DP Poland, JW Lees, BrewDog, coffee shops, holidays, W Cup & other:

A DAY IN THE LIFE:

One of our kids is off to work in North America for a little while and she asked me what she should take.

I felt inclined to say that, in the past at least, Europeans had done pretty well by taking plenty of shiny beads and communicable diseases but, as that would have been inappropriate and I have form in that regard, I managed to keep my mouth shut.

And so she restricted herself to chocolate, a few good books and a sense of humour, all of which she’d been told, probably by me and no doubt incorrectly, she’d struggle to find across the pond.

But enough of that.

England saved their best performance of the World Cup for a match that I struggle to see matters. Still, we’ll take what we can get and let’s move on to the news: 

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PUBS & RESTAURANTS:

Wet sales:

NIQ’s Daily Drinks Tracker has updated for drink sales in the on-trade for the weeks to 4 July and 11 July. It reports that, in the first of the two weeks, which included the England / DR Congo match, drink sales were down by 0.3% in nominal terms or considerably more, once the impact of inflation is taken into account. In the second of the two weeks, which included both the Mexico and Norway matches, as well as a period of warmer weather, drink sales in the on-trade rose by 10.2%…

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Property market:

Christie & Co has updated on its view of the UK property market for pub & restaurant premises saying that resilient buyer demand has driven strong transactional momentum so far this year….

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Other news:

Coffee demand: The FT reports Lavazza as saying that coffee drinkers are buying ‘less but better’ as prices rise. It says this is ‘fuelling demand for whole beans and bean-to-cup machines’. Lavazza chair Giuseppe Lavazza says ‘people are looking for beans and they enjoy maybe to replicate at home the experience of the coffee shop.’

Restaurant pricing in the US. A Drinks Business Podcast has been told that wine pricing in the US has perhaps reached a natural limit with operators reported to be keen to push pricing beyond 4x cost, which implies that they ‘recoup the full cost of a bottle on the first glass poured’, to as much as a 6x cost retail price.

Pizza Delivery: The FT reports that ‘big pizza chains are struggling as delivery apps level the playing field with other restaurants, giving independent pizzerias and other cuisines access to a market once dominated by corporate pizza’s armies of drivers….’

COMPANY NEWS:

DP Poland has this morning announced that, ‘after four years with the Company, Nils Gornall has decided to step down as Chief Executive Officer and as a director of the Company, with effect from 3 August 2026.’ It adds that ‘Nils will remain in post until that date to ensure an orderly handover and will continue to support Łukasz [of Łukasz Ostrowski, incoming Chief Executive Officer] through a transition period thereafter…’

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JW Lees: Manchester brewer & pub company JW Lees has updated on trading saying that results for the year to 31st March 2026 show that it ‘delivered a record financial performance, achieving record sales of £105.6 million and a record profit before tax of £8.8m.’ The company, which operates 138 pubs, reports that revenue rose by 5.7% to £105.6m with EBITDA of £12.3m (2025: £10.8m) up 13.9%….’

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BrewDog: The Guardian reports that a number of recipients of unsolicited emails from James Watt, have complained to the data privacy watchdog, asking how and why the former BrewDog director who took tens of millions of pounds out of the company has their contact details….

Meanwhile BrewDog reports that it is seeking to keep the World Cup party going as it will offer two free pints per person from its ‘£1m bar tab’ from today via its ‘Treats’ loyalty platform. The promotion will run to 30 September or until the bar tab runs out, whichever comes the soonest.

Oxfordshire coffee shop chain Boswell’s Coffee Company has reported full year results to 26 Oct 2025 to Companies’ House saying that revenue rose by 8% to £15.9m. The GP% was broadly steady at 14.8% (FY24: 14.9%) and operating profit rose by two thirds to £646k (FY24: £397k). The company has interest and financial income received and PBT was up by 35% at £786k vs £583k in the prior year…

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Shropshire-based Starbucks franchisee Café Fortune has reported  results for the year to 30 September 2025 to Companies’ House saying that revenues rose by 18.3% to £21.1m. The GP% slipped to 42.0% from 42.5% but gross profit in absolute terms rose to £8.9m from £7.6m in the prior year. Admin costs rose by 28%, considerably faster than revenues, and operating profits were down by 28% at £1.1m. Interest costs rose a little and PBT fell by 38% to £779k….

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Turtle Bay Hospitality Limited has secured approval from creditors to move ahead with the Company Voluntary Arrangement that will see the company reduce property payments on some 15 sites. Four sites have ceased trading and the related staff have been made redundant….

IRO Sushi has reported LFL sales up by 20% in H1 this year. The company says that its sales growth has been supported by additional investment.

A federal court in the US has thrown out a complaint brought by a shareholder who suggested that the company’s former CEO, Laxman Narasimhan. did not intentionally deceive investors when he commented on trading on an earnings call in January 2024.

HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL:

A report from EY-Parthenon shows that profit warnings from travel and leisure firms are now at their highest level for nearly four years, partly due to the impact of the Iran war…

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The BBC reports that the EU’s new border system has nearly tripled the time it’s taking for Brits to get through passport control. That is ‘even after improvements have been made’ warns the boss at Rome’s main airport.

Moody’s reports that Uber Technologies purchase of Germany-based Delivery Hero, which will be funded with existing cash and new debt, ‘increases financial leverage and introduces integration and execution risks, but expands scale and geographic reach, particularly in the Middle East and Asia.’ It says that ‘Uber’s ratings are not affected by the acquisition.’

OTHER LEISURE:

Insolvency Insider reports that Game Retail Limited, the former operator of one of the UK’s largest video game chains, entered administration after the shift from physical games to digital downloads, weaker trading and the withdrawal of secured creditor support left the business no longer viable.

FINANCE & MARKETS:

The International Monetary Fund has suggested that the Bank of England should not cut interest rates for as long as risks from the Iran war continue. The Bank of England will next update on UK interest rates a week on Thursday (30 July).

No word yet from Count Binface’s opponent in Clacton as to whether he is willing to match the Count’s pledge to donate all outside earnings to local Clacton charities.

Sterling mixed at $1.3466 and €1.1768. Oil up around $5 over the weekend at $90.34. UK 10 year gilt yield up 5 basis points – and over 5% again – at 5.01%. World markets mixed and London set to open down around 33 points as at 6.30am.

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