TUI (H1), Evoke (H1), Cava (Q2), food security, contract catering & other:

A DAY IN THE LIFE:

I’ve decided that the world splits into two groups of people, those who order food in a pub or restaurant and those who say ‘I’ll just have a little bit of yours’.

Which, of course, is intensely irritating.

And, though I’m a Yorkshireman, I like to think of myself as a very generous soul, at least by Yorkshire standards but, when I want fish and chips, I don’t want to have to order one and a quarter or one and a half meals just to have the bits that I want.

Not that I think the pendulum should be allowed to swing too far the other way.

You could enact a policy, for example, that you’ll only have tapas meals with people who are either on a diet or not hungry. Or you’ll only eat with people who can’t reach the table or who arrive for the meal fifteen minutes after it’s started etc, but that might be a step too far.

Anyway, enough of that. It’s getting hot again so let’s move on to the news:

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PUBS & RESTAURANTS:

Food security:

The weather is impacting food production. This isn’t in a good way and, though it isn’t perhaps a surprise, The Telegraph quotes analysts as suggesting that the country is facing its worst food security crisis in decades. To say the least, this is more likely to increase prices to the consumer, than it is to reduce them and that, in its turn, could have a depressing influence on the consumption of non-essential goods & services…

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Contract catering:

NIQ has produced its Contract Catering Tracker for Q2 saying that ‘Britain’s top contract caterers increased their sales by 9.3% in the second quarter of 2026.’ It adds that its tracker has now ‘reported year-on-year growth in every quarter for five years. The second-quarter figure extends a very strong 2026 for the contract catering sector, after a 10.5% increase in the first three months of the year….’

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Other news:

City AM reports that costs to business have increased by around 70% over the last decade. Since cumulative inflation over the period has been around 41.4%, this suggests that inflation has mitigated most of the increase but, even if cost efficiencies have helped a little, margins must have been under downward pressure….

Google restaurant ordering. Having dropped Order with Google in 2024, the search engine, whose parent, Alphabet, owns YouTube, Fitbit, Android and many other companies, Google is moving back into direct ordering from its website.

Cost of living (consumer demand): PM Andy Burnham has told the BBC that his government hasn’t yet gone far enough to tackle the cost of living crisis. He told the BBC’s Wake up to Money he will deliver an ‘accumulation of smaller things’ that ‘combine to take the pressure down’ on household budgets….

COMPANY NEWS:

US restaurant chain Cava yesterday reported Q2 numbers saying that revenues rose by 31.3% to $365.4m including LFL growth of 9.0% at existing restaurants (where footfall rose by 5.3%). The company adds that it opened a net 17 new restaurants in the quarter….

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In the US, axe throwing experiential bar chain Dueling Axes, which is based in Ohio and has five units, has closed abruptly.

Just Eat Takeaway.com yesterday announced that it had launched AI Voice Assistant across Europe. It says that ‘customers typically browse around three restaurants before placing an order, spending millions of hours every year choosing dinner.’ It believes that AI will speed up decision making and it says the service follows ‘successful launches in the UK and Germany earlier this year.’

The MA reports that JD Wetherspoon is set to open 12 pubs in the coming months, including a new site at Barcelona Airport. The aim is to open the sites before Christmas.

Greene King has said that it is reviewing around 65 pubs with a view to disposal. The units could be sold either as a job lot, in small packages, or individually.

Spirits company Suntory Holdings has reported H1 numbers saying that its alcohol sales (it also owns Lucozade, Ribena, Schweppes and other non-alcoholic drinks brands) for the first six months of the year rose by 0.2% to ¥653.6bn (£3.4bn). Operating income for the group, which owns brands including Jim Beam and Laphroaig, fell by 24.6% to ¥53.9bn.

Treasury Wine Estates will take a US$394 million post-tax charge as it accelerates the overhaul of its troubled American operations. Despite the latest writedown, the Australian wine group expects full-year earnings to exceed its previous guidance, sending its shares to their highest level in more than six months.

Australian drinks company Treasury Wine Estates is reported set to take a US$394 million post-tax charge against its US businesses.

Vagabond is to open a unit in Brighton in what will be the operator’s first location outside of London for five years.

Whitbread is set to close its remaining branded restaurants in September. The company’s 89 Brewers Fayre units will shut on 7 September and Beefeater will permanently close its 106 restaurants on 10 September. The Premier-Inn-owner’s smaller chains, Table Table, Bar + Block and Cookhouse + Pub, will close on 3 September.

TUI AG – Q3 RESULTS:

TUI reports that it ‘delivered a resilient Q3 performance against a record prior year with underlying EBIT of €234.6m (at constant currency), including the impact of geopolitical headwinds and one-offs.’ This was ‘supported by the strength of our underlying business and the continued delivery of our strategic transformation.’ The group reports Q3 underlying EBIT of €233.8m (-€86.8m YoY) or €234.6m (-€86.1m YoY) at constant currency. It says that its ‘results reflected heightened geopolitical uncertainty, which influenced customer booking behaviour, as well as a €20m one-off impact from the Iran war.’ The company reaffirms FY guidance for EBIT in the range of €1.1bn to €1.4bn. it had earlier pointed to its ‘transformation’ of its Markets & Airline divisions and strong cruise demand. Net debt was €2.3bn at 30 June 2026. The €0.4bn increase was ‘primarily driven by a working capital
impact. This included lower customer deposits due to customers booking closer to departure.’

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HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL:

Commenting on delays at airports in Europe caused by the introduction of the EES. the FT reports that ‘peak waiting times at two major European airports have doubled this summer compared with a year ago.’ It says that ‘the maximum queue time in Frankfurt reached 120 minutes in July during the summer travel rush, up from 60 minutes a year prior.’

Five Travelodge hotels located in Wales, the midlands and Barnsley, have been sold for a to a number of different buyers for £8.99m in total. Travelodge will remain as the tenant with selling agent Allsop saying that ‘investor appetite for Travelodge-backed investments remains strong, driven by the combination of long term, inflation-linked income, attractive yields and the quality of the underlying real estate.’

YouGov has ranked US hotel chains in order of customer popularity with Marriott coming tome with 45.3% of Americans likely to book a Marriott hotel in the next year. Hilton comes in second at 44.9%. Another Marriott brand, Courtyard by Marriott, is in third place at 37.8% and Intercontinental Hotels-owned Holiday Inn Express comes in at fourth at 36.7% and its Holiday Inn Express is in fifth spot at 36.2%.

Heathrow is no longer the busiest airport in Europe having lost the top spot to Istanbul. Heathrow handled 7.86m passengers in July but Istanbul, despite its closer proximity to the conflict in the Gulf, managed some 8.15m passengers.

OTHER LEISURE:

Evoke, which owns that William Hill, 888 and Mr Green betting businesses and which is in the process of being purchased by Bally’s Intralot, has reported H1 results saying that revenues were flat at £887.5m with EBITDA down 12% at £124.8m. The group reports a virtually unchanged loss before tax of £70.2m (FY25: loss £70.1m) and the loss per share is 15.6p (FY25: loss 15.5p)…..

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US president Donald Trump has said that it would be a ‘a terrible mistake’ if FIFA were to sack Gianni Infantino as a result of his handling of the proposed sale of a stake in the World Cup and other competitions to a consortium of investors including the brother of Jared Kushner, the president’s son in law…

FINANCE & MARKETS:

Sterling little changed at €1.1705 and $1.3504. Oil up around a dollar and a half at $89.48. UK 10 year gilt yield down 3 basis points at 4.98%. World markets mixed yesterday & London set to open down around 26 points as at 6.30am.

The Clacton by-election, called at a cost of around £300k to the taxpayer by incumbent Nigel Farage, will take place tomorrow.

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