Brighton Pier, G4M, RedCat, trading, costs, packaging, late night & other:

A DAY IN THE LIFE:

Here’s a question that I don’t know the answer to, just how many times does a paper clip get used before it crawls off to rust and die?

Or gets bent (roughly) straight to poke something through - or out of - something else or gets consigned to a filing cabinet where it bonds over the eons to the paper it’s clipped to?

Because surely the vast bulk just sit around, waiting to be picked, to have their moment in the sun when they can feel needed, even if it’s just to clip a taxi receipt to an expenses claim.

And, here’s some more, is there a hierarchy?

Do some boss it over others and when was the golden age of the paper clip? Was it the 60s, the 70s? And when were the largest number of them around?

Maybe there are books on the subject, it can only be a matter of time before you can take a degree in it, at last know more about something, anything, than any other person in the world?

And then I woke up. On to the news:

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TRADING:

Langton comment: Earlier this week, we put out to clients the following ‘Trading in March (a.k.a. The View from the Cliff Edge):

Summary:

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PUBS & RESTAURANTS:

Packaging costs:

Extended Producer Responsibility legislation kicked in from yesterday and drinks industry leaders continue to warn the change will raise costs and not necessarily improve recycling rates…

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Prices:

The BRC reports that shop prices fell again in March, primarily driven by deep discounting by non-food retailers. Deflation was 0.4 per cent year on year in March, against a decline of 0.7 per cent in the year to February. Non-food prices fell by 1.9 per cent but food prices moved in the opposite direction, rising by 2.4 per cent…

Late night economy:

The NTIA has reported that ‘industry leaders’ believe that ‘costs have already surged by an unsustainable 30-40% in recent years.’ It adds that ‘the latest tax increases will pile on an additional burden of between £30,000 and £80,000 per business, pushing many to the brink. The consequences will be dire: closures, job losses, and long-term damage to the economy….’

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Food to go:

Lumina’s UK Food to Go Market Report 2025 suggests that the UK Food to Go market should generate £24.2bn in sales by the end of 2025, up 4.1% year-on-year. It adds that ‘this growth is being shaped by rapid shifts in where, when and how consumers engage with products….’

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COMPANY NEWS:

Brighton Pier proposed de-listing: Brighton Pier Group PLC has proposed cancelling its shares from AIM. It says that current trading is in line with expectations….

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The MCA reports Black Sheep Coffee as saying it has experienced “tremendous traction” with its UK franchise development in recent weeks. Co-founder Gabriel Shohet told MCA that the business now expects to have franchisees in place within each of its UK territories before the end of FY2025.

Shepherd Neame has announced that chairman Richard Oldfield and CEO Jonathan Neame on Monday purchase some 25,800 and 4,000 shares in the company respectively at a cost of £125k and £20k.

Cooks Coffee has reported that it has finalised a NZ$1.6 million loan facility with a term of 15 years, and a NZ$1.0 million loan facility with a term of 5 years, each with Bank of New Zealand. It reports that ‘the loan facilities have enabled Cooks Coffee to repay or refinance all existing debt, and provide further funding to support the group's ongoing operations and strategic initiatives….’

SSP Group has partnered with Bournemouth Airport in a 10-year deal to upgrade food and beverage services at the site. SSP says ‘Bournemouth Airport is our first new UK airport location for several years, and demonstrates our growth strategy in action. We aim to be the best part of the journey, which means expanding our footprint to provide offers where our customers need us.’

RedCat Hospitality has reported sales of £129.8m in the now-rather-historic year to 31 March 2024. It reports that LFL sales rose by 2%. The company operates 35 sites as Coaching Inn Group units and 38 managed sites as RedCat Independent Pubs with an additional 22 leased & tenanted sites….

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Karali Group, which operates a number of restaurant brands as a franchisee in both the UK and the US, is to take the master franchise for Marugame Udon in the UK…

HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL:

Steve Heapy, CEO at Jet2.com, has told Travel Weekly that he is calling on the trade to hold its nerve and not discount in the lates market….

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IATA has reported that global passenger traffic surpassed earlier records for February, but it does say that some airlines are now cautioning about falls in the US market….

OTHER LEISURE:

Gear4Music has this morning updated on full year trading. The group reports ‘robust revenue growth in the UK, with European revenues reflecting competitive pressures throughout the year in certain markets within the region.’ It says that its ‘gross margin [is] expected to be 27.1% (FY24: 27.3%; FY23: 25.7%). EBITDA is expected to be £10.0m (FY24: £9.4m; FY23: £7.4m) and PBT is expected to be £1.6m (FY24: £0.6m; FY23: -£0.4m). These numbers are below earlier estimates for EBITDA of around £11.7m and PBT of circa £2.8m. The group reports that its net bank debt has been further reduced to £6.4m at 31 March 2025 (31 March 2024: £7.3m; 31 March 2023: £14.5m)’’’

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The Telegraph reports that the BBC is to spend £150m less on new shows in the coming year as it warned of an “unprecedented” funding challenge for British television. It will spend just over £2.5bn on programming in the current financial year, down from almost £2.7bn last year.

Tesla sales fell in March in some key European markets. In France and Sweden, sales fell to their lowest level since 2021. Over Europe as a whole, sales look to be up to around 408k in Q1 from 387k a year ago. Sales in France, however, were down in March by c64%.

OpenAI has said that has raised $40bn in a funding round that valued the company at $300bn. SoftBank is to put $10bn into OpenAI and $30bn more by the end of 2025 if certain conditions are met.

The Telegraph reports that Elon Musk’s SpaceX is seeking to avoid tariffs on equipment imported from China as Donald Trump prepares to escalate his trade war. Mr Musk says he cannot source some products in the USA.

TV company Newsmax, which was recently promoted by US President Donald Trump, has seen its stock market valuation surge by more than 2,200% since its debut in New York earlier this week.

FINANCE & MARKETS:

Moody’s now reports that there is a 40% probability of the Us entering recession this year. It had earlier said there was just a 15% chance.

S&P reports that UK manufacturing has declined further in March. It says ‘the end of the opening quarter saw the downturn at UK manufacturers deepen.’ Its measure fell to a 17-month low of 44.9 in March, down from 46.9 in February. Any number below 50.0 implies contraction.

Eurozone inflation slowed to 2.2% in the year to March, down from 2.3% in the year to February.

The Nationwide has reported that UK house prices were stagnant in March. It says that London is struggling. Annual growth for the UK as a whole was 3.9% in the year to March. Prices in London were up just 1.9%....

Sterling mixed at $1.2917 and €1.1972. Oil lower at $74.49. UK 10 year gilt yield down 5 basis points at 4.65%. World markets mixed yesterday & London set to open around 22 points lower as at 6.30am.

RETAIL WITH NICK BUBB:

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