magazine archive
magazine archive
Big News
Boku hopes to make its mark
Thursday 23 Nov 2017Mobile payments specialist Boku ( BOKU:AIM ) hopes AIM can provide the support needed to help the business advance towards a maiden profit. It has raised £45m with £30m of this sum going to selling shareholders. The US-based business provides direct carrier billing to content providers and major...
The winners and losers on the stock market from Hammond’s Budget
Thursday 23 Nov 2017Shares in housebuilders fell after the Budget announcement which failed to deliver the kind of radical changes to planning or extended financial support desired by the market. Although Chancellor Philip Hammond pledged £44bn to help build 300,000 homes a year by 2020, a lack of detail has gone down...
Lower living costs and higher wages centre stage at this year’s Budget
Thursday 23 Nov 2017Chancellor Philip Hammond was very upbeat in his Budget statement despite downgraded OBR forecasts for the UK economy. Productivity growth and business investment estimates were also revised down. UK GDP is now expected to grow by 1.5% in 2017 (previously estimated at 2%), 1.4% in 2018 and 1.3% in...
What's going on with Royal Mail?
Thursday 23 Nov 2017An improvement in Royal Mail’s ( RMG ) financial performance risks being overshadowed by the continuing threat of labour strikes. On 16 November the company reported operating profit of £260m after transformation costs in the half year to 24 September which was ahead of consensus forecasts for £...
Accrol: back and kicking up a stink
Thursday 23 Nov 2017Toilet rolls-to-industrial wipes manufacturer Accrol ( ACRL:AIM ) has returned from suspension on AIM (20 Nov) and announced a £18m placing to shore up its balance sheet. Accrol was suspended in October due to a short-term funding crunch, having been beset by higher costs and a health and safety...
Bakkavor’s renewed appetite for IPO
Thursday 16 Nov 2017Just days after pulling its Main Market IPO citing volatile market conditions, food provider Bakkavor ( BAKK ) has done a U-turn and will join the stock market today (16 Nov) at a lower valuation than its previous target. Shares in the UK’s biggest manufacturer of hummus have been priced at 180p...
UK construction in recession
Thursday 16 Nov 2017The latest Office for National Statistics figures on UK construction suggests the industry is in recession. Output fell by a deeper-than-expected 1.6% between August and September as new work slipped by 1.3%. For the third quarter, output was down 0.9%, representing the first fall for two...
Can Workspace fight off WeWork’s competitive threat?
Thursday 16 Nov 2017American shared office group WeWork is aggressively expanding with a presence in 16 countries including the UK. This is creating intense competition for the likes of IWG ( IWG ) which recently issued a profit warning wiping off a third of its market value. Sector peer Workspace ( WKP ) has so far...
Worrying number of profit warnings in 2017
Thursday 16 Nov 2017London-listed companies issued 75 profit warnings in the three months to 30 September and there have been plenty more in recent weeks. Among the latest offenders is Ultra Electronics ( ULE ) whose profit warning on 13 November was blamed on Ministry of Defence expenditure. That in turn led to share...
IQE cash call gets huge backing
Thursday 16 Nov 2017Investors have given IQE ( IQE:AIM ) a massive vote of confidence by backing a £95m share placing. Priced at a zero discount to the 140p market price at the time of the fundraise is a positive sign of investor support. Indeed, demand has since pushed up the shares to a record 174.75p. (SF) ‹...