedrichshain. The company reports that the development, which is set on the bank of the river Spree with views over Berlin, is ‘hailed to become a cosmopolitan hub for modern city living…’

OTHER LEISURE:

The Rank Group has reported Q3 numbers saying that Net Gaming Revenue for the third quarter grew 5% to £205.4m year-on-year, with year-to-date NGR up 6% on prior year. On a channel basis, digital NGR for Q3 was up 4% and venues LFL NGR was up 6%. The company says ‘as a result of the strong profit conversion from the revenue growth in Q3, the Group now expects full year underlying LFL operating profit to be at least £68m….’

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Hollywood Bowl updates on H1 trading saying that it has seen ‘strong revenue growth to £141.5m, up 9.5% compared to H1 FY2025’ with UK total revenue up 9.4% on H1 FY2025, to £118.4m and Canada revenue up 12.8% on a constant currency basis, to CAD 42.9m (£23.2m). The group reports Like-for-like revenue growth of +1.9%…

BetMGM, which is owned by MGM Resorts and Entain, has updated on Q1 results saying that ‘Q1 performance reflects continued successful execution of refined player management strategy, delivering robust iGaming growth alongside softer Online Sports growth including player friendly sports results.’ It says that Net Revenue was $696 million, up 6% YoY. It adds that adjusted EBITDA was $25 million, up 11% YoY…

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Amazon is set to spend some $11.57bn on the acquisition of satellite company Globalstar in what is seen by some analysts as a challenge to Elon Musk’s Starlink.

FINANCE & MARKETS:

The IMF reports that the global economy is at risk of recession if high energy prices persist. Its estimate at the moment, on a reasonable worst-case scenario, is that global growth could fall below 2% in 2026.

The IMF reports that the economic upset caused by higher oil prices will see the UK the hardest-hit of major developed economies. It has cut its estimate for UK growth this year to 0.8%, from the 1.3% estimate live since January.

Sterling up at $1.3567 and €1.1511. Oil down at $95.59. UK 10 year gilt yield down 7 basis points at 4.80%. World markets mostly better yesterday but London set to open broadly unchanged as at 6.30am.

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