IHG, Hostmore, Shake Shack, NCL, Peloton, trading, late night & other:

A DAY IN THE LIFE:

I had to get my diary out and make a note yesterday when I saw a cyclist stop at a red light.

It did dawn on me that it was a junction bristling with cameras, where opposing traffic was whizzing by at speed and that it was quite possible that the person, soon joined by others suggesting that obeying the law may be contagious, had spotted a police car or an aggrieved, many-times-injured pedestrian sporting a camera-phone but, nonetheless, it was good to see.

In fact, as the drizzle soaked through the first layers of my clothing, it lifted my mood a little.

But then, as I was crossing London Bridge heading for a meeting and broadly obeying the arrows on the pavement, I was nearly knocked over by an electric wheelchair doing about fifteen miles an hour that was actually dragging a bicycle with a child on it who seemed happy to shout ‘wee, wee’ or some-such and that kind of levelled the score.

But it did leave me unable to say any longer that all cyclists break the law all the time because I had seen the proverbial Black Swan and that had kind of blown that theory but anyway, enough of that.

Big weekend for the football (stressful), the weather (rain three-for-three in Yorkshire) and the pubs so, without further ado, we’d like to wish readers an enjoyable weekend and move onto the rather sparse news:

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PUBS & RESTAURANTS:

Services:

The S&P Services PMI for April is due out at 9.30am.

Trading (forthcoming):

The Oxford Partnership anticipates a potential boost in sales for the hospitality industry over the early May bank holiday weekend, despite mixed weather forecasts. Reflecting on the previous year's performance, which saw an increase in sales despite unfavourable weather, there is optimism for a similar outcome this year….

Trading (historic):

Digital data company Meaningful Vision has reported that March data suggests that Foodservice Inflation dropped back to below 9%, and the rate of decline in consumer traffic also slowed compared with the same period in 2023. It reports that the leap-year was largely responsible for the 3.5% increase in traffic that it recorded ‘while March 2024 demonstrated a smaller decline vs 2023, owing to the Easter holiday falling in March, rather than in April as was the case in 2023….’

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Late night:

Data from the Night-Time Industries Association (NTIA) indicates that over 190 night-time economy (NTE) firms went into administration between April 2023 and March 2024, highlighting a significant increase compared to the previous year….

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Other news:

The wait will soon be over. Pint-sized bottles of wine will be allowed on UK shelves from autumn.

COMPANY NEWS:

Nightcap put out an RNS yesterday to confirm that it is assessing options to potentially acquire part or all of Revolution Bars, aligning with its ambition to become the UK's leading bar group….

Hostmore has reported full year numbers saying that FY23 was a ‘transitional year’ that included the appointment of new senior leadership, the implementation of an operating turnaround plan and the introduction of revised capital allocation policy. The group reports revenues down 2.6% at £190.7 million with costs also down. The company reports a loss from operations of £11.1 million, which it says is greatly improved from £95.8 million in 2022.’ The basic loss per share was 22.0p (2022: loss 81.0p)…

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Diageo plc has announced that Nik Jhangiani will join the company as Chief Financial Officer, taking up the position and joining Diageo's Board and Executive Committee in Autumn 2024. The company reports that ‘Lavanya Chandrashekar will step down from the Executive Committee and Board at the same time after three years as Chief Financial Officer and six years with the company, and will return to the US.’

Time Out has announced that its Porto market will open today.

Texas Roadhouse yesterday reported Q1 numbers saying that revenue had risen year-on-year from $1.17bn to $1.32bn. The company reports net income up 31% at $113m with diluted EPS of 169c, up from 128c a year ago. Texas Roadhouse reports that ‘comparable restaurant sales increased 8.4% at company restaurants and increased 7.7% at domestic franchise restaurants…’

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The Coffee House has received a £4m investment from AJ Bell founder Andy Bell and Fergus Lyons to fuel its expansion plans in the Northwest…

Shake Shack reported Q1 revenue up 14.7% YoY to $290.5m, with system-wide sales +12.3% to £443.3m and LfL sales +1.6% YoY - the thirteenth consecutive quarter of positive LfL sales….

Heineken plans to invest $414.6m into its Taiwanese brewery over the next five years, aiming to supply locally-made products to neighbouring countries and elevate the profile of Taiwanese goods globally.

Brand owner Chipotle in the US has reported Q1 numbers saying that transaction numbers rose by 5%. LfL sales were up 75 with system sales up 15% to $2.7bn….

A court in Pennsylvania has ruled that Perrier is a soda rather than water for tax purposes. As such, it is subject to tax at the rate of 24c for a 16oz bottle. Perrier classifies its drink as a calorie-free “carbonated mineral water.”

New Keurig Dr Pepper CEO Tim Cofer aims to boost falling coffee sales by leveraging branded partnerships for its K-Cup portfolio, including collaborations with Lavazza, Kicking Horse Coffee, and Black Rifle Coffee Company….

HOLIDAYS, HOTELS & LEISURE TRAVEL:

Intercontinental Hotel Group has reported Q1 numbers saying that Q1 global RevPAR rose 2.6% YOY, with Americas -0.3%, EMEAA +8.9% and Greater China +2.5%. It says that average daily rate rose 2.3% and occupancy was up by 0.2%pts. The company reports that it grew its estate by 5.0% on the quarter and now has a global system of 946k rooms (6,368 hotels); 66% across midscale segments, 34% across upscale and luxury…

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Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) reported record Q1 bookings, with revenue up 20% YoY to $2.2bn and adjusted EBITDA nearly doubling to $464m as NCLH realised cost efficiencies….

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IATA has reported that global demand for air travel was up by 13.8% in March vs last year whilst capacity was up by 12.3%. That will have helped pricing…

Strikes by airline catering contractors working at Gatwick have been cancelled. Union Unite has secured the reinstatement of its members’ shift allowances.

OTHER LEISURE:

Apple yesterday reported a 4% drop in revenue in Q4 but its shares rose as numbers across the company were less bad than had been feared. Revenue came in at $90.75bn, compared with consensus estimates of $90.3bn. Diluted earnings per share were $1.53, compared with consensus estimates of $1.50, down from $1.52 last year….

Peloton CEO Barry McCarthy has stepped down as the company announces it is to cut 15% of its workforce to right-size the business after over-expansion during the Covid period. Taking the occasion of the company’s Q1 update, McCarthy says ‘hard as the decision has been to make additional headcount cuts, Peloton simply had no other way to bring its spending in line with its revenue….’

The Co-op Live arena in Manchester has once again had to postpone events as a result of ‘technical issues’.

TikTok and Universal Music Group have agreed a deal to allow songs and artists from the latter back onto the video-sharing app. No terms of the deal have been announced.

Flutter, the owner of Paddy Power, received overwhelming shareholder approval to move its primary listing from London to New York, with 98% of investors voting in favour. The move, expected to be finalised by the end of May, adds Flutter to a trend of public companies shifting away from London, impacting the city's status as a global financial hub.

MGM Resorts International has reported strong Q1 numbers driven by good trading in Las Vegas and Macau. Q1 revenues were $4.4 billion, up 13% year-over-year with net income of $217 million. The group’s Las Vegas properties reported net revenue of $2.3 billion compared to $2.2 billion in the first quarter of 2023.

FINANCE & MARKETS:

The OECD has said that the UK will be the worst-performing economy in the G7 next year. It has cut its forecast for growth this year from 0.7% to 0.4%. Next year it is predicting 1.0%. The OBR was recently looking for 1.9%.

The OECD believes that the UK will be the first country to cut bank rates despite the fact that wage inflation is so high. The OECD forecasts that global GDP will rise by 3.1% this year.

Sterling mixed at $1.2548 and €1.1695. Oil virtually unchanged at $83.92. UK 10 year gilt yield down 8 basis points at 4.28%. World markets mixed to better yesterday and London set to open up around 18 points as at 6.30am.

RETAIL WITH NICK BUBB:

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