Daily market update: Vistry, GameStop, Achilles Investment Company

“The pound weakened in early trading against the US dollar as investors braced themselves for the UK government’s Spring Statement,” says Dan Coatsworth, Investment Analyst at AJ Bell.

“The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is widely expected to downgrade its economic forecast for the country. What really matters to investors is the extent of that downgrade and the omens look bad.

“It could be a testing day for markets if chancellor Rachel Reeves delivers more bad news and is seen to be fighting a losing battle. However, the flipside of a weaker pound is that it benefits the army of dollar earners on the FTSE 100, hence why the UK index traded higher. Energy producers and miners were among the top risers.

“Lower than expected inflation figures today and strong services PMI data earlier in the week will have been welcomed with open arms by Reeves. Sadly, these two data points are not enough to convince markets that everything is rosy with the UK.

“Ocado took the top spot on the FTSE 250 risers’ list after a positive broker note. JPMorgan moved from ‘neutral’ to ‘overweight’, implying the business is going places and should see positive free cash flow generation by the end of next year.”

Vistry

“Having issued three profit warnings in quick succession, the market already knew that Vistry’s results were going to be miserable. The headline figures speak for themselves; profit is down by a quarter, net debt has doubled and there is no dividend.

“Saying share buybacks were in lieu of the dividend makes it sound as if investors were still treated to a handsome reward, although companies are free to decide how to return cash to shareholders.

“Chief executive Greg Fitzgerald implies there are no more skeletons in the closet for the business and Vistry is now on the front foot with getting back on top. However, the outlook statement implies it will be a rocky road to recovery. It’s no wonder the shares have sunk even further.

“The rate of sales per site per week is down substantially year-on-year so far in 2025. Build costs are going up and margin recovery is a story for the second half of the year.

“The company can be as upbeat as it wants — investors want action, not words, and there isn’t enough evidence that Vistry is being nursed back to good health.”

GameStop

“A significant beat for quarterly earnings put a rocket underneath GameStop’s shares in pre-market trading. Its shareholders clearly believe the company is going to the moon and it’s now one step closer, albeit the stock has a history of going up and down faster than a yo-yo.

“Retail operations aren’t the reason why GameStop’s shares are flying — they never are. This time it’s about the company’s move into bitcoin. The board has approved a plan to let the company invest in the cryptocurrency.

“In doing so, GameStop effectively positions itself as going down the same path as Strategy (formerly called MicroStrategy) whose shares have become a proxy for the bitcoin price due to its large investment in the digital asset. No-one ever asks what MicroStrategy does day-to-day as a business, and increasingly the same could apply to GameStop.”

Achilles Investment Company

“Achilles has wasted no time in flexing its muscles and showing there is a new sheriff in town when it comes to activist investors in the investment trust sector.

“With Saba defeated on multiple campaigns and having disappeared with its tail between its legs, Achilles has filled the void and is determined to show that activists can still win in the investment trust space.

“Formed a mere month ago, Achilles is backed by two City veterans with a track record of shaking up companies in the small cap world. Harwood Capital founder Christopher Mills and Robert Naylor have now turned their attention to the alternative investment trust space and Urban Logistics REIT is their first target.

“The team have called for an extraordinary general meeting to get Urban Logistics’ shareholders to vote on kicking out three directors and replacing them with two new ones, including Naylor.

“Achilles hinted a week ago that it was not happy with the goings-on at Urban Logistics. It flagged a conflict of interest with the boss of Urban Logistics’ investment adviser, Richard Moffitt, and the fact he is also an equity partner of a property-related advice business that has received millions of pounds in fees from the trust.

“The EGM requisition creates new drama. Combined with Saba’s recent efforts, it suggests that every board of directors in the investment trust space needs to look hard at what’s going on to ensure that everything is above-board and that they’re working in the best interests of shareholders. Otherwise, someone will come along and stir up trouble.”

These articles are for information purposes only and are not a personal recommendation or advice.