Wetherspoons pubs disclose 2% profit drop

Miranda Wadham
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Wetherspoons pubs disclose 2% profit drop
Pub chain JD Wetherspoons (LON:JDW) disclosed a 2 percent drop in full year profit before tax on Friday, citing higher costs and new cut price food and drink offers as reasons for the added pressure. Underlying sales grew 3.3 percent and total sales rose by 7.4 percent to 1.5 billion pounds. The group’s profit before tax was£77.8m, down from £79.4 last year. Chairman Tim Martin highlighted the excessive taxes placed on pub food in comparison to supermarkets and restaurants, and the negative effects of the disparity; citing the fact that pubs have lost 50 percent of their alcohol sales to supermarkets over the last 35 years due to this. He said in a statement:
“As previously stated, a number of factors likely to influence our trading performance this financial year are difficult to quantify at this early stage. Positive aspects include an increase in pub numbers, a better economy and slightly lower interest rates; less favourable aspects include heightened competition from supermarkets and restaurant groups and increased staff, repairs, bar and food costs. We continue to anticipate a trading performance similar to, or slightly above, that achieved in the last financial year.” Wetherspoons is currently trading up 1.78 percent at 732.78 pence per share (0910GMT).

Friday proves another tricky day for Asian stocks

Miranda Wadham
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Friday proves another tricky day for Asian stocks

Friday proved another tough day for Asian markets, with Tokyo bearing the brunt of the volatility.

Japan’s Nikkei benchmark index spent most of the day in the red, closing down 0.19% at 18,264.22. Although it surged almost 8% on Wednesday, the Tokyo index closed down 2.5% on Thursday – sustaining some heavy losses. Investor sentiment is being increasingly affected by speculation that the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at their meeting next week, which is affecting markets globally. However, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō is continuing to instigate policy to stimulate the economy, including the news that Japan Post is seeking to raise as much as 1.39tn yen ($11.5bn, £7.4bn) in a stock market listing. The Japan Post controls the country’s largest bank, Japan Post Bank, and Japan Post Insurance, the biggest insurer and will be be one of Japan’s largest public share sales in more than 30 years. Chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga said the share offering would encourage a shift of savings out of bank deposits and into the stock market.

Bank of England vote 8-1 to keep rates on hold

Miranda Wadham
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Bank of England vote 8-1 to keep rates on hold

The Bank of England voted to keep interest rates at their record low of 0.5% yesterday, with just one member voting against.

The MPC reiterated that it did not feel the volatility in China would slow down economic growth in this country, and that interest rates will still be raised in the near future. However, it lowered its estimate for the UK’s economic growth in the third quarter of this year from 0.7% down to 0.6%. The pound jumped to a two-week high against the dollar on the news. The MPC said in the minutes of its monthly policy meeting that “although the downside risks emanating from overseas had risen, it would be premature to draw strong inferences from this month’s events for the likely path of activity in the United Kingdom.” The Bank of England’s governor Mark Carney commented: “Domestic momentum is being underpinned by robust real income growth, supportive credit conditions, and elevated business and consumer confidence. “The rate of unemployment has fallen by over two percentage points since the middle of 2013, although that decline has levelled off more recently.” Analysts are speculating that the Federal Reserve will raise rates in the US next week for the first time since the financial crisis; if so, effects will be felt across markets globally and the Bank of England may be more inclined to follow suit.  

Lloyd’s insurance reports 28 percent profit drop

Miranda Wadham
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Lloyd’s insurance reports 28 percent profit drop
The Lloyd’s of London insurance market disclosed a pre-tax profit drop of 28 percent due to lower investment returns and a competitive market. Pre tax profit fell to £1.19 billion, with a return on capital falling to 10.7 percent from 16 percent last year. Lloyd’s Chief Executive, Inga Beale, said: “These results demonstrate Lloyd’s success and resilience despite challenging underwriting and investment conditions. This sizable profit is in large part due to the market’s expert underwriting and our deep commitment to rigorous oversight.. In a statement, the company said that the results were a solid achievement in the light of the challenging conditions faced by the industry. Lloyd’s cited several expensive claims as the reason for the slower performance, including the Pemex oil rig in Mexico, the Germanwings flight 9525 crash and aircraft bombings during conflict in Yemen. However, Lloyd’s continues to be highly rated with an A rating from A.M.Best, A+ from Standard & Poor’s and AA- from Fitch. According to the company, this demonstrates “Lloyd’s excellent underwriting oversight, and continued investment in risk and exposure management practices.”  

House prices rise nearly 9% in three months to August

Miranda Wadham
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House prices rise nearly 9% in three months to August
British house prices have increased 9 percent in the three months to August, according to mortgage lender Halifax. Prices have jumped 2.7 percent in the last month, with the average price of a home across the UK now at £204,674, acording to the Halifax measure.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) also released figures today, warning that house price inflation across the UK is ikely to hit 6% this year. At the start of 2015, Rics expected that prices would rise by just 3%.

Halifax economist Martin Ellis told the BBC that “strengthening demand, and highly constrained supply, are likely to mean that house price growth continues to be robust in the short-term.”

Japanese and Chinese stocks down after poor economic data

Miranda Wadham
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Japanese and Chinese stocks down after poor economic data
Asian stocks were off to a bleak start on Thursday, as economic data from Japan weighed heavily on investors. Japan’s Nikkei closed down 2.5 percent at 18,299.62, after surging nearly 8 percent on Wednesday morning. Core machinery orders, Japan’s most important gauge of capital expenditure, fell for the second month in a row in July, down 3.6 percent. This is a further indication that Japan’s economy may not recover as quickly as expected after a disappointing second quarter. In China, the benchmark Shanghai Composite was down 1.1% to 3,206.69, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 2.2% to 21,639.29 points. Figures released on Thursday showed China’s consumer price index (CPI) unexpectedly rose to 2% in August from a year ago marking a one-year high. However the rise was mainly due to higher pork prices, rather than economic growth; pork is a big contributor to consumer prices in China and rose from 16.7 percent last year to 19.6 percent in August.  

Struggling supermarket Morrisons sees 35 percent profit drop

Miranda Wadham
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Struggling supermarket Morrisons sees 35 percent profit drop
Morrisons (LON:MRW) has announced plans to close 11 of its stores, in a effort to reverse the fortunes of the struggling supermarket chain. The company disclosed a 35 percent slump in first-half profit to its lowest level in nine years, with like-for-like sales for the period up to August dropping 2.7% compared with the same period last year. in annual sales, made an underlying pre-tax profit, before restructuring costs, of 141 million pounds in the six months to August 2, in line with forecasts. The company said the turnaround for Morrisons would be a slow process: “Customers and colleagues are beginning to notice improvements, but the turnaround will take time.” New Chief Executive, David Potts, said: “This is a difficult decision but one which we cannot see any way through to make those stores viable.” Overall turnover fell 5.1 percent. Earlier this week, the company finalised a deal to sell its 140 convenience stores in order to focus on improving the bigger supermarkets. Morissons are trading down 4.03 percent on the news, at 168.81 pence per share (0837GMT).

Should You Buy Glencore?

UK Investor Magazine
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Should You Buy Glencore?

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Start Up Loan Q&A: Lindsey Fish, Little Fish Event Management

Miranda Wadham
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Start Up Loan Q&A: Lindsey Fish, Little Fish Event Management

In a series of posts on start-up companies, UK Investor are looking at alternative ways to fund businesses including crowdfunding, angel funding and pension led funding. Today’s posts covers the pros and cons of obtaining finance through a government initiative, the Start Up Loan.

Lindsey Fish is the founder of Little Fish, a corporate events management agency that she started from scratch instead of returning to work as a Marketing Manager in the City after maternity leave. She has recently launched her own event, the Mums Enterprise Roadshow, which is designed to help ambitious mums re-train, find flexible work, start or grow a business.

Lindsey chose a Start Up Loan over other methods of financing for several reasons. She only needed a small amount to cover upfront costs, so asking for a large sum from investors seemed unnecessary, and she wasn’t ready to give away any further equity.

“I liked the Start Up Loan scheme because it judges you on your cashflow and business plans, and the feasibility of success rather than just your personal credit score. Plus, you get support and mentoring for a year which is always great to have.”

When applying for a Start Up Loan, the website states that you submit an application and work with a business advisor to complete your application. It is then reviewed by the Start Up team, and if approved, the loan is yours. But is it really that easy?

For Lindsey, it really was that simple and the process went really smoothly. Her advice is to submit everything on time and take on board the advice of your business advisor.

“I had already done research, created a business plan and attempted a cashflow which they helped me finalise. Plus it helped that I already had Virgin StartUp and Talented Ladies Club on board, so it wasn’t just a pie in the sky idea; I had tangible proof it would work.

“I would recommend it for those who have already done quite a lot in their idea and can prove that it pretty much can’t fail, and if it does have a plan B to make the repayments.”

Start Up Loans are available for any businesses that have been trading for less that two years and based in the UK, and are available for amounts up to £25,000. Interest is fixed at 6% p.a over one to five years. If successful, the Start Up Loans company will put your business in touch with a mentor who can provide guidance and support to help you grow and develop your business.

As a Mum herself, it’s easy to see where Lindsey got the idea for her Mums Enterprise Roadshow Events, which encourage women to start their own businesses and get back into work, should they wish to. Last month, 2015’s Green Park Diversity report was published which showed that, although women now make up 25 percent of FTSE 100 board members, they’re still a minority in the city. Many attribute this to the difficulty of women trying to “have it all”; namely, a family and a career. Returning to work after having a baby can be a difficult transition; but with more and more firms introducing ‘family friendly’ policies, such as flexi time and paternity leave, is it becoming easier for women?

“For me, it wasn’t that I thought I would be at a disadvantage at all but I just felt that it wasn’t worth it. After the charges of commuting, a 25% salary cut if I went back four days and all day childcare some days didn’t leave me with a lot, I knew I could make that small amount I’d have left on my own.

“I do think it must be tough for women returning to their old job, as what may have been their number one priority isn’t any longer. That’s just my opinion though – I’m sure some women can do it all!”

A Start Up Loan has allowed Lindsey to get her business up and running, with perhaps less hassle and more certainty than crowdfunding or angel led funding. For more information on Start Up Loans, visit startuploans.co.uk.

The Mums Enterprise Roadshow will launch in 2016. Visit their website here.

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Miranda Wadham on 09/09/2015

Weak demand causes further slowdown in British manufacturing

Miranda Wadham
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Weak demand causes further slowdown in British manufacturing
British manufacturing output slowed further than expected in July causing the country’s trade deficit to widen, according to official figures released on Wednesday. Manufacturing output contracted by 0.8 percent in June and 0.4 percent in July, with the industry affected more than usual by the summer shutdown of vehicle production lines. Economists had been expecting a slight increase on the month. Increasingly weak demand in China, as well as European countries, has led to a difficult few months for auto manufacturers. A group representing the sector said this week it had halved its forecast for growth this year after overseas orders fell to their lowest since the financial crisis. A further weakening in Britain’s manufacturing sector has increased dependence on the services sector to power economic growth; weak figures are likely to cause the Bank of England to hesitate when deciding whether to raise interest rates in the near future.  
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