Impact Healthcare REIT continues investment with care home acquisition

Jamie Gordon
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Impact Healthcare REIT continues investment with care home acquisition
Healthcare-focused real estate investment trust Impact Healthcare REIT PLC (LON: IHR) announced on Monday morning that it had acquired a property asset outside of Bristol. The exchange of contracts for the Argentum Lodge Care Home facility was undertaken for a consideration of £6.95 million, with initial rental income of £0.467 million. Speaking on the acquisition, the Impact Healthcare REIT statement read,

“Argentum Lodge is a purpose-built nursing home located in the affluent village of Nailsea, approximately 10 miles to the south west of Bristol.”

“The Group has agreed to appoint one of its existing tenants, Welford, as the new tenant of Argentum Lodge, which will leave Welford operating five homes for Impact with a total of 230 beds. The terms of the new 25-year full repairing and insuring lease with Welford for the home are the same as the Group’s existing leases with Welford.”

“The acquisition further enhances the Group’s geographic and tenant diversification and is in line with its investment criteria and returns profile.”

“The Group continues to pursue a number of further acquisitions with a number in exclusivity and has a strong pipeline of potential investment opportunities.”

Following the news, the Company’s shares rallied modestly, by 0.54% or 0.60p, to 111.60p per share 23/09/19 09:37 BST. The Group’s p/e ratio stands at 12.95, their dividend yield is 5.41%. Elsewhere in property development and estate agency news, there have been updates from; Berkeley Group Holdings Ltd (LON: BKG), Redrow plc (LON: RDW), U+I Group PLC (LON: UAI), Hunters Property PLC (LON: HUNT), GCP Student Living plc (LON: DIGS), Barratt Development Plc (LON: BDEV) and Belvoir Group PLC (LON: BLV).

Thomas Cook collapses

Dina Caruso
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Thomas Cook collapses
Thomas Cook (LON:TCG), the British global travel group, has collapsed leaving thousands of British holidaymakers stranded abroad. With all flights cancelled as the company has ceased trading, the UK Civil Aviation Authority has warned that customers in the UK yet to travel must not go to the airport. The government has requested that the UK Civil Aviation Authority launch a repatriation programme over the course of the next two weeks in order to bring Thomas Cook customers back home. The UK Civil Aviation Authority is set to launch the biggest ever peacetime repatriation to bring home over 150,000 British holiday makers. “News of Thomas Cook’s collapse is deeply saddening for the company’s employees and customers, and we appreciate that more than 150,000 people currently abroad will be anxious about how they will now return to the UK,” Richard Moriarty, Chief Executive of the UK Civil Aviation Authority, commented in a statement. Customers abroad are being urged to check thomascook.caa.co.uk for advice on what to do next. Chief Executive of Thomas Cook Peter Fankhauser said that the matter is “of profound regret” to himself and the rest of the board. “We have worked exhaustively in the past few days to resolve the outstanding issues on an agreement to secure Thomas Cook’s future for its employees, customers and suppliers,” Thomas Cook’s Chief Executive said. “Although a deal had been largely agreed, an additional facility requested in the last few days of negotiations presented a challenge that ultimately proved insurmountable,” the Chief Executive continued. “I would like to apologise to our millions of customers, and thousands of employees, suppliers and partners who have supported us for many years. Despite huge uncertainty over recent weeks, our teams continued to put customers first, showing why Thomas Cook is one of the best-loved brands in travel.” Earlier this year, the travel operator said that it was set to close 21 stores, placing 300 jobs at risk. It had been under pressure recently with falling profits – in May the travel group reported a £1.5 billion loss for the first-half of the year.

Billington lays strong full-year foundations with first half profit growth

Jamie Gordon
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Billington lays strong full-year foundations with first half profit growth
UK structural steel and construction safety solutions specialists Billington Holdings PLC (LON: BILN) saw its shares rally on Monday morning, on the back of impressive progress illustrated in its first half fundamentals. The Company accrued revenues of £47.15 million, up 19.7% year-on-year for the period. This led its 39.8% EBITDA spike, up to £3.55 million, and a 38.1% jump in profit before tax, to £2.68 million. Additionally, the Group’s cash and cash equivalents rose 32.4% to £10.01 million. Billington Holdings shareholders saw similar progress, with EPS hiking 39.1% to 17.80p. The Company went on to add that it continued investment in its safety solutions businesses, delivered a ‘large’ European project and won two contracts worth a combined £30 million, in June 2019.

Billington Holdings comments

Company Chief Executive, Mark Smith, commented on the results,

“I am very pleased with the Group performance in the first half of the year, continuing the strong momentum from 2018. We started the year with a record order book and consequently the first half has been a very busy period for the Group across all our businesses. We have continued to build our order book with further significant contracts secured.”

“Whilst the overall market continues to be uncertain, the outlook for Billington remains positive, particularly given the Group’s ability to target a diverse range of projects insulating us, in part, from any temporary slowdowns in the market. I look forward to the remainder of the year and beyond with cautious optimism.”

Investor notes

The Company’s shares have rallied 5.35% or 17.00p, to 335.00p per share 23/09/19 09:21 BST. The Group’s p/e ratio is 9.46, their dividend yield stands at 3.82%. Elsewhere in construction and development news, there have been updates from; Epwin Group PLC (LON: EPWIN), Ashtead Group plc (LON: AHT), SIG plc (LON: SHI), Alumasc Group plc (LON: ALU), Somero Enterprises Inc (LON: SOM), Barratt Developments Plc (LON: BDEV) and Wincanton plc (LON: WIN).

Deltex Medical shares dip as revenues narrow

Jamie Gordon
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1
Deltex Medical shares dip as revenues narrow
Global leader in oesophageal Doppler monitoring Deltex Medical Group plc (LON: DEMG) booked an improved margin and improved cost-effectiveness on a year-on-year comparison of the first half, but its narrowed revenues weighed on its share price as trading began on Monday morning. The Company’s revenues narrowed from £2.3 million to £2.0 million on-year for the first half. The Group maintained a loss of £0.3 million, though this narrowed from £1.2 million. Largely though, the Company showed consistent progress across its fundamentals. Alongside a gross margin widening by 12% to 76%, Deltex Medical reduced its sales and distribution expenses by 55% and overhead costs by 35%. Further, the Group swung to a £0.2 million profit, from a loss of £1.0 million on-year. The Company also noted that it increased the average sale price of its TrueVue Doppler products in the US and terminated a third-party distribution contract in the UK. The Group was also awarded a contract with Vizient and four product development grants by Innovate UK.

Deltex Medical Group comments

Speaking on the results, Company Chairman Nigel Keen said, “The significantly improved underlying financial performance of the Group can clearly be seen with positive adjusted EBITDA in the first half.” “We are delighted with the number of new technology grants that Deltex Medical has been awarded so far in 2019. As well as providing non-dilutive capital for our development programmes, these grant awards provide independent validation of the potential for the Group’s technology with the increasing focus on patient safety.” “Deltex Medical is well placed to provide clinicians around the world with advanced haemodynamic monitoring which is becoming increasingly recognised as an important factor associated with improved patient safety as well as the reduction of avoidable complications during and after surgery.”

Investor notes

The Company’s shares dipped 1.89% or 0.025p to 1.30p per share 23/09/19 08:05 BST. Neither a dividend yield nor a p/e ratio are available for the Group, their market cap is £6.97 million. Elsewhere in health and medical news, there have been updates from; Curetis NC (AMS: CURE), Integumen PLC (LON: SKIN), Medica Group PLC (LON: MGP), EMIS Group (LON: EMIS), OptiBiotix Health PLC (LON: OPTI) NMC Health (LON: NMC) and Astrazeneca plc (LON: AZN).

Hotel Chocolat looks overseas

Andrew Hore
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0
Hotel Chocolat looks overseas

Chocolate maker and retailer Hotel Chocolat (LON:HOTC) continues to make impressive progress. This will be shown when the figures for the year to June 2019 are published on 24 September.
Online sales are growing but there is a lot more to go for. Stores continue to be opened in in the UK, with 14 opened last year and more to come.
Hotel Chocolat is finding out more about its customers and how to market to them because of its VIP Me card.
Peel Hunt expects growth in revenues from £116.3m to £132.4m, but pre-tax profit is likely to be flat at £12.8m. There is likely to be a small net debt or ...

Moss Bros switches focus to retail

Andrew Hore
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0
Moss Bros switches focus to retail

Clothing hire and retailer Moss Bros (LON: MOSB) is expected to make a small interim loss before the effects of any recent changes in accounting regulations.
The strategy is to increase retail sales as hire revenues dip. Online revenues are expected to grow strongly, and online penetration could rise above 15% for the first time. There should also be like-for-like growth in store sales.
Tailor Me is a growth area and in the first 15 weeks of this year its sales were one-third higher. A standalone website for Tailor Me will be launched, where customers can chose their suit and then go to a sho...

eve Sleep ends merger talks

Andrew Hore
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eve Sleep ends merger talks

Talks between rival mattress suppliers eve Sleep (LON: EVE) and the unquoted Simba have been called off as trading gets tougher for eve Sleep.
Trading in the shares of eve Sleep was restored on Friday and the share price slumped to 3.3p. That price decline would have made it more difficult to fund a merger with Simba which would require a large share issue either to the vendors of Simba and/or to investors for cash.
AIM-quoted eve Sleep says trading has been worse than expected in recent months. The general market for home goods is weak and there is increasing promotional activity in the matt...

boohoo accelerates

Andrew Hore
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boohoo accelerates

Not many retailers are soaring ahead, but online fashion retailer boohoo (LON: BOO) has already foreshadowed sharp growth in the first half of the financial year to February 2020 ahead of its interims on Wednesday.
Trading was so positive that boohoo decided that to make an unexpected trading statement on 5 September. Normally that means bad news, but boohoo had good news across the board.
Sales of the boohoo brand are expected to have grown by nearly 29% in the first half, while the less mature Nasty Gal and Pretty Little Thing have grown by 151% and nearly 49% respectively. That is in sharp...

UK property market seasonal trends, GetAgent.co.uk study

Dina Caruso
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UK property market seasonal trends, GetAgent.co.uk study
New data revealed on Friday that the average price for property transactions last year was at its highest during the summer months. The research from GetAgent.co.uk, the estate agent comparison website, shows that the average price for property transactions last year was at its highest over the summer at £265,546. This figure is 20.5% higher than the spring average of £220,366, the data shows. The chaos surrounding Brexit has seen property prices stumble for the nation, but the new data by GetAgent.co.uk suggests that more woe is to come as the winter months approach. According to the data, the average sold price dropped 7.7% last year between the summer and autumn months, down to £244,984, with sold prices falling 17.4% over the winter months. GetAgent.co.uk said that transactions also declined 1.8% between summer and autumn and then dropped by 1.1% between autumn and winter. “While the dark clouds of political uncertainty continue to overshadow the health of the UK property market, seasonal trends show that prices and transactions are due to dip even further,” Founder and CEO of GetAgent.co.uk, Colby Short, commented on the data in a statement. “Seasonal swings are a factor that influences many different areas of business, not just property, however, when coupled with an already uncertain landscape, they can make mediocre market conditions seem a lot worse than they really are,” the Founder and CEO continued. “While home sellers won’t welcome an even tougher time to sell and for the price that they would like, those with the Brexit silver bullet of a winter of autumn related road name should be able to defy the doom and gloom to secure a good price for their home.” With the extended Halloween Brexit deadline approaching, the only thing certain is additional uncertainty. Will the UK secure a deal and prevent a chaotic departure from the European Union?

City Pub Group profits rise as ‘acquisitions tap’ shut off by Brexit

Jamie Gordon
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2
City Pub Group profits rise as ‘acquisitions tap’ shut off by Brexit
Pub and bar operator The City Pub Group PLC (LON: CPC) posted impressive financial results for the first half of FY19. Despite this, the Company’s shares dipped during trading on Thursday, as it announced it would follow the ‘path most travelled’ and end its campaign of acquisitions amid Brexit uncertainty. In spite of their trading performance following the announcement, the Company performed well during the first half, with like-for-like sales increasing by 2.6% and revenues spiking 36% on a year-on-year basis, to £27.1 million. This led the Group’s 20% EBITDA surge, to £3.6 million, and a 19% hike in adjusted profit before tax, to £1.9 million.

City Pub Group said they had opened four new pubs during the period, with their in development becoming their main focus, in lieu of further acquisitions. The Company added that it had reaped the rewards of its new regional management structure and Weekly Employee Bonus Scheme, both of which the Group said would bolster growth and incentivise staff.

The City Pub Group comments

Speaking on today’s update, Executive Chairman Clive Watson, said,

“Our targeted expansion of high-quality larger pubs with letting rooms has delivered strong progress for the Group in the first half. In the face of robust comparatives, we have delivered good like for like growth too. As our development sites begin trading during 2020, they will drive our performance onward. Our momentum has continued into the second half with strong sales growth.”

“We cannot ignore the uncertainty in the market due primarily to Brexit and the potential impact of a No Deal. We are a management team that is focused on the long-term and as such we believe it is prudent for us to rein in our expansion programme until there is more certainty. Instead we will focus on getting our development sites trading, developing our existing estate, reducing our debt and improving our dividends or shareholders. This will further strengthen our position and minimise the impact of any headwinds whilst continuing to deliver significant growth into the future.”

Investor notes

After a slight recovery, the Company’s shares are down 9.61% or 20.90p (probably owing to their new acquisitions strategy), to 196.60p per share. Analysts from Liberum reiterated their ‘Buy’ stance on City Pub Group stock. The Group’s p/e ratio is 67.34, their dividend yield stands at 1.39%. Elsewhere in food and beverage news, there have been updates from; Bakkavor Group Plc (LON: BAKK), Avangardco Investments Public Limited (LON: AVGR), Loungers PLC (LON: LGRS), The Coca-Cola Co (NYSE: KO), Devro plc (LON: DVO), Greencore Group plc, (LON: GNC) and NWF Group plc (LON: NWF).
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