Chancellor Philip Hammond said in 2017 that he wanted to have “fully driverless cars” without a safety attendant on board in use by 2021.
Premier Inn owner to launch new no-frill hotel brand
Premier Inn owner, Whitbread (LON: WTB), is to launch a new “no-frills” hotel chain.
Having sold cafe chain Costa Coffee to Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), the group is hoping to boost sales with Zip by Premier Inn for the “ultra-price-sensitive customer”.
A room will cost £19 and contain lightboxes, en-suite power showers, 24-inch televisions and twin single beds. The average price of a standard Premier Inn room is £57.
The hotels will be located on the outskirts of major towns and cities, the first opening in Cardiff in 2019 with 138 rooms.
The second location will be in Southampton, with 140 rooms.
“We have undertaken considerable research, including having had six Zip rooms on sale to customers for many months,” said Premier Inn’s managing director, Simon Jones.
“It’s clear through the research that people want the basics done brilliantly, such as a comfy bed and a power shower, but they are happy to compromise on location or some extras if they are paying a fantastic price for their room,” he added.
The rooms have been designed by Priestmangoode, which is a design consultancy that works on first-class cabins for airlines such as Air France, Lufthansa and Swiss.
The hotel will have communal areas that will serve breakfast and turn into a bar in the evenings.
Optional extras at Zip include additional cleaning, which will be purchased for £5 per day.
Whitbread is in the process of selling Costa Coffee to Coca-Cola in a £3.9 billion deal.
Angus Grierson, the managing director of the advisory firm LGB Corporate Finance, said on the deal: “The deal is an attempt to adapt quickly to changing tastes, notably the continuing rise in popularity of coffee, particularly among millennial consumers.”
“Customers are choosing lower-sugar varieties of soft drinks more than they ever have, with sales of sugary drinks declining rapidly, down 11% in 2018, thanks in part to the introduction of the UK’s first-ever sugar tax.”
Safestyle UK shares rise following commercial agreement
Safestyle UK shares rose on Monday morning after the company announced it had entered into a commercial agreement with co-founder Mitu Misra.
The company said in a statement on Monday that it had entered a five-year non-compete Misra, who was a party to the firm’s dispute involving Niamac Developments Ltd, trading as Safesglaze.
As part of the agreement, Mr Misra will receive 4 million ordinary shares of 1 pence, alongside a potential cash payment of £2 million.
The company confirmed that the allotment of the shares and and payment of the sum, would be made in the fourth quarter of 2020.
Mike Gallacher, Chief Executive of Safestyle UK plc, commented:
“The three phase turnaround plan that was outlined in our Interim Results is underway and is already helping to stabilise the Group before returning it to profitability and then accelerating growth. The focus of the whole Group remains on delivering this plan quickly and effectively.”
Shares in the company rallied earlier this month after it announced it was considering “certain agreements” with shareholders of NIAMAC Developments Ltd, which would provide a boost the business.
Nevertheless, the firm denied speculation of a takeover approach, after shares bounced more than 12%.
Safestyle UK specialises in providing double glazed windows, French doors and conservatories.
The firm was founded back in 1992 and is headquartered in Bradford, UK.
Back in 2003, the company was floated on the AIM-market of the London Stock Exchange, valuing the company at £70 million.
Shares in Safestyle UK (LON:SFE) are currently trading +30.92 % as of 12.31PM (GMT).
Elsewhere in the markets, shares in Ryanair (LON:RYA) ticked up on Monday morning, despite the low-cost airline posting a fall in profits for the year.
In the retail sector, Dr. Martens said earnings grew 33% to £50m in the year to March.
Philips CEO warns on Brexit impacts
The chief executive of Philips has shared his Brexit concerns, saying the lack of progress could force the firm to rethink UK operations.
Frans van Houten warned that the Dutch health-technology manufacturer said it might have to change the entire supply chain to limit impacts from when the UK crashes out of the EU.
“As time passes and there is no solution I get increasingly worried that hereafter frictionless trade between the United Kingdom and European mainland could be at risk,” he said.
“Basically the UK as a manufacturing hub for the world would be at risk.”
On Monday, Philips released disappointing quarterly results. The group posted €4.3 billion (£3.8 billion) in sales, a 4% growth.
Shares fell 8% to €31.30, the lowest point since April.
The boss said that a no-deal or hard Brexit would affect production at the Philips’ main UK exporting plant, which is in Glemsford.
“We are looking at a customs union as a minimum (requirement),” he told reporters. “If that were not to happen we would need to rethink our manufacturing footprint.”
Van Houten also expressed concerns surrounding the trade war, which has the potential to knock €60 million off profits next year.
“We will redesign some of our supply chains,” he said.
“We are in the good position of having factories in the United States, in Europe and in Asia. We can rebalance those going forward in order to avoid some of the duty impact.”
Dr Martens puts its best foot forward as profits rise 33%
Profits at Dr Martens’ grew 33% for the year, as the company enjoyed strong sales in Europe and the Middle East.
Revenue rose 33% to £50 million the year to March, with sales rising 20% to £348.6 million.
Like-for-like retail sales grew 7%, while wholesale sales rose 16% to £208 million for the year to March-end.
Moreover, the company continued to enjoy a strong online presence, with online sales up 35 per cent to £44 million.
Direct sales to customers online and in-store rose by 15%.
Paul Mason, chairman of Dr Martens, said: “This has been a fantastic year for Dr Martens.”
He also remained optimistic for the potential of “significant scope for growth across our markets, particularly via our Direct to Consumer channels, and this will remain a strategic priority in the years ahead”.
The results suggest that the brand is managing to buck the trend of the high street, which has been experiencing a downturn in recent years.
The brand was also recently named as having the most effective Instagram in UK retail, according to Red Hot Penny’s Social Scorecard study.
Maintaining a strong online presence on social media platforms has become increasingly necessary for retailers, particularly in light of falling foot-fall and changing consumer habits.
Dr Martens is well-known for its boots, which became synonymous with British punk and grunge culture.
Its boots were originally manufactured in Northamptonshire, UK. However, now most of its products are made overseas.
Over the course of this year, Dr Martens have opened 25 new stores, nine of which are in the UK. It now operates 94 locations around the world.
Dr Martens is owned by Permira, a European private equity firm. It acquired the iconic shoewear brand back in 2014.
Ryanair shares rise despite weaker half-year profits
Ryanair (LON:RYA) reported a 7% fall in half-year profits, blaming strike action and higher fuel costs.
The low-cost airline posted a fall in profits to €1.2 billion (£1.06 billion) for the six months to 30 September.
Ryanair attributed the decline to industrial action across the period, as well as rising fuel prices.
Back in October, Ryanair pilots across Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Belgium announced plans to coordinate strike action for 24 hours.
The action led to the airline cancelling as many as 250 flights, affecting some 40,000 customers.
As a result, Ryanair said it had seen a spike in cancellations across the period, with customers increasingly deterred amid concerns of flight disruptions.
Traffic increased 6%, with planes at 96% capacity. However, average fares slipped 3% to €46.
Whilst ancillary revenues, such as luggage and seat reservation fees, were up 27%, this was offset by compensation costs and higher fuel prices.
Chief Executive Michael O’Leary said:
“As recently guided, H1 average fares fell by three per cent. While ancillary revenues performed strongly, up 27 per cent, these were offset by higher fuel, staff and EU261 [flight compensation] costs. Our traffic, which was repeatedly impacted by the worst summer of ATC disruptions on record, grew six per cent at an unchanged 96 per cent load factor.”
It has proved a turbulent year for many airlines, as volatile oil prices and currency movements have impacted profits.
Last week, Flybe shares (LON:FLYB) plunged over 30% after the budget airline warned on profits for the year.
Shares in Ryanair are currently trading +4.54% as of 10.40AM (GMT).
Addison Lee to deploy self-driving taxis in London by 2021
Addison Lee has announced plans to have self-driving taxis on the streets of London by 2021.
The taxi firm has partnered with the self-driving software specialist Oxboticasigned, signing a deal to deploy autonomous vehicles in the capital.
The group has said that its 5,000 taxi drivers will remain employed and the first development will focus on shuttle buses around airports or campuses.
Whilst London is set for driverless taxis by 2021, Tokyo has plans to have a full service in the city in time for the 2020 Olympics.
Car manufacturers including Ford (NYSE: F), General Motors (NYSE: GM) and Daimler are also investing in self-driving vehicles.
Toyota has said that it will invest $500 million (£388 million) to develop an autonomous fleet for Uber.
Michael Hurwitz, who is the director of transport innovation, said London was committed to working with firms developing driverless vehicles.
“All cities across the UK, including London, need to understand the opportunities, risks and challenges they face when considering how transport will operate in the future,” he said.
Are you properly diversified?
Be diversified. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. This is Rule 101, according to most investors.
What, however, is a suitable level of diversification? To answer this question, one must first ask why you would you want to be diversified in the first place?
In layman’s terms you must diversify to avoid the failure of anyone share having a large impact on your overall portfolio. This is also known as the removal of unsystematic risk presented by single stock volatility.
A portfolio that is not effectively positioned to remove unsystematic risk is vulnerable to a single share wiping out a large proportion of a portfolios value. A portfolio that is suitably positioned to remove unsystematic risk then only leaves an investor exposed to systematic risk, or market risk. This is the risk of equity market volatility and can’t be diversified away and is inherent to all portfolios.
When focusing on the removal of unsystematic risk one should refer to the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM). The model was first introduced in the mid 1950’s by economist Harry Markowitz and later developed by Jack Treynor and William Sharpe who both went on to invent their namesake ratios commonly used in investment management today.
The CAPM formula can be used to judge the required return of an asset for the level of risk taken. All equity will assume a risk and the measure of risk in the Capital Asset Pricing Model is Beta.
Beta measures how risky a particular share is when compared to the underlying market. A Beta rating of 1 is the same as the market and a Beta rating of 2 means it moves twice as quickly as the market.
A Beta rating of less than 0 is a negative Beta, meaning the asset is negatively correlated to market, so if the overall market went up, you’d expect that asset to fall and visa versa.
As Beta is a key input to CAPM, this measure of volatility or risk should be at the forefront of building a balanced diversified portfolio. A mix of shares with different Beta ratings will reduce the correlation of the shares in the portfolio and provide protection against any sharp moves in the underlying benchmark.
Another key factor in diversifying is the number of shares in the portfolio.
Having few shares means sharp moves in one stock can cause significant divergence of the portfolio’s returns from the underlying benchmark where as having too many shares means the portfolio will simply track the underlying index.
According to Capital Asset Pricing Model having around 25-35 shares statistically means you have reduced unsystematic risk. Any more shares than this doesn’t reduce stock specific risk assuming equal amount allocated to each share.
So that, according to CAPM, is how many shares you need to diversify you portfolio.
However, those that follow Billionaire investor Warren Buffett will know he once famously said “Diversification is protection against ignorance. It makes little sense if you know what you are doing.”
Is Cannabis the next hot UK investment sector?
After decades of sporadic background rumbling, the issue of cannabis legalisation is back at the forefront of conversation as authorities around the world begin to change their stance on the drug.
We may be a long way from full legalisation of the drug for recreational use in the UK, but medical use has seen several big breakthroughs; not least the recent case of Billy Caldwell, who was very publicly granted exceptional permission to use the drug in the UK to control his severe epilepsy. The upshot was the UK government allowing specialist GPs to prescribe medicinal cannabis.
This unprecedented decision from the UK government has sparked debate, both on the streets and in parliament, as to whether medical cannabis should be fully legalised. Health secretary Jeremy Hunt has admitted the government may be wrong on the issue, with a police chief calling for the creation of ‘cannabis clubs’.
As we will explore, despite the UK being the world’s largest exporter of medicinal cannabis, our domestic stance has fallen behind other countries. Canada has allowed cannabis for medical use since 1999, in the US it is legal for medical use in 29 states and some European countries have decriminalised recreational use – it appears the tide is turning in favour of medicinal cannabis.
Alongside this are its anaesthetic qualities. It has been used for chronic, especially neuropathic pain, spasticity in multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injury, pain in rheumatoid arthritis, cancer pain, headache, menstrual pain, chronic bowel inflammation and neuralgias. Equally, its positive effects on epileptic siezures are some of the oldest recorded benefits.
There have also been some studies that suggest medical marijuana could be used to ween patients off prescription opiod use and prevent overdose deaths, but researchers don’t have enough evidence yet to confirm this finding. For example, one study found that Medicare Part D prescriptions filled for all opioids decreased in states with medical marijuana laws.
What’s in medical marijuana drugs?
The two main cannabinoids from the marijuana plant that are of medical interest are THC and CBD. THC can increase appetite and reduce nausea, as well as pain, inflammation and muscle control problems. Unlike THC, CBD is a cannabinoid that doesn’t make people “high.”
Two FDA-approved drugs, dronabinol and nabilone, contain THC. They treat nausea caused by chemotherapy and increase appetite in patients with extreme weight loss caused by AIDS. However, the FDA have not approved the use of the plant as a whole, but only the basic extracts.
Despite the United Nations revealing back in June that Britain is the world’s largest producer of legal cannabis, it is currently illegal for recreational use in the UK. However, the UK government has approved the prescription of medicines using cannabis derivatives following a debate this summer and subsequent easing on restrictions. Though it is still unclear what forms are legal and which are prohibited.
There have been two licenced cannabis-based medicine in Britain. Sativex is a mouth spray designed to reduce muscle spasms in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), and contains two chemical extracts taken from the cannabis plant. It was licenced for use in the UK in 2010, but is not usually available on the NHS in England as it is deemed too expensive.
There is also the THC-based Nabilone, which was licensed in 1982 for prescription-only hospital-only use against nausea arising from chemotherapy and unresponsive to other treatment.
Both have been provided in controlled and exceptional circumstances and more drugs are likely to be approved after the softening in stance by the government.
While the government has adopted a global trend of medicinal use of cannabis, it has been slow in comparison to countries such as Canada and the US and despite being the world’s largest producer of medicinal cannabis, recreational use is still illegal.
According to the UN’s International Narcotics Control Board, 95 tonnes of medical marijuana were produced in the UK in 2016, accounting for 44.9 per cent of the world total – but possession in the UK can still lead to a spell in jail.
The UK downgraded recreational cannabis to a Class C drug in 2002, with possession of small quantities no longer an arrestable offence, but it was moved back up to a Class B drug by Gordon Brown in 2008. Since then, the penalty for possession can be as much as five years in prison.
Who is pushing for UK adoption
The majority of assembly members in Wales, the SNP and all parties in Northern Ireland except the DUP have backed medical legalisation of cannabis, with the Liberal Democrat party pledging to legalise selling and growing cannabis as part of its election manifesto last year.
The Royal College of Nursing also voted overwhelmingly in favour of lobbying the government to make it legal for medical in May, with The Royal College of Psychiatrists saying legalisation for recreational and medicinal use should be considered as distinct.
Whilst it admitted that cannabis may carry significant mental health risks, it said it supports the medicinal use of approved cannabis products.
Home Secretary Sajid Javid made an unprecedented move in June when he intervened to allow Billy Caldwell continued access to cannabis-based life-saving treatment for severe epileptic seizures, after the drugs were confiscated on their return home from Canada.
The government since announced a review into the use of cannabis-based medicines in the UK and legalised medicinal uses in special cases.
Canada Legalisation
Canada’s Senate recently voted to legalise cannabis, becoming the first G7 nation to do so.
Whilst its medicinal use had been legal since 2001, cannabis had yet to be approved recreationally until earlier this year.
Canada and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has lead the way in becoming the second country after Uruguay to officially legalise recreational cannabis.
Canadians are allowed to grow up to four plants in their home and carry up to 30 grams of dried cannabis for personal consumption.
Minimum age restrictions will vary between 18 to 19 years old, depending upon province, and those caught supplying minors or carrying in excess of 30 grams will still be heavily penalised.
The landmark decision has since prompted reassessment from other developed nations over whether to follow suit.
Indeed efforts to review the classification of the drug are beginning to gain momentum, particularly in light of its potentially transformative medicinal benefits, and the potential boost to the economy it may provide.
In fact, Canada’s total legalised market is set to be worth as much as $22.6 billion (£16.9 billon) a year, according to Deloitte.
Companies such as Aphria and Canopy Growth have been fast growing in popularity on the stock market as a result of their investment into marijuana.
A divided United States
However, the most lucrative location for cannabis production is in fact California, which also happens to be the largest state in the U.S.
Nine states alongside Washington DC have also legalised the recreational use of marijuana for adults over the age of 21. An additional 21 states permit the use of a form of medicinal cannabis.
Public support for the legalisation of marijuana has been gradually strengthening over the course of the last four decades.
A broad 64% of Americans say they support the legalization of marijuana, according to a Gallup Poll conducted in October 2017.
The record percentage marks a significant shift in public perception of the drug, with a mere 12 per cent supporting legalisation when Gallup first poised the question to adults back in 1969.
It has been estimated that the U.S market is worth around $9.2 billion in 2017, and it only looks set to increase. Forbes has projected it may reach $47.3 billion by 2027.
Earlier this year, a treatment for childhood epilepsy received approval from the US drug regulator.
The drug became the first cannabis-based medicine on the American market, signalling potential for other pharmaceutical firms to tap into the potentially lucrative market too.
How to invest in Cannabis?
Despite the UK being the world’s largest exporter of cannabis, investment opportunities in domestic stock markets are limited.
Earlier this year Sativa Investments listed on the NEX Exchange to provide a vehicle for investors based in the UK to invest in the industry. However, while the shares trade in the UK, the underlying companies Sativa have invested in are based in North America.
To obtain exposure to companies operating in the UK, one may look to GW Pharma. The stock trades on the NASDAQ but benefits from the UK’s largest cannabis production facilities, operated by British Sugar.
British Sugar, a subsidiary of Associated British Foods, dumped growing tomatoes in 2016 and set up one of the world’s largest cannabis producing greenhouses near the East Anglian town of Wissington.
The 18-hectare site produces the plant for GW Pharmaceuticals in the use of Sativex and is developing a number of other applications.
Of course there is exposure through AB Foods listed in London and in the FTSE 100, but the contribution to earnings is minimal.
What are the medical benefits of Cannabis?
The real effects of medicinal cannabis remain uncertain, given the lack of medical trials taking place with the drug, the real effects of medicinal cannabis remain uncertain. However, however a number of recent trails point to benefits for patients suffering with MS, cancer and epilepsy. There is evidence that medicinal cannabis can help with the nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy, highlighted by the fact a drug has been FDA-approved for this purpose. It is also said to help with illnesses in which patients find it difficult to eat, including anorexia and cachexia in HIV/ AIDS. The appetite-stimulating effects of cannabis have a positive effect in these cases; in a long-term study of 94 AIDS patients, the appetite-stimulating effect of THC continued for months, confirming the appetite enhancement noted in a shorter 6 week study. A positive influence on body weight was also reported in 15 patients with Alzheimer’s disease who were previously refusing food.
Alongside this are its anaesthetic qualities. It has been used for chronic, especially neuropathic pain, spasticity in multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injury, pain in rheumatoid arthritis, cancer pain, headache, menstrual pain, chronic bowel inflammation and neuralgias. Equally, its positive effects on epileptic siezures are some of the oldest recorded benefits.
There have also been some studies that suggest medical marijuana could be used to ween patients off prescription opiod use and prevent overdose deaths, but researchers don’t have enough evidence yet to confirm this finding. For example, one study found that Medicare Part D prescriptions filled for all opioids decreased in states with medical marijuana laws.
What’s in medical marijuana drugs?
The two main cannabinoids from the marijuana plant that are of medical interest are THC and CBD. THC can increase appetite and reduce nausea, as well as pain, inflammation and muscle control problems. Unlike THC, CBD is a cannabinoid that doesn’t make people “high.”
Two FDA-approved drugs, dronabinol and nabilone, contain THC. They treat nausea caused by chemotherapy and increase appetite in patients with extreme weight loss caused by AIDS. However, the FDA have not approved the use of the plant as a whole, but only the basic extracts.
Despite the United Nations revealing back in June that Britain is the world’s largest producer of legal cannabis, it is currently illegal for recreational use in the UK. However, the UK government has approved the prescription of medicines using cannabis derivatives following a debate this summer and subsequent easing on restrictions. Though it is still unclear what forms are legal and which are prohibited.
There have been two licenced cannabis-based medicine in Britain. Sativex is a mouth spray designed to reduce muscle spasms in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), and contains two chemical extracts taken from the cannabis plant. It was licenced for use in the UK in 2010, but is not usually available on the NHS in England as it is deemed too expensive.
There is also the THC-based Nabilone, which was licensed in 1982 for prescription-only hospital-only use against nausea arising from chemotherapy and unresponsive to other treatment.
Both have been provided in controlled and exceptional circumstances and more drugs are likely to be approved after the softening in stance by the government.
While the government has adopted a global trend of medicinal use of cannabis, it has been slow in comparison to countries such as Canada and the US and despite being the world’s largest producer of medicinal cannabis, recreational use is still illegal.
According to the UN’s International Narcotics Control Board, 95 tonnes of medical marijuana were produced in the UK in 2016, accounting for 44.9 per cent of the world total – but possession in the UK can still lead to a spell in jail.
The UK downgraded recreational cannabis to a Class C drug in 2002, with possession of small quantities no longer an arrestable offence, but it was moved back up to a Class B drug by Gordon Brown in 2008. Since then, the penalty for possession can be as much as five years in prison.
Who is pushing for UK adoption
The majority of assembly members in Wales, the SNP and all parties in Northern Ireland except the DUP have backed medical legalisation of cannabis, with the Liberal Democrat party pledging to legalise selling and growing cannabis as part of its election manifesto last year.
The Royal College of Nursing also voted overwhelmingly in favour of lobbying the government to make it legal for medical in May, with The Royal College of Psychiatrists saying legalisation for recreational and medicinal use should be considered as distinct.
Whilst it admitted that cannabis may carry significant mental health risks, it said it supports the medicinal use of approved cannabis products.
Home Secretary Sajid Javid made an unprecedented move in June when he intervened to allow Billy Caldwell continued access to cannabis-based life-saving treatment for severe epileptic seizures, after the drugs were confiscated on their return home from Canada.
The government since announced a review into the use of cannabis-based medicines in the UK and legalised medicinal uses in special cases.
Canada Legalisation
Canada’s Senate recently voted to legalise cannabis, becoming the first G7 nation to do so.
Whilst its medicinal use had been legal since 2001, cannabis had yet to be approved recreationally until earlier this year.
Canada and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has lead the way in becoming the second country after Uruguay to officially legalise recreational cannabis.
Canadians are allowed to grow up to four plants in their home and carry up to 30 grams of dried cannabis for personal consumption.
Minimum age restrictions will vary between 18 to 19 years old, depending upon province, and those caught supplying minors or carrying in excess of 30 grams will still be heavily penalised.
The landmark decision has since prompted reassessment from other developed nations over whether to follow suit.
Indeed efforts to review the classification of the drug are beginning to gain momentum, particularly in light of its potentially transformative medicinal benefits, and the potential boost to the economy it may provide.
In fact, Canada’s total legalised market is set to be worth as much as $22.6 billion (£16.9 billon) a year, according to Deloitte.
Companies such as Aphria and Canopy Growth have been fast growing in popularity on the stock market as a result of their investment into marijuana.
A divided United States
However, the most lucrative location for cannabis production is in fact California, which also happens to be the largest state in the U.S.
Nine states alongside Washington DC have also legalised the recreational use of marijuana for adults over the age of 21. An additional 21 states permit the use of a form of medicinal cannabis.
Public support for the legalisation of marijuana has been gradually strengthening over the course of the last four decades.
A broad 64% of Americans say they support the legalization of marijuana, according to a Gallup Poll conducted in October 2017.
The record percentage marks a significant shift in public perception of the drug, with a mere 12 per cent supporting legalisation when Gallup first poised the question to adults back in 1969.
It has been estimated that the U.S market is worth around $9.2 billion in 2017, and it only looks set to increase. Forbes has projected it may reach $47.3 billion by 2027.
Earlier this year, a treatment for childhood epilepsy received approval from the US drug regulator.
The drug became the first cannabis-based medicine on the American market, signalling potential for other pharmaceutical firms to tap into the potentially lucrative market too.
How to invest in Cannabis?
Despite the UK being the world’s largest exporter of cannabis, investment opportunities in domestic stock markets are limited.
Earlier this year Sativa Investments listed on the NEX Exchange to provide a vehicle for investors based in the UK to invest in the industry. However, while the shares trade in the UK, the underlying companies Sativa have invested in are based in North America.
To obtain exposure to companies operating in the UK, one may look to GW Pharma. The stock trades on the NASDAQ but benefits from the UK’s largest cannabis production facilities, operated by British Sugar.
British Sugar, a subsidiary of Associated British Foods, dumped growing tomatoes in 2016 and set up one of the world’s largest cannabis producing greenhouses near the East Anglian town of Wissington.
The 18-hectare site produces the plant for GW Pharmaceuticals in the use of Sativex and is developing a number of other applications.
Of course there is exposure through AB Foods listed in London and in the FTSE 100, but the contribution to earnings is minimal.
Toyota boss says UK should avoid no-deal Brexit “at all costs”
The Toyota (TYO: 7203) President has become the latest to warn over a no-deal Brexit, saying it should be avoided “at all costs”.
Akio Toyoda said that British and EU leaders had failed to reach an agreement, which was leading to apprehension among businesses.
“Apprehension is, therefore, growing that a withdrawal without agreement may become a reality,” said the Toyota boss.
For the automobile industry in Japan to continue contributing to the economies in the UK and EU, “it is necessary that an unimpaired trade environment between the United Kingdom and the European Union be maintained and that the automobile industry’s activities remain predicated on shared standards, including those regulating vehicle certification”.
He added that if the UK crashes out of the EU without a deal, it would negatively affect Toyoto due to “suspended production activities resulting from failed just-in-time logistics operations, declines in revenue and revised vehicle sales prices caused by spiralling logistics and production costs”.
“We hope that both the UK and EU governments will continue to make maximum efforts to reach a satisfactory settlement and that a withdrawal without agreement is avoided at all costs,” he added.
Earlier this week, Ford’s (NYSE: F) European boss warned that a no-deal Brexit “would be pretty disastrous” for British industry.
“While we think this is a worst-case scenario and that a UK-EU deal will be reached, we will take whatever action is necessary to protect our business in the event of a hard Brexit,” added Steven Armstrong.
In contrast, British inventor James Dyson has said that a no-deal Brexit “will not change anything”.
Responding to numerous car manufacturers who have voiced Brexit concerns, the Brexit advocate said: “Taxes or delays at the customs, it is not important compared to the manufacturing costs. Car manufacturers complain all the time. But there is no problem without [a] solution.”
Pendragon shares plummet on profit warning
Shares in Pendragon tumbled 20% in morning trading after the car manufacturer issued a profit warning.
In a trading update for the third quarter, the group expects underlying profit for the year to reach £50 million. This is a 17% fall in profits last year, which were £60.4 million.
Pendragon said the fall in profits was due to the introduction of Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure, which disrupted sales.
“This has caused significant new vehicle supply disruption which gives us cause for concern over the coming months for new vehicle sales and profitability. This will clearly have an effect on the group,” said the company.
According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), car sales in the UK fell by a fifth in September.
A total of 338,834 new cars were sold in September. This is down 20.5% compared with the same month last year.
Analysts at Jefferies said the trend would continue into next year.
“We understand that new car sales are following similar trends in October as the disruption remains, and subsequently new car registrations for the UK could again be down double digits,” they said.
“While we expect into 2019 that the issues are worked through, there is an element of new car sales that will be lost as consumers and businesses make other arrangements.”
In other motor news, MPs are calling for a ban on new petrol and diesel car sales by eight years to 2032.
A government spokesperson said: “Our Road to Zero strategy outlined our ambition for the UK to be the best place in the world to build and own an electric vehicle.”
Shares in Pendragon (LON: PDG) are currently trading down 9.49% at 23,85 (0847GMT).