Patisserie Valerie eyes boost from US tourist influx in 2017
The owner of cakes chain Patisserie Valerie is looking forward to a flood of US tourists coming to Britain next summer to capitalise on the pound’s plunge, its chairman said today.
“Because of the weak pound, next summer will be terrific for inbound tourism from America,” Patisserie Holdings’ Luke Johnson said.
“People plan holidays some way in advance so bookings for next summer are surely going to be good and we have a lot of sites in tourist destinations.”
However, he also flagged potential risks, including uncertain economic conditions created by Brexit.
Ingredient prices have begun to increase because of sterling’s fall, but Johnson said prices should remain competitive and margins stable thanks to contracts with suppliers to buy goods such as strawberries at an agreed price — some of which exist until 2018.
The company, which also includes the Philpotts and Baker & Spice brands, also said it had managed to mitigate the rise in the National Living Wage by rescheduling staff hours and reducing the number of part-time workers in favour of more full-time employees.
It managed to mitigate almost all of the £500,000 rise in its wage bill in the year to September 30, it added.
Revenue was up 13.3% in the period at £104.1 million, and pre-tax profits jumped 18% to £17.2 million. The dividend was up 20% at 2p.
