magazine archive
magazine archive
Sector Reports
Why takeover activity has fired up the UK logistics industry
Thursday 17 Mar 2022The news last month that distribution firm Clipper Logistics ( CLG ) had agreed a £965 million takeover offer from US-based rival GXO Logistics has propelled the normally staid world of third-party logistics into the limelight. Crucially, the deal is predicated on revenue synergies, derived from...
The rallying car retailers with gas still in the tank
Thursday 11 Nov 2021Quoted car retailers are enjoying an upgrade cycle fuelled by the highly unusual supply and demand dynamics seen in the UK automotive market since the summer of 2020. Post-lockdown, pent-up consumer demand is being released at the same time as the global semiconductor shortage impacts new car...
Why there's renewed life in the non-life insurance sector
Thursday 28 Oct 2021It would be easy to dismiss the general or non-life insurance sector as an obscure and rather boring segment of the market. But this collection of companies are involved in exciting themes like cyber and offer some generous dividend yields to boot. THE SECTOR AT A GLANCE The UK FTSE 350 non-life...
The best UK chemicals stocks to buy now
Thursday 02 Sep 2021Constituents of the UK chemicals sector span both a wide range of market capitalisations and end markets. These include aerospace, automotive, coatings, semiconductors, sports and leisure and the global flavour and fragrance industries. The largest company in the UK chemicals sector, Croda ( CRDA...
The case for cannabis: how to access an emerging investment opportunity
Thursday 08 Apr 2021There are good reasons to be excited by the prospects for the global cannabis industry as more countries legalise recreational usage and a plethora of new medical applications are developed. In addition, an increasing number of cannabis-based consumer products are slated to enter the market over...
High street retailers best placed to thrive post-lockdown
Thursday 25 Mar 2021According to the Government’s latest ‘roadmap’, non-essential stores in England can reopen from 12 April. This includes clothes shops, book shops, department stores (remember those?), mobile phone shops, betting shops, car dealerships and shops such as florists and hairdressers. Face masks and...
The unloved legal eagles chalking up bumper returns
Thursday 04 Feb 2021In a year in which ‘quality growth’ stocks stretched their outperformance over ‘value’ stocks, notwithstanding a late bounce-back in the latter on the announcement of a Covid vaccine, it seems odd that UK investors should have overlooked the legal sector. As it is, most legal services and related...
Airline earnings recovery predictions look too optimistic
Thursday 21 May 2020Cheap prices to buy or lease an aircraft, low bowering costs, cheap fuel prices and reduced labour union membership would normally be music to the ears of airlines. Sadly they are unable to fully take advantage of these benefits as the coronavirus has essentially grounded the airline sector. Many...
Home isolation provides huge boost to the gaming sector
Thursday 30 Apr 2020Enforced lockdowns across the globe have turbocharged the number of people playing video games. In this article we will look at the main domestic and global players in this market and identify two ways to gain exposure to this emerging space. DEMAND SHOWING UP IN PLATFORMS The demand for gaming is...
Our top picks in the clothing retail sector
Thursday 21 Nov 2019Clothing is one of life’s essential goods. We all regularly buy clothes and therefore one might assume it is a good place to invest. In reality, it is a highly competitive industry and historically there has been a wide gap between the best and worst performing shares in the sector. This Christmas...