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  • 📈 Wingstop UK’s £400m Deal Shakes UK Market

📈 Wingstop UK’s £400m Deal Shakes UK Market

Morrisons’ Festive Glitch Sparks Discount Frenzy!

December 24, 2024

This is Cliff Equity, the UK’s business newsletter that keeps you informed on what’s important in tech, business and finance in less than 5 minutes

In today’s stories:

  • Wingstop UK’s £400m Deal Shakes UK Market

  • Morrisons’ Festive Glitch Sparks Discount Frenzy!

  • ChatGPT Search: Reviews or Rogue Rhetoric?

The summary: Wingstop UK has soared to new heights with a £400m deal, record-breaking growth, and big plans to ruffle feathers across the UK dining scene.

The details:

  • Finger-licking deal: Wingstop UK’s co-founders have sold a majority stake to US private equity firm Sixth Street for at least £400m, while keeping a minority slice of the pie.

  • Flying high: With 57 UK sites expected by year-end, Wingstop is clucking about its status as the UK’s fastest-growing restaurant brand, boasting celebrity fans like Stormzy and AJ Tracey.

  • Skyrocketing sales: Turnover soared to £84.6m in March 2024, with revenue forecasted to hit £150m by year’s end. Not bad for a business launched via a cheeky cold email to Wingstop US.

  • What’s next?: CEO Chris Sherriff calls the partnership with Sixth Street a "strategic and cultural fit," setting the stage for a sizzling 2025 expansion across the UK and Ireland.

Why it matters: Wingstop UK’s sizzling growth and £400m valuation show the Brits are hooked on American-style fast casual dining, with fried chicken proving to be the nation’s not-so-guilty pleasure. The partnership with Sixth Street signals serious investment confidence, priming the brand for even bigger expansions and a larger slice of the UK restaurant market. For competitors, it’s a warning: the chicken game just got a lot more cutthroat.

The summary: Morrisons’ IT hiccup may have ruffled festive feathers, but with discounts flying and promises of fixes, there’s still hope to save Christmas dinner—and a bit of shopper goodwill!

The details:

  • Morrisons' IT woes spark Christmas chaos: Shoppers worry about late deliveries and unclaimed discounts as a system glitch disrupts More card perks and click-and-collect orders.

  • Discount diplomacy: To soothe frustrations, loyalty cardholders get 10% off an entire shop on Monday and Christmas Eve—though Scottish laws keep booze off the bargain list.

  • Manual madness: Fivers coupons must now be redeemed the old-fashioned way—via a shop assistant—adding to the festive frenzy.

  • Social media storm: Furious customers vent online, fearing a Christmas without turkey, while Morrisons scrambles to apologise and restore order.

Why it matters: Morrisons' festive fumble highlights how fragile loyalty can be when technology goes haywire—especially when Christmas dinners are on the line. Offering discounts might patch things up, but the real damage lies in shaking shoppers' faith during the most critical retail period of the year. For competitors, it's a chance to swoop in like Santa and steal the spotlight, while Morrisons grapples with its glitchy grinch.

The summary: ChatGPT’s new search tool might need a bit of a security polish, or we’ll soon find ourselves reading glowing reviews for products no one’s ever heard of, thanks to a bit of digital mischief!

The details:

  • OpenAI’s ChatGPT search tool may be vulnerable to "prompt injections" from sneaky hidden content, allowing third parties to manipulate AI responses, like pushing glowing reviews for dodgy products.

  • A Guardian investigation found that even when a page had negative reviews, ChatGPT could be tricked into offering only rave reviews by simply including hidden instructions or fake positive feedback.

  • Security experts warn that if this system isn't tightened up, it could become a playground for malicious websites designed to deceive users – potentially causing financial harm, like with a recent incident involving cryptocurrency theft.

  • ChatGPT's search tool, still in its early stages, could soon face an arms race with bad actors, much like the battle over SEO poisoning, as websites try to manipulate AI-powered search results.

Why it matters: If AI search tools like ChatGPT start trusting hidden content, we might end up with reviews that are more fake than a bargain-bin Rolex. Hackers could use these vulnerabilities to manipulate users into buying dodgy products or even swiping their personal details. In the long run, this could turn search engines into a wild west of digital trickery, with AI desperately trying to catch up.