Off to Lunch podcast and plans...
Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Off to Lunch. Today I wanted to update you on the plans for Off to Lunch, including the launch of a podcast and content for paying subscribers only.
It’s been almost a month since Off to Lunch launched and I have been blown away by the response in terms of sign-ups, feedback and the opportunity to interact and debate with you. To those who have signed up, those who have already bought a paid subscription and those who are sending me ideas, counterarguments and general observations - thank you, Off to Lunch is richer for it. There seems to be a real desire for news and analysis focused on signal rather than noise, solutions not problems, and what matters outside London, which is what Off to Lunch aims to do.
To all readers, please do feel free to contact me with your thoughts on what we discuss and general feedback on Off to Lunch. You can contact me by commenting on the bottom of posts, finding me on social media (I am here on Twitter and here on Linkedin), or, as many of you are doing, by emailing me at graham@offtolunch.com or replying to the latest Off to Lunch.
The first month of Off to Lunch has been about laying some groundwork and giving you a flavour of what it is going to be like. Now I am taking the next step by announcing the podcast and the introduction of paid content.
Firstly, the podcast. This will be called Business Studies. It will be a second look at the business stories that have shaped the modern world and what we can learn from them today. Each weekly episode will focus on a success story, failure, key event or a person. Along with special guests, the podcast will look at whether the presumed truths about these stories really hold and what they tell us about business, markets or the world.
I am incredibly interested in the rise and fall of businesses, the people leading them and the great stories that emerge. I am also passionate about history, as you may have guessed from some of my podcast recommendations (you can blame the great history teachers I had at school in Kendal and my history degree from York for this). Bringing together those two passions is something I am really excited about but also think is important.
Business history is still relatively uncovered (with a few honourable exceptions) despite it being pivotal to the lives we lead, the products we use, and the services we need. We talk about cycles in news and financial markets. Well, that implies that the same things keep happening over and over again and therefore there must be more we can learn from the past. This podcast will re-tell the great stories to people who think they know them and those who don’t yet. I want it to be interesting and useful to a whole range of people, including those looking to set up their own businesses or those simply interested in business or history.
The podcast will be released every week and launch in the next few weeks. It will be free and available through Substack and other platforms. In the meantime, please let me know the stories you think it should cover. I already have a list of episodes that are being worked on. The coverage of Greggs’ success over the last decade in Friday’s newsletter is a glimpse of the sort of stories we will look at.
Secondly, I am introducing content for paying subscribers. Starting from this week, Friday’s Off to Lunch will be for paying subscribers only. Monday and Wednesday’s editions will remain free for now, as will the podcast, because I want Off to Lunch’s work to be enjoyed by as many people as possible. However, in order for Off to Lunch and its aims to continue to grow, it needs financial support, which is why at least some content will be paid-for.
A subscription to Off to Lunch is £6-a-month, £50-a-year, or £150 a year for founding members. For this you will get Friday’s newsletter as well as obviously Monday and Wednesday’s editions and the podcast. You will also get access to regional events that Off to Lunch will be hosting over the next year. These regional events will be held in each of the 10 locations featured in the government’s levelling up league, which we covered in this edition of Off to Lunch. These are the locations outside London attracting the most investment and creating the most start-ups. As a reminder, these are the locations:
The events will take the format of a roundtable discussions where guests, the audience and I discuss the issues that matter to businesses in these locations, who is thriving there, and what is not working. The plan is that subscribers will be able to attend virtually or in-person. The dates for the first of these events will be announced in the next few weeks.
For those who want to make an extra contribution to the work Off to Lunch, we also have a £150 founding member subscription. This will include all of the above plus access to a London event early next year that will focus on markets, cryptocurrencies, broader business topics, and what Off to Lunch has learned over its first year.
Thank you all for reading. I am excited about what is to come and I hope you are too.
You can subscribe to Off to Lunch below. Please also spread the word and share it with your family, friends, colleagues and contacts.
A chart that helps you understand the world
Only one graph I could really include today - UK inflation. The consumer price index rose to 9 per cent in April, its highest level since the oil shocks in the 1970s and above even the grim days of the early 1990s. This figure isn’t that surprising given the forecasts about rising inflation by economists, including Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, who controversially warned about “apocalyptic” food price rises on Monday.
If we take the Andy Haldane approach of looking at what businesses are saying, then there is worse to come. Mitchells & Butlers, the UK’s largest listed pub group, has said this morning that its costs are 11.5 per cent higher this year than pre-Covid in 2019 and it is forecasting another 6 per cent rise next year. Marston’s, another listed pub group, has streamlined its menu and will drop its two-for-one food offer by October.
You should also read this
China and the US are racing to mine billions of dollars of minerals from the moon (Bloomberg, paywall)
Modulr, a digital payments company based in London and Edinburgh, has completed an £83 million funding round. However, its founder and chief executive has warned of “slowing” market for venture capital funding (Times, paywall)
British Land, the FTSE 100 commercial property landlord, has enjoyed its best year in a decade in terms of the amount of office, retail and warehouse space it has leased. Amid concerns about inflation and the outlook for the economy, this is a positive sign (British Land annual results)
The Midlands Engine, which is chaired by former Standard Chartered and Burberry chairman Sir John Peace, has published a list of investment opportunities in the area that could create 220,000 jobs (Express & Star)
And finally…
It was my wife’s birthday yesterday so given the hot weather I treated her to a trip to the seaside and we headed to Folkestone. Some of you will be chuckling at the idea that I chose Folkestone for a birthday day out, but it’s an interesting town where maritime and industrial history has collided with modern investment. The redevelopment of the harbour arm, with street food kiosks, bars and one of Antony Gormley’s iron men statues (photo below), is impressive, as is the cobbled Old High Street. The journey to Folkestone has been made easier for everyone given that Folkestone is on the High Speed 1 train line.
We ate in the sun-drenched garden at El Cortodar, a cracking tapas bar on the Old High Street, and I highly recommend it (particularly their small bowls of paella). It has a score of 4.5 out of 5 on Tripadvisor, so others have enjoyed it too.
One other thought, when I was looking to book somewhere to eat, it was striking how many places across the UK are now closed on Tuesdays. Is this a way that businesses are looking to save on costs post-Covid and with inflation surging?
Thanks for reading. Off to Lunch will be back on Friday. Please sign up for a paid subscription to read the newsletter and contribute to the work of Off to Lunch. Alternatively, please just spread the word!
Graham