This is a high-quality update across all the things that matter for an off-price retailer: traffic up, comp up across divisions, gross margin expanding on merchandise discipline, capital return accelerating. The fact that management is not flowing through the entire Q1 beat to the full year is conservative-credible rather than worrying — they’re flagging fuel […]
Keller’s AGM update is reassuringly uneventful — and for a company that has spent recent years rebuilding investor trust on execution, that is exactly the point. Trading in the first four months is described as strong year-on-year and in line with expectations, with North American foundations once again carrying the load. The order book has […]
The Quick Take Company: Advanced Medical Solutions Group (AIM: AMS) — UK-headquartered specialist in tissue-healing technologies, with a global portfolio of surgical adhesives, sutures, haemostats, internal fixation devices, sealants and wound dressings sold under LiquiBand, RESORBA, Peters Surgical, ActivHeal and a dozen other brands Thesis: A 35-year-old precision medical device business that has just executed […]
TA Associates this week confirmed it does not intend to proceed with a formal offer for Advanced Medical Solutions (AMS), bringing the latest private-equity approach to an end. Under Rule 2.8 of the Takeover Code, TA is now restricted from making another offer for six months — but other suitors are not. What is striking […]
A bittersweet moment as I sold about 2 months or so ago. At least good to know that somebody else saw the value in it too. 100% pop in a day, not bad.
My take on this morning’s GetBusy update: a quietly strong release from a business that’s starting to look like it’s hitting its stride. Group ARR up 11% to £23.4m is solid, but the real story is SmartVault – ARR up 19% and new business up 36% through the critical US pre-tax season is genuinely impressive. […]
My take on this morning’s Greggs update: solid, but not the upgrade some were hoping for. Total sales were up 7.5% to £800m and, more interestingly, like-for-like growth has quietly accelerated to 3.3% in the most recent 10 weeks. The new Chicken Roll and Matcha launches are clearly doing their job – this business still […]
The Quick Take Company: Gooch & Housego (AIM: GHH) — UK-headquartered specialist manufacturer of photonics components and systems, serving Aerospace & Defence, Industrial and Life Sciences end-markets Thesis: A 77-year-old precision photonics business midway through an operational turnaround — adjusted operating margins moving from 7.7% to 9.6% and targeting mid-teens by 2028 — with a […]
The Quick Take Company: Keller Group (LSE: KLR) — the world’s largest geotechnical specialist contractor Thesis: A 165-year-old industrial that has just had its best year ever, sits in net cash for the first time in 25 years, is returning serious capital to shareholders, and is structurally exposed to four mega-trends (data centres, energy transition, […]
The Quick Take Company: MS International (AIM: MSI) — a UK family-controlled engineering group built around MSI-Defence Systems, a tier-one supplier of naval gun systems and counter-drone air defence to global navies and land forces, with three legacy civilian divisions (Forgings, Petrol Station Superstructures, Corporate Branding) now formally being readied for disposal Thesis: A […]