Trading, tube strikes, cider & stout, costs, Pizza Hut, Time Out & other:

A DAY IN THE LIFE:

Well, the weather has broken, we’re into June now and, as I’ve been known to say that May is my favourite month, I have a problem in that I suppose I should expect every other month to be worse.

But, fortunately, a bit of flexibility can be employed here.

Meaning that, though I have to concede that May can be a beautiful time of year with the promise of youth and great things to come, June can work for me and July through to next April may not be too bad either.

So, with that potential problem sorted, 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:

Trading:

The Oxford Partnership comments on trading over the last weekend saying that ‘a combination of warm weather and a packed schedule of major sporting events helped drive a strong uplift in UK hospitality trading, with pubs benefiting from increased footfall, longer dwell times and higher drinks sales…’

• 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.

Tube strikes to go ahead:

Tube strikes will go ahead today and into tomorrow after talks failed to find an alternative solution…

• 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.

Cider market:

A study by the National Association of Cidermakers has suggested that the UK remains both the world’s biggest producer and the biggest consumer of cider as an alcoholic drink…

• 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.

Stout:

Elsewhere in the drinks market, the FT reports that rival stout producers are trying ‘to persuade British drinkers to look beyond Guinness.’ It says that demand, particularly among young people, continues to rise and adds that ‘rival stout brands are pushing to gain a share of the rapid growth of Guinness as the UK’s appetite for the alcoholic drink continues to rise…’

Staff turnover:

Dojo reports that only around 25% of new staff being recruited by hospitality companies stay with the company for longer than 90 days…

Costs:

Dojo also reports that training costs in hospitality have risen by 70% over the last 10 years. It says that this is ‘adding increasing pressure to already tight margins’ and says this, when combined with the high staff attrition rate referenced above, ‘creates additional pressure for hospitality businesses, which often invest heavily in training employees who leave before that investment can deliver long-term value….’

Other news:

The Daily Mail reports that music venues are urging the government to ‘adopt a new rates system involving a 2pc levy on online sales and a 37pc cut for bricks-and-mortar firms….’

Fuel prices: The CMA has found no evidence that fuel retailers had changed their behaviour re pricing to gouge customers in the wake of the American and Israeli attacks on Iran and the resulting jump in oil prices…

• 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:

YUM is reportedly in exclusive discussions with PE house Long Range Capital to sell its Pizza Hut brand…

• 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.

Time Out Group plc has announced that RBA has acquired Time Out’s media operations in Spain, including Time Out Barcelona and Time Out Madrid, under a long-term franchise partnership. Time Out’s market operations in Spain are unaffected…

• 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.

Butcombe, which owns and operates a number of pubs and inns across the south of England, has updated on its financial year to the end of January 2026 saying that Underlying Group EBITDA was £15m, up 9.1% versus last year. It adds that managed pub EBITDA was up 23%, with LFL sales up 8%…

• 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.

New Demipower, which is the UK’s second-largest KFC franchisee in the UK, has reported numbers to 31 October 2025 to Companies House. The company reports that revenue rose by 5.5% to £234.9m. In addition, the GP% rose to 72.8% from 70.4% in the prior year. Admin expenses rose more slowly than revenues and, with all of the metrics pointing in the right direction, operating profits virtually quadrupled to £12.5m from £3.3m in the prior year. Interest charges fell to a net £4.7m (FY24: £5.8m) and the group reports PBT of £7.7m against a loss of £2.5m in FY24.

• 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.

Laurent-Perrier has sales for the year to end-March 2026 were up by 3.2% at €303.8m. The group says that, despite a weaker champagne market in total, its champagne sales were up by 4.2%.

HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL:

EasyJet shares yesterday rose by 40p or around 10% on news that Castlelake is ‘in the early stages of considering a possible offer for easyJet.’ The company said it has ‘not had any discussions with, nor received any approach or proposal from Castlelake’ and says that it will aim to ‘maximise shareholder value and will consider any proposal, should one be made.’

TTG reports that TUI is pointing to the recent hot weather as a positive that has given Brits a ‘taste for more’ over the summer. It reports that sales for June are up by 20% year-on-year.

The government has proposed the creation of a blacklist for disruptive passengers that could effectively ban them from flights across the country.

In the US, CoStar and Tourism Economics have ‘made significant adjustments to the 2026-27 U.S. hotel forecast’ saying that the market is looking more positive than they had earlier envisaged…

• 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:

Billionaire Barry Diller is mounting an $18bn bid for MGM Resorts, the gaming group that operates Las Vegas casinos including The Bellagio, Aria and Mandalay Bay, reports The FT.

FINANCE & MARKETS:

S&P has released its PMI reading for the UK’s manufacturing sector saying that ‘May saw the upturn in the UK manufacturing sector gather pace, with the rate of expansion in production volumes hitting a three-month high….’

• 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.

The Nationwide has reported that house prices in the UK fell in May by 0.6%. It says ‘given the uncertainty caused by developments in the Middle East and the subsequent rise in energy prices and market interest rates, some loss of momentum was to be expected.’

Sterling up slightly at $1.3464 and €1.1571. Oil up around $1 at $94.16. UK 10 year gilt yield up 9 basis points at 4.90%. World markets mixed yesterday & London set to open around 35 points higher 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.