Burger King chain group sees 35% sales increase, the Guardia Civil photographs one million weapons for the National Weapons Registry, and pair on trial for conning disabled man. There are lots of local holidays being celebrated around Spain on Wednesday, amongst them are Madrid and Estepona in Malaga, and in the Alicante area, Cox and San Isidro, the town named after the saint celebrating his day today. May 15 is San Isidro Labrador Day, the day which culminates celebrations in various places, including the capital, Madrid, where festivals dedicated to a 12th century farmer have become a patron saint’s holiday in which everyone completely immerse themselves in the essence of Madrid of yesteryear.

Spanish News Headlines

Restaurant Brands Iberia, which operates under the Burger King, Popeyes and Tim Hortons brands in Spain and Portugal, has closed 2023 with sales of 1.12 billion euro in its own restaurants, marking an increase of 35% compared to 2022. The group’s EBITDA (pre-tax earnings) increased by 47.4%, raising the EBITDA margin on sales from 20.9% to 22.8%. Furthermore, the group’s Net Financial Debt amounted to 936 million euro, an increase of 12% compared to the previous year. The Guardia Civil has photographed one million weapons (so far) in the computer system of the National Weapons Registry (RNA) located in the Central Intervention of Weapons and Explosives of the Guardia Civil. This initiative comes after the European Union adopted, in a recent directive -already transposed into the Spanish weapons regulations-, the obligation to establish a file that guarantees the complete identification of the weapon (type, brand, model, calibre and serial number). In this file, any transformation or modification of a firearm must also be recorded. Since then, the Weapons and Explosives Interventions are gradually and constantly photographing the firearms as part of the review that they have to pass before the Guardia Civil every 5 years. The Provincial Court of Las Palmas will begin to hear evidence from today, Wednesday, against two people accused of deceiving a man with a disability by posing as another person on social networks to meet in the Las Rehoyas park, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and stealing 200 euro from him. The Prosecutor’s Office requests a sentence of six years in prison and a fine of 720 euro by charging them with the commission of a crime of illegal detention and another of minor injuries. To read these articles in full, visit SpainToday.news

Business, Markets and Statistics

Across the Eurozone, we will have various relevant macroeconomic references published, among which is the second reading of the Q1 GDP and industrial production in March, highlighting the final CPI data for France and Italy and the evolution of the labour market. Whilst the playground antics of the supposed adults of the house take to their weekly name-calling in PMQ´s in the UK, the more serious annual foodbank figures from Trussell Trust will be published, along with the stats on UK’s carbon footprint to 2021. We will also have business results from the likes of Allianz, Burberry, TUI, Greggs, Experian, Cisco, Imperial Tobacco Group, Compass Group, Britvic, and Ubisoft.

Traffic and Travel

Across Europe there will be a special traffic police focus on trucks and buses all week. For information and updates about driving in Spain, visit N332.es