Mears, H&T Group and Jackpotjoy

“Blue-chips edged higher at the start of trading after upbeat trading on markets in the US and Asia as concerns over recent threats of further ballistic missile tests by North Korea appear to be abating. Closer to home, investors will be keeping a close eye on today's inflation data as a key indicator of the state of the UK economy,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.

“Housing and social care provider Mears was the biggest FTSE All-Share faller after it warned that full-year housing revenues would be £30m lower than previous forecasts. The aftermath of the Grenfell Tower tragedy will have a significant impact on the group’s housing division as clients review the commissioning and safety practices at their properties. This will inevitably affect the timing of the group’s planned workloads with clients' attention diverted towards ensuring that their portfolios are safe and fully compliant. The group’s shares were down by more than 11.3% in early trading.

“Pawnbroker H&T Group has made a strong start to its 120th anniversary year with pre-tax profits up 62.2% increase at £6m. The average gold price increased 15.5% to £983 per troy ounce which was the main factor in a £0.6m increase in pawnbroking scrap gross profits. H&T has also broadened its product suite with the launch of personal loans which provide annual percentage rates of less than 50%. H&T’s shares were up by over 9.1%.

“Online bingo group Jackpotjoy was an early riser after an increase in first half revenues and adjusted earnings. A key priority for the group is to reduce its historic debt burden and it achieved a major milestone in June when it made the final earn-out payment of £94.2m for the non-Spanish assets within the Jackpotjoy segment, using existing cash resources. The group’s shares were up by more than 1.4% in early trading.”

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