Analysts have not gone easy on Next’s “miserable” results November 2, 2016 Analysts have not pulled their punches this morning in reaction to Next's announcement that sales fell 3.5 per cent in its third quarter. Retail Economics' chief executive Richard Lim described Next's sales growth as "miserable", and said that the "conditions on the high street remain desperate". Next's share price has been climbing this morning, however, [...]
New mortgage rules to affect dual currency earners – Investec Comment October 25, 2015 Coming into force in March next year is the EU Mortgage Credit Directive, and it is likely to have a significant impact on many who work in the City. It has a variety of implications, including for buy-to-let mortgages, but least well-understood is how it will affect the provision of mortgages for people who [...]
The entrepreneurial landscape of power – Investec Comment September 13, 2015 The British power and electricity landscape is changing, and the business of power is changing too. Partly this is down to the growth of renewables. Renewable energy generation had a record quarter this year, accounting for 22.3 per cent of total electricity generation. We’ve seen the emergence of a new wave of independent suppliers – [...]
Investec: Lloyds Banking Group will post a £2.3bn profit this week October 25, 2015 Lloyds Banking Group is expected to post a rise in quarterly profits on Wednesday, in its first set of results since chancellor George Osborne announced that retail investors would be able to buy shares of the bailed-out bank at a discount next year. Citing “modest revenue growth, lower costs and potentially no charge at all for [...]
Why Shoreditch is still so attractive for young firms – Investec Comment October 18, 2015 For a young business finding its feet, office space is a classic challenge. Alongside being a sizeable overhead, the question of how much space you take and how long you take it for is not easily resolved. Landlords will typically want to sign you up for as long as possible. But while your company is [...]
Avoiding pitfalls in a management buy-out – Investec Comment September 27, 2015 A management buy-out, when a management team buys a company from its existing shareholders, should be a win-win situation. The management team, alongside its private equity backer, gets to acquire the business they have worked hard to build. For the selling shareholder, the business’ management team is in theory the most educated buyer they could [...]
Investec Comment: A smooth ride post management buy-out October 4, 2015 Mark Cornford, managing director of Integrity Print, and Gary Edwards, Growth & Acquisition Finance at Investec, discuss the support that companies need from their bank following a management buy-out (MBO). What issues did your company face post-MBO? MC: Managers can become over-confident with what they can achieve in the marketplace. I always had belief [...]
Don’t overlook the blossoming UK mid-market – Investec Comment October 11, 2015 Germany's Mittelstand is a point of national pride, but Britain’s mid-market companies are often unfairly overlooked. While the largest firms gain attention by virtue of their size, and smaller businesses are regularly prioritised by government, mid-sized companies – broadly, those with an annual turnover of between £10m and £200m – don’t get the attention they [...]
Irish service sector business sentiment tumbled in June July 5, 2016 Irish service sector business expectations have dropped to their lowest levels in almost three years a survey released today indicated. Many firms expressed concern over the impact of Brexit on the Irish services sector even though the majority of responses were collected before 23 June. The Investec Purchasing Managers Sub-Index – which indicates the underlying [...]
Who owns the UK’s railways? Well, not British firms in many cases January 11, 2017 The sale of the C2C rail franchise – labelled by consumer groups as the best network into London – has once again sparked concerns that Britain's railways are being taken over by foreign, often state-owned, firms. National Express' sale of its final franchise in the UK was part of the FTSE 250 firm's strategy to target [...]