Saga, Santio, Pizza Hut, confidence, football, politics, margins & other:

A DAY IN THE LIFE:

Our house rambles around a bit and, as it used to have five kids in it with their associated clutter living in it, it’s not particularly small.

Which comes with ‘complications’.

Trying to avoid the word ‘problem’ there as, apart from it, the house that is, not the people within it, seemingly trying hard to crumble to the ground at every opportunity, it does mean that there is no pressing need to throw away junk.

Until, of course, there is.

Because the conveyor belt of items from usefulness to a spare bedroom to the cupboard by the front door to the garage does mean that the latter becomes the recipient of virtually everything over time and, as space is finite, it fills up.

And then what do you do with five mattresses, two broken microwaves, two non-functioning parasols, various other electrical devices, pieces of garden equipment and the like if you can’t fit them in your car to move them anywhere?

Well, the council will collect – up to 10 pieces of dry, clean, non-vermin infested pieces of large rubbish – for a fee but, even then, as you have to put the stuff out for 24 hours or so, it’s tough to retain your dignity when your front garden looks as though a crack den has been tipped upside down and the contents strewn across it.

Anyway, subsequent resolution, easier to say than enforce. Don’t let quite so much rubbish accumulate. Either that or hire a skip. On to the news:

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PUBS & RESTAURANTS:

Pubs & football:

The latest Oxford Partnership and Dojo Market Watch data suggests that, over the three FIFA World Cup games that England has played to date, an additional 5.5m pints have been sold across the country’s pubs. The 2-0 victory over Panama saw sales up around 20.9% on a typical June Saturday in 2025 and 13.0% above average Saturday trading this June…

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Politics, business rates:

Likely new PM Andy Burnham revealed some of his ideas for the country when the former Manchester mayor told a gathering at the People’s History Museum in Manchester that he would push ahead with establishing a new Downing Street team based in, well, Manchester. The ‘number 10 North’ will ‘oversee the biggest rebalancing of power our country has ever seen’, said Mr Burnham. He promised an overhaul of the UK’s system of business rates…

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Business confidence:

Lloyds Bank’s latest survey of business confidence in the UK suggests that confidence in the economic outlook fell although survey respondents were less downbeat about their own prospects. Lloyds says ‘while cost pressures and global uncertainty continue to weigh on business confidence, international firms are much more confident with many seeing signs of supply chain disruption easing and strengthening customer demand…’

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Cash vs percentage margins:

The financial impact of the US and Israeli attacks on Iran may be abating but, when costs change rapidly and prices have to follow, it is important to consider the difference between cash and percentage margins. For example, if prices rise for a decade at 2% per annum and costs have done likewise, then it is maybe sensible to put prices up by a similar amount. In this case, the gross margin percentage will remain unchanged. However, in the case of an economic shock such as one driven by an increase in oil prices (or labour), the situation could be more complicated…

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Other news:

Licensing solicitor Harrison Drury updates on licensing rules over the period of the World Cup saying that England’s match tomorrow ‘is covered by the government’s automatic extensions…so for qualifying premises, alcohol sales will automatically be permitted up to 01:00.’

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Employment taxes. The Resolution Foundation, which cannot be said to be agenda-free, has said that the government should not reverse employment tax increases as it would not materially boost employment.

COMPANY NEWS:

Santio Limited, which is a large, Essex-based Domino’s franchisee, has reported results to 30 Sept 2025 to Companies’ House saying that that revenue for the year rose by 1.4% to £308.4m. The GP% slipped to 10.2% from 10.5% and GP in absolute terms was down by 0.8% at £31.6m. Admin expenses rose by a fractional 0.1% and PBT was down to £124k from £464k in the prior year…

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Pizza Hut UK has reopened its flagship Marble Arch restaurant after a major refurbishment scheme. The company has launched a social media campaign to stimulate demand and says that the first 100 people to post about the site will receive a £19.73 voucher, 1973 being the year in which Pizza Hut first opened in the UK.

SAGA

Saga reports that it ‘traded in line with expectations for the first four months of the year and remains on track to deliver its full year guidance.’ It says that ‘travel continues to trade strongly, with Cruise performing ahead of expectations and a resilient customer base underpinning bookings in Holidays.’ Saga notes that ‘Ocean Cruise had a strong start to the year, with revenue for the first half expected to be ahead of the prior year, driven by 13% growth in booked per diems and a booked load factor of 93%.’

It says ‘River Cruise also started the year well, with revenue for the first half of the year again expected to grow when compared with the prior year. Booked per diems are 4% higher than the prior year and the booked load factor is in line year-on-year, at 93%.’ Overall, ‘holidays revenue and passenger numbers for the first half of the year are both expected to be ahead of the prior year.’ The company says…

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HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL:

Cruise demand. The Cruise Lines International Association reports that a record 2.54m passengers from the UK and Ireland took a cruise last year with demand set to increase further in the current trading period.

OTHER LEISURE:

The Guardian reports that ‘all-night slot machine shops and casinos could face a £460m tax rise if Andy Burnham acts on his concerns about the gambling industry as prime minister, after an influential thinktank found the policy would have public support….’

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Comcast, owner of Sky in the UK, is to split its company with Sky set to become a part of NBC Universal.

Former Tory MP Craig Williams has pleaded guilty to gambling offences when he knew the date of the 2024 General Election. Mr Williams was PPS to then=PM Rishi Sunak between October 2022 and June 2024.

Google has said that it is ‘disappointing’ that its YouTube subsidiary has been included in the government’s planned ban on social media for under-16s.

FINANCE & MARKETS:

The Bank of England reports that the level of mortgage approvals in the UK fell to 56,205 in May from 66,034 in April. This is the lowest number of approvals since December 2023.

Sterling up slightly at $1.3232 and €1.1610. Oil little-changed at $72.26. UK 10 year gilt yield down 1 basis point at 4.73%. World markets lower yesterday but mixed into Tuesday and London set to open around 14 points higher as at 6.30am.

RETAIL WITH NICK BUBB:

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