Wetherspoons warns on April pub slowdown May 7, 2014 JD WETHERSPOON yesterday warned that slowing sales in April had left it cautious concerning its final quarter, despite reporting higher third-quarter sales. The pub chain said that sales for the 13 weeks to 27 April at pubs open over a year rose 6.2 per cent, although April had missed its own expectations. “As a result [...]
London Report: Supermarkets’ results to show split in fortunes May 5, 2014 THE varying fortunes of the UK’s supermarkets will be revealed this week as Morrisons gives its quarterly results while Sainsbury’s announces full-year figures. Sainsbury’s annual results are forecast to show that underlying pre-tax profits rose 3.5 per cent to £782m. However investors will be anxious to see the company’s plans for the next year, especially [...]
Britain’s cheapest burger? It’s not where you might think April 30, 2014 Where can you find Britain’s cheapest average high street burger meal? If you answered McDonalds, you’re absolutely wrong. Bargain-basement burgers In fact since 2008 the price of McDonald’s Big Mac, the fast food chain’s most popular burger, has jumped by more than 30%, according to research from stockbroker Shore Capital. Having remained at £2 for [...]
Best of the Brokers for 21 March 2014 March 20, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com SPIRIT PUB COMPANY Numis keeps its “buy” rating and 110p target on the pub group after the alcohol tax cuts in the Budget. The broker thinks the beer tax cut will save Spirit one per cent of profits, compared with two per cent [...]
JD Wetherspoon boss launches another attack on VAT March 14, 2014 The chief executive of high street pub chain JD Wetherspoon has again condemned the tax advantages supermarkets get over pubs. In a statement as part of the company’s interim financial results, Tim Martin said: The biggest danger to the pub industry is the continuing tax disparity between supermarkets and pubs. Thanks mainly to the work [...]
What you need to know before the open March 14, 2014 Talks between US and Russia will be taking place in London today, ahead of the much-contended referendum in Crimea on Sunday. Concerns over the fortunes and future of the region continue to eat into investor confidence, with European markets expected lower across the board today. Asian markets suffered in Friday trading from the anxiety-induced risk [...]
ONS warns zero hours contracts figures mislead March 10, 2014 STATISTICS showing a dramatic increase in zero-hours contracts in the UK were claimed to be misleading by the government office that published them. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) yesterday urged caution on reading its report that 583,000 UK workers were on zero-hour contracts – more than double the original 250,000 estimate from last year [...]
London Report: Carney to face questions over Bank oversight March 10, 2014 MARK CARNEY faces probably his toughest questioning so far as Bank of England governor tomorrow when lawmakers will seize on a foreign exchange scandal to press their demands for tighter oversight of the central bank. Carney will face the Treasury Select Committee over claims the Bank’s governance system is outdated. Last week the Bank suspended [...]
Fancy a brew? Annabel Palmer talks craft beer with Draft House’s Charlie McVeigh March 10, 2014 Draft House founder Charlie McVeigh talks about the perils of the hospitality industry, and how he’s taking advantage of Britain’s real ale renaissance A CRAFT beer revolution has taken hold in Britain. Consumption of independently-brewed beer rose by 22.3m pints to 415m pints in 2012, according to the Society of Independent Brewers. And figures suggest [...]
Restaurant review: Hispania, Bank March 6, 2014 RESTAURANT HISPANIA72-74 Lombard Street, EC3V 9AYTel: 0207 621 0338 FOOD Four StarsVALUE Four StarsATMOSPHERE Four Stars Cost for two with wine: £110 COMBINING the words “Spanish” and “bank” in recent years has been enough to leave a bad taste in the mouth. Yet despite the somewhat portentous association, a group of brave Asturians have taken [...]