Marston’s secures extension to debt facilities: Marston’s has secured an amendment and extension of its bank and private placement debt facilities to the end of January 2025. The revised £340m debt facilities are comprised of a £300m revolving credit facility (RCF), with the continued support of all its existing and two new banks, together with a restatement of its current £40m private placement. The RCF replaces the group’s existing £280m facility. The facility cost is variable: to be determined by the level of leverage or drawings from time to time, alongside changes in the sterling overnight index average rate. As previously reported by the group, £120m of the facility is hedged. The group said it continues to make progress on its “Back to a Billion” strategy and trading remains in line with expectations. It will announce its interim results on 16 May. Marston’s features in the Propel Turnover & Profits Blue Book. Its turnover of £799,600,000 is the tenth highest in the database. Its pre-tax profit of £163,400,000 is the highest in the database. The Blue Book ranks companies by turnover, profit and profit conversion, listing directors’ earnings for the past five years. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Propel Premium for a year for £895 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or a supplier. The single subscription rate is £445 plus VAT for operators and £545 plus VAT for suppliers. Email jo.charity@propelinfo.com to upgrade your subscription.

 

Updated Premium Database of Multi-Site Companies released today, 22 businesses being added: A total of 22 new multi-site companies, operating 92 sites, have been added to the next edition of the Propel Premium Database of Multi-Site Companies, which will be released today (Friday, 31 March), at midday. The updated Propel Multi-Site Database, which is produced in association with Virgate, includes regional restaurant operators, growing bakery brands, and expanding hotel operators. Premium subscribers will also receive a 2,000-word report on the new additions to the database. The comprehensive database is updated monthly and provides company names, the people in charge, how many sites each firm operates, its trading name and its registered name at Companies House if different. The database now features 2,811 companies. Premium subscribers will also receive the next edition of the New Openings Database on Thursday, 6 April, at midday. It focuses on newly announced openings and upcoming launches in the sector and is updated every month. The next edition also includes a 6,000-word report on the new additions to the database. Premium subscribers also receive access to three other databases: the Propel Turnover & Profits Blue Book; the UK Food and Beverage Franchisor Database; and the Who’s Who of UK Food and Beverage. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Propel Premium for a year for £895 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or a supplier. The single subscription rate is £445 plus VAT for operators and £545 plus VAT for suppliers. Email jo.charity@propelinfo.com to upgrade your subscription. Premium subscribers are also to be given exclusive access to the recording and slides to Propel Multi-Club Conferences. Premium subscribers also receive their morning newsletter 11 hours early, at 7pm the evening before; regular video content and regular exclusive columns from Propel group editor Mark Wingett.

Starbucks needs to ‘go further to recapture momentum’: Starbucks has been told it will need to go further than opening 100 new UK stores and spending £30m doing up existing cafes to recapture momentum. One of outgoing chief executive Howard Schultz’s final acts during his latest spell in charge was to redouble Starbucks’ commitment to Britain. Executives were last year considering a sale of the division after rising costs ate into its profits. UK profits dropped by a fifth to £10.4m, driven by more expensive coffee beans and higher wages for staff. This despite inflation-busting price rises: the price of a Starbucks flat white rose by more than 12% and faster than rivals such as Pret and Costa, according to figures from UCC Coffee. However, Starbucks shelved plans to sell the UK business, and instead plans to open 100 new UK stores in the UK and spend £30m refurbishing existing cafes. Experts believe it will need to go further to recapture momentum, reports The Telegraph. “Starbucks’ weakness has always been its food,” says Jonathan De Mello, founder of JDM Retail. “The coffee offer, yeah, it's great, but food is pretty terrible. The lunchtime spike that other businesses get, like Pret and Greggs in particular, they don’t get. They get people buying their coffee in the morning and in the late afternoon, but they don’t get this big increase in sales at lunchtime.” Jeffrey Young, managing director of coffee experts Allegra Strategies, said property companies looking to rent space to food and drink brands want something new that Starbucks may not offer. “Progressive developers are looking for young fresh brands,” he added. Meanwhile, at head office, the company faces charges of illegally cracking down on efforts by baristas to unionise in the US. Starbucks shareholders have since approved an independent assessment of its commitment to workers’ rights. New chief executive Laxman Narasimhan, who took on the role last week, is tasked with reinvigorating the business and reviving a share price that has dwindled over the last two years. Narasimhan has pledged to work four hours a month as a barista in branches of Starbucks to stay connected to frontline issues like wait times, customer tastes and more. “We have got to find ways to ensure that we do listen and stay connected,” the new chief told the Wall Street Journal. However, DeMello added: “Underlying all these comments about being a barista for four hours in a month and all the rest of it is heavy dissatisfaction with the state of things from a staff perspective.” But perhaps the biggest challenge facing Narasimhan is China, where Starbucks has 6,000 shops. “Half of Starbucks’ future growth is predicated on China,” said Nick Setyan, restaurant industry analyst at Wedbush Securities. “The politics of it have to be managed by someone that has the gravitas of a Schultz.”

Business confidence hits ten-year high: Wage expectations rose in March, with 26% of businesses expecting to increase pay by 3% or more, up from 23% the previous month. The share of businesses that expect pay growth of 2% or more rose for the second month in a row to 45%. However, there are signs that the rate of wage growth is slowing down. Anticipated staffing levels rose for a fourth consecutive month, while the share of businesses planning to increase their prices further fell to a six-month low. Britain is now expected to avoid a recession this year, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility, but inflation surprised forecasters with a rise from 10.1% to 10.4% last month. The survey, conducted between March 1 and 15, did not capture the full impact on business confidence of the latest interest rate rise, the surprise jump in inflation or Jeremy Hunt’s budget, announced on March 15, reports The Times. Hann-Ju Ho, senior economist in commercial banking for Lloyds Bank, said: “Business confidence has seen a surge this month with economic optimism and trading prospects bolstering firms. With hiring intentions improving, we may see employment growth picking up in the coming months. Tentative signs of easing wage pressures suggest that businesses’ difficulties in finding staff may have started to ease.”