McCarthy & Stone, Prairie Mining & Pure Gym

“The FTSE 100 is off to a fairly quiet start on a lack of big name corporate news, although keep an eye on sterling as it is moving down yet again which will be good for overseas earners but not for UK domestic stocks,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.

 "You sometimes wonder if the Brexit vote was a dream. After the initial shock reaction in June shattered consumer confidence, life seems to have returned to normal for many businesses. That’s certainly evident with retirement house builder McCarthy & Stone which has gone from gloom to boom. Five weeks ago it warned about a rise in cancellations; today is says reservations have improved and cancellation rates have gone to more normal levels. However, you can’t ignore the fact that Brexit uncertainty is creeping back into the market.  It’s another five weeks until its full year results are published – anything could happen in that short period.

 "Prairie Mining may have made the deal of the century. It has bought the Debiensko coal mine in Poland, previously the flagship growth project of New World Resources. The latter used to be in the FTSE 250 index but ended up drowning in debt amid a collapse in the coal price. Prairie has only paid €2m for the asset – it could prove an absolute bargain given the extent of planning that’s already gone into the asset. However its success will be dependent on this year’s coal price recovery not losing steam. 

 "Just as you thought IPOs were back, they start to get cancelled again. Pure Gym has abandoned its plans to join the London stock market, blaming market volatility. On one hand, you may think this seems a tad perplexing given the FTSE 250 is up 1.9% and the FTSE 100 has advanced 6.6% since it announced plans to float a month ago. On the other hand, sterling has seen a new slump and the outlook for UK domestic stocks isn’t entirely rosy. Potential investors clearly weren’t pumped about the group’s prospects if the UK economy takes a Brexit-induced hit."

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