The World Cup, tube strikes, trading & the weather, holidays & other:

A DAY IN THE LIFE:

I’m no expert on trees.

But I can be pretty sure that a tree bearing cherries and that’s surrounded by fallen cherries and bickering blackbirds is a cherry tree.

And, in a world where, I’m told, cherry trees are monoecious, and there’s a word I’ll never use again and the tree therefore only has to be survived by one younger plant in order to reproduce itself, why does each tree have probably a thousand or more cherries every year for as many as 40 years?

I don’t see the blackbirds complaining.

But surely that’s overkill, particularly in a world where every other cherry stone gets trodden into the mud and sprouts?

Indeed, the biggest impediment to survival that I can see – apart from my lawn mower – is the shade the mature tree casts itself. So, maybe the tree should do its offspring a favour but, as a man of a certain age, I wouldn’t like to take that train of thought too far.

Anyway, another full week ahead of us with, lest we forget, the World Cup commencing on Thursday so, without wasting any more time, let’s move on to the news:

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PUBS & RESTAURANTS:

Trading:

NIQ’s Daily Drinks Tracker has updated on trading for the two weeks to 23 May and 30 May saying that drink sales rose by 1.2% and 11.5% in the two weeks respectively. It says that ‘sunny weather, a Bank Holiday weekend and big football matches all helped to lift the On-Premise to modest growth in drinks sales in the second half of May.’ NIQ reports that ‘the second week’s growth marks a very encouraging end to the month for the On-Premise after a disappointing first half of May, when grey weather kept sales well behind the levels of 2025….’

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The World Cup:

With the first two matches set to be played on Thursday, global bank HSBC comments on the potential impact for UK pubs saying that ‘pubs and bars are expected to generate material extra revenue compared to a standard non-tournament summer…’

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Zonal and NIQ reports that some 34% of consumers planning to watch the men’s football World Cup will do so from a local pub, bar or hospitality venue. It says that 9.3m British consumers will watch at least one game in hospitality venues over the summer as a whole…

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And the FT also points to the potentially beneficial impact of the World Cup, saying that ‘for publicans, the World Cup is still foremost a volume game…’

Tube Strikes:

Sector analyst Tenzo has reported that hospitality venues saw sales fall by around 13% on Thursday on the back of the latest London Tube strike by members of the RMT union. The Standard says that this makes it the most damaging strike day of the year so far when hospitality sales were reported to be down by around 13%…

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Business rates:

Whilst ‘nice pubs tax’ had a bit of a ring to it, there is no basis to the suggestion that particularly attractive pubs are being targeted, reports that government. It has confirmed that no new policy has been introduced and there is no fresh revaluation taking place this year.

In the USA:

Restaurant Business Online reports that Q2 trading comments to date suggest an unclear picture for restaurant sales in the USA.

The US economy created 172,000 jobs in May, reports The Bureau of Labor Statistics, with much of the growth coming as pubs, bars and restaurants upped their hiring ahead of the World Cup.

Other news:

The BBC carries comments from a number of hospitality operators suggesting that they are currently at a ‘breaking point’.

COMPANY NEWS:

Sky News reports that Terra Firma, founded by Guy Hands, is ‘plotting a £300m bid for hundreds of pubs owned by Britain’s biggest operator.’ It says that a bid for parts of Stonegate Group’s Platinum estate could come as early as this week.

The Evening Standard reports that plans have been submitted for a new McDonald’s restaurant to Havering Council that would involve the conversion of a former Poundland site into a 125-seat restaurant.

Domino’s is reported to have officially opened the doors of what will be its fifth supply chain centre with an operation in Avonmouth near Bristol

Brown-Forman, which is an April year-end, has reported full year figures ahead of Wall Street estimates but has gone on to caution that consumers may be becoming more cautious when it comes to spending behaviour….

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HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL:

The BBC reports that consumers’ reluctance to book holidays in the Middle East or, to a lesser extent, in the Eastern Mediterranean, has been partly behind a rise in bookings to Spain.

The International Air Transport Association reports that airlines will likely carry more passengers this year but profits could be down on last year by around 50%. It goes on to say that airlines will spend an extra $100bn on jet fuel this year compared to last. This is likely to lead to both higher fares and lower profits.

The EU has said that it currently sees no jet fuel shortages impacting the market. Prices, however, have risen…

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BA CEO Sean Doyle has criticised the current tax environment saying that proposed bed-taxes in certain areas could put off foreign holidaymakers from coming to the UK…

CoStar reports that US ‘hotel demand overcame a soft Memorial Day weekend as post-holiday travel drove the largest year-over-year increase in room demand of the month in the week of May 24-30.’

The Tempus, which is a part of The Doxford Group, has won Gold in the Small Hotel of the Year category at the Visit England Awards for Excellence 2026.

OTHER LEISURE:

Evoke PLC shares rose by 6p or 15% to 46p on the back of the announcement of an agreed approach to purchase the company by gaming company Bally’s of the USA at 52p.

Audioboom Group has announced that it has received three ‘non-binding indicative proposals to make a cash offer for the Company’. It says, however, that the offers ‘undervalue the Company and its prospects, given the accelerating performance of the Company during the current financial year,,,;

Podcast company Goalhanger, which reported sales of £37.9m in 2025, has been named by The Sunday Times as one of the 100 fastest-growing private companies.

City AM reports that Daniel Levy has sold the majority of his shares in the parent company of Tottenham Hotspur to Eight Sports Capital. The latter will buy a 24.99% stake in Spurs’ majority shareholder, ENIC Sports and Developments Holdings Limited.

FINANCE & MARKETS:

The Halifax Building Society has reported that UK house prices fell in May, albeit only by a marginal 0.1%. It says that ‘property price trends continue to reflect the uncertainty linked to developments in the Middle East.’

Sterling mixed at $1.3338 and €1.1570. Oil around $2 higher over the weekend at $97.32. UK 10 year gilt yield unchanged at 4.91%. World markets weaker on Friday and into Monday & London set to open around 62 points lower as at 6.30am.

RETAIL WITH NICK BUBB:

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