RE: Rating30 Jun 2021 22:28
The NMW went from £8.72 to £8.91 in April, which is 2.2% (though there will be a pension/NI hit in addition). Granted wage increase is a big hitter for the industry, and I'm sure they will use the recent mass redundancies to reduce staffing levels by not rehiring fully when revenue is back on track. Prepare to wait a while to be served a bad product ;)
The point about low quality brands is true but consider they franchise big names like Starbucks, Burger King, Leon, M&S. Also the growth between 2013 - 2018 shows their profit margins and internal efficiency savings have been great.
I'd say the big risk is pricing themselves too high for locations (a big strength was captive markets), and that travel volumes will be hit long-term by blended/hybrid/home working. Their recent expansion into motorway service areas and the international undertakings are likely to flourish, whilst the UK rail/airport sectors fall behind. Let's hope they balance out and the share price recovers a bit!