Propel Newsletter Archive Page

Brighton Pier Group sets out plans to go private: Brighton Pier Group has announced its proposal to go private and to cease trading on AIM after undertaking a review of its strategic options. It comes as the business said that trading results for the 12-month period ended 29 December 2024 are in line with current market expectations. The Luke Johnson-chaired company said: “The directors have conducted a careful review of the benefits and drawbacks to the company and the shareholders in retaining the company’s quotation on AIM and believe that seeking shareholder approval for the proposed cancellation and re-registration at the earliest opportunity in line with AIM Rule 41 and the Companies Act is in the best interests of the company and the shareholders as a whole… Over the past several years, the company has faced persistent challenging trading conditions, impacted by, inter alia, covid-19, repeat bad weather during peak summer trading periods, recent significant Budget increases in National Insurance to commence from 6 April 2025, pressures on consumer discretionary spending and a change in consumer behaviours. Accordingly, the company has necessarily focused its strategy on cost savings, disposals of underperforming assets and health of the balance sheet, limiting its ability to invest in growing the business. Whilst the directors believe that the company has been effective in this regard, trading challenges have continued and the board has accordingly been undertaking a review of its strategic options. Government increases in the National Minimum Wage, high interest rates, together with increases in energy and other costs flowing from the events in Ukraine has significantly increased the group’s cost base. This cost of living crisis is also having a material impact on how consumers purchase. As prices rise, consumers are cutting back on non-essential spending which is impacting all parts of the hospitality and leisure industry which includes most of the group’s business activities.” Post the cancellation of its shares, the business said it intends to actively pursue a partial refinancing of its bank debt. It said that it is in early-stage discussions with the two major shareholders regarding this refinancing. The cancellation will become effective at 7.00am on 2 May 2025. On current trading, the company said that in the first 12 weeks of the current reporting period, total group sales of £4.2m were £0.1m lower than the equivalent weeks trading in the previous year (2024: total group sales of £4.3m). It said: “A warm weather spell during March, combined with the introduction of the higher £2 admissions charge for non-residents, resulted in total sales at the Pier of £1.8m, which were £0.1m higher year-on-year (2024: total sales of £1.7m). Conversely, trading in the Bars and Golf divisions has seen a slow start, with total sales of £1m and £1.4m respectively, each £0.1m lower than the prior weeks’ equivalent in 2024 (2024: Bars total sales of £1.1m, Golf total sales of £1.5m). As in previous years, there are no sales for Lightwater Valley in the first 12 weeks of the financial year, due to the normal seasonal winter closure of the park.”

Premium Club subscribers to receive new searchable and segmented New Openings Database on Friday: The next Propel New Openings Database will be sent to Premium Club subscribers on Friday (4 April), at noon. The database will show the details of 187 site openings, including which company has opened a site or its plans to open one in the future. The database will have details on what type of site it is and its location, and there will also be a website link to the businesses. The database is published on a monthly basis and Premium Club subscribers will also receive a 11,039-word report on the 187 new additions to the database. The database is segmented into seven categories – cafe bakery, casual dining, experiential leisure, fine dining, hotels, pubs and bars, and quick service restaurants – making it even easier for users to search. The database includes new openings in the cafe bakery sector such as Mrs Bakery, making its debut in London’s Chinatown, chef Adam Handling opening a Central London boutique chocolate shop and Coffi Lab, the dog-friendly coffee shop, opening in Thornbury, Gloucestershire. Premium Club subscribers also receive access to five other databases: the Turnover & Profits Blue Book, the Multi-Site Database, the UK Food and Beverage Franchisor Database, the UK Food and Beverage Franchisee Database and the Who’s Who of UK Hospitality. All Premium Club subscribers will be offered a 20% discount on tickets to Propel paid-for events including Excellence in Pub Retail (May 2025) and discounts on specialist sector reports such as the International Brands report. Operators that are Premium Club subscribers are also able to send up to four members of staff to each of our four Multi-Club Conferences for free. Premium Club subscribers receive their daily Propel Info newsletter 11 hours earlier than standard subscribers, at 7pm the evening before. They also receive videos of presentations at eight Propel conference events two weeks after they are held. This represents around 100 videos of industry insight over the course of the year. Premium Club subscribers will be sent a dedicated monthly newsletter that will highlight key updates in the sector and direct subscribers to all the vital content their membership offers. Premium Club subscribers also receive exclusive opinion columns every Friday at 5pm, which include the thoughts of Propel group editor Mark Wingett and a host of industry leaders from across the sector. A Premium Club subscription costs an annual sum of £495 plus VAT for operators and £595 plus VAT for suppliers. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Premium Club for a year for £995 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or supplier. Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com today to sign up.

Minimum wage and national insurance rises ‘will hurt the young’: Higher national insurance taxes on employers and the jump in the minimum wage will hurt the government’s attempts to get younger people into work, according to new figures. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said that tax and wage changes would make hiring an 18 to 20-year-old on the minimum wage 12.7% more expensive when adjusted for inflation. This rises to about 14% for workers aged 16 to 17 and compares with a 7% rise for an adult worker on the national living wage. The national living wage, which applies to workers over 21, has risen from April 1 to £12.21 an hour, an increase of 3.4%. The minimum wage, which applies to those aged 18 to 20, has risen to £10 an hour, an increase of 12.7% and the biggest jump since the minimum wage was introduced in 1999. Sam Ray-Chaudhuri, research economist at the IFS, said the pay boost for younger workers “risks reducing opportunities for those about to enter the labour market. We know that spells of unemployment early on in people’s careers can have long-lasting effects on their career trajectories. Given existing worries about how young people have fared over recent years, it will be important to proceed cautiously and closely monitor the effects of these policies on this group, to avoid young people being left behind.” Changes to national insurance, which are introduced on 6 April, will also hit lower-paid workers after the government lowered the earnings threshold for the tax from £9,100 to £5,000 a year. Although employees under 21 are not subject to NICs, the IFS said younger workers were disproportionately in sectors like leisure and hospitality that are facing the brunt of the changes. Hospitality employs more than a quarter of all 18 to 20-year-olds in work and will pay 3.8% higher employer costs. Costs in the retail sector will rise by just over 3%. “The changes taking effect this week incentivise firms to make greater use of higher-skilled (higher-paid) workers, self-employed sub-contractors, and labour-saving technologies like tablet ordering or self-checkouts, all of which could limit employment opportunities for young people,” the IFS said.

U-turn on plans for tourism tax on children’s trips: Children and young people staying in hostels, campsites or outdoor centres in Wales will be exempt from paying a proposed tourism tax, the Welsh government has announced. Concerns had been raised that a charge of 75p per night would make school trips unaffordable to low-income families. Finance secretary Mark Drakeford had previously said that exempting children from the visitor levy would see a “significant fall” in revenue. But during discussions in the Senedd, Drakeford said that, having considered the evidence again, under 18s staying at lower-level accommodation “would now be exempt altogether”. However, charges for everyone else will increase by 5p per night. Councils would decide whether to introduce the fee if a new law is passed by the Senedd, with charges possibly starting in 2027. Not all local authorities are expected to introduce the charge, but if they did it would raise about £33m a year. This would mean that the fee for staying at hotels, B&Bs and self-catering accommodation would increase from the £1.25 originally proposed to £1.30 per person per night. For hostels and campsites it would increase from 75p to 80p.