Incomes, football,, Stonegate, PFD, BrewDog, Uber Eats & other:

A DAY IN THE LIFE:

I have tech problems periodically and I’ve refined my technique.

Which is a) wait a while. Things often resolve themselves – or somebody, somewhere, resolves the problem for you but, if that doesn’t work, I go to plan b).

This involves turning the thing, usually electrical but this applies also to the plumbing, off and then on again.

But if this doesn’t work, one has to go back to a) or, and this is in extreme cases, either throw the non-functioning article at the wall or try to live without it.

Anyway, the football, eh, World Cup, what World Cup?

After a late night, things seem to be moving a little more slowly than usual. But there’s always a morning after and it’s time to move on to the news:

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PUBS & RESTAURANTS:

Disposable incomes:

Rightmove reports that the average advertised private domestic rent in the UK has hit a record £1,397 per month. It says that the Q2 figure was up 1.9% on the previous quarter and up 2.3% on the same period last year….

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World Cup:

Last night will have been busy but, though there’s a ‘bronze’ match on Saturday, England’s World Cup run is effectively over after last night’s loss to Argentina. Figures on sales have yet to come in but Asahi UK says ‘we have seen a 22.6% increase in beer sales during week 4, w/e 27 June 2026 in the off-trade, and 15% in the on-trade during the same period. The company reports that ‘beer has overtaken wine, growing +9% (vs year ago) for the first time since the tournament began. The company’s UK MD, Robert Hobart, says ‘we’re not surprised by this as each tournament sees customers more likely to opt for beer when celebrating a social event, as a direct result of brand and retailer presence….’

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Other news:

The UK’s trade deal with India has now come into force in a move that will see India remove or reduce tariffs on around 90% of UK products. The UK will allow duty-free access to 99% of Indian exports. From yesterday, the Indian duty on Scotch will be halved from 150% to 75% with a further drop to 40% to come after 10 years…

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COMPANY NEWS:

Stonegate. The Pubs Code Adjudicator has launched an investigation into Stonegate and its relationship with its pub tenants. PCA adjudicator Fiona Dickie says that the company may have failed to comply with its obligations to ‘provide accurate and transparent information to both its existing and prospective tied pub tenants…’

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BrewDog. Former director James Watt is reported to have launched a bid to buy back BrewDog from current owner Tilray Brands. He writes on Linked In ‘we have formally submitted our offer to buy BrewDog’ and adds that the offer was made by his company, Second Best, and sent to Tilray Brands….

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JD Wetherspoon is set to open its new pub in Heathrow Airport, on Tuesday, 21 July, 2026, with the creation of 100 new jobs. The company reports that it has spent £3.5million developing the pub in Heathrow Airport Terminal 2 (airside, after security).’ It notes that this ‘will be Wetherspoon’s 10th airport pub in UK and Spain, with further openings at Manchester Airport (September 2026) and Barcelona Airport (two separate pubs – due to open November 2026 and January 2027).’

Uber has announced it is to purchase Delivery Hero at a cash consideration of €41.50 per share ‘offered to all Delivery Hero shareholders, representing an Equity Value of $14.8 billion, or $13.7 billion adjusted for Uber’s prior stake.’ Uber adds that the ‘transaction is expected to be accretive to Non-GAAP EPS upon close.’ Uber reports that ‘Delivery Hero has separately agreed to sell part of its business covering 14 markets to SSW Partners…’

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Okell’s, the pubs and drinks division of Heron & Brearley ‘has strengthened its senior leadership team with a series of key appointments as it accelerates the delivery of its long-term growth strategy.’ Okell’s says that ‘Andy McCulloch joined Okell’s from Marston’s to lead the transition of 22 Isle of Man pubs to the company’s new Managed Operator model.’ It adds that ‘joining from Oakman Group and Upham Inns, Rohan Aldcroft has been appointed to lead Okell’s Heritage division’ and ‘Frank Maguire has joined the business from Heineken and Big Penny Social to lead Okell’s commercial and brewing operations….’

Vagabond. Self-pour wine bar & restaurant Vagabond is reported set to open a unit in Nashville USA’s Gulch neighbourhood early next year….

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PREMIER FOODS:

Premier Foods reports ‘continued strong branded revenue growth’ and it says it is ‘on track to deliver full year expectations.’ The company says that group branded revenue was up 4.0%, with total revenue up 2.7%. Excluding exports ,it adds that UK branded revenue was up 3.8% led by a strong Sweet Treats performance. International sales were up 6% ‘with encouraging progress in North America and Europe’ and it has made  ‘further market share gains in both Grocery and Sweet Treats.’ The company reports that new categories revenue was up 16%; ‘reflecting particularly good growth from Cape Herb & Spice’. The acquired brands are ‘all continuing to achieve double-digit percentage revenue growth.’

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HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL:

TTG reports Anna Nash, Global President of Explora Journeys, as saying that she has noted holidaymakers booking late for cruise holidays with some waiting until as late as just a month before departure….

HVS has updated on its view of the Serviced Apartment Sector in Europe saying that the accommodation type, which has ‘become an increasingly prominent part of Europe’s accommodation landscape, is set for further growth…

Supercity Aparthotels has opened its latest property on Micklegate in York. The unit is its ninth and features 46 suites, including a mix of Studio, One-Bedroom and Two-Bedroom configurations. The company adds that ‘each suite is designed to support flexible living, complete with fully equipped kitchens, dedicated living and dining areas.’

Aquis-listed Hydro Hotel Eastbourne has reported H1 results for the six months to 30 April 2026 saying that turnover rose by 2.4% to £2.183m.

Hyatt Hotels is to locate a unit in the refurbished arts and entertainment venue Olympia. Hyatt says ‘Olympia always has been important for London, but what we have today, really, it is a new destination.’

Legacy Leisure Group has had its plans for new facilities at an East Yorkshire holiday park at Skirlington approved.

OTHER LEISURE:

AI. Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has cautioned that international cooperation will be necessary in order to tackle AI threats. US president, Donald Trump, recently banned non-US users from accessing Anthropic’s powerful Claude Mythos model.

Culture secretary Lisa Nandy has suggested that Netflix and Disney+ subscribers could be told to pay licence fee. She says ‘we could add a charge to people’s streaming subscriptions, which would be paid by the consumer. We could have a staggered approach, which has been suggested to us, where someone might pay a small additional amount if they had a streaming service.’

FINANCE & MARKETS:

Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who looks set to shortly lose her job, has told the annual Mansion House dinner in the City of London that the UK’s relationship with the EU is more important than any other alliance….

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The OECD has said that the triple lock in the UK will ultimately need to be dropped in order to ‘reduce fiscal risks’.

Former Bank of England MPC member Jonathan Haskel has said that he is less optimistic about the outlook for ‌the UK economy. He says ‘my forecast would be in the medium term of somewhat higher interest rates and weaker GDP growth than most are expecting.’

British Steel has been taken into public ownership to ‘protect UK steelmaking’.

Sterling up at $1.3531 and €1.1800. Oil down around a dollar at $84.55. UK 10 year gilt yield down 4 basis points at 4.94%. World markets mostly lower yesterday and London set to open down around 31 points as at 6.30am.

UNDEMOCRATIC DEMOCRACY:

Whilst distracted by the football, we took a moment to consider a few points re financial policy and politics that overlap to produce, arguably, a sub-optimal outcome.

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RETAIL WITH NICK BUBB:

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