Talking Ashtead Tech, Barclays, Domino's, Genuit, Inchcape, Mulberry, Plus500, Virgin Wines & Wickes ၏ စာသားမှတ်တမ်းအပြည့်အစုံ

alcohol industry. 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:22.399 Um, and then quite a busy week for trusts as well. 00:04:22.480 --> 00:04:28.560 So I don't know if you spotted the International Biotech Trust, the ninth portfolio takeover of 2026. 00:04:28.720 --> 00:04:30.879 So that's more than the whole of 2025. 00:04:31.040 --> 00:04:33.680 So silence therapeutics was taken over by Merck. 00:04:33.839 --> 00:04:37.040 And we spoke to ALSA and Merrick uh a few weeks back, didn't we? 00:04:37.120 --> 00:04:38.240 Which was very interesting. 00:04:38.560 --> 00:04:41.519 Yeah, Juno, I keep I'm still kicking myself. 00:04:41.600 --> 00:04:43.040 I've got to buy shares in that. 00:04:43.120 --> 00:04:44.560 That is such a winner. 00:04:44.720 --> 00:04:53.920 Um, talking of uh corporate activity and takeover, we finally got uh an agreed bid today for um Ashd Technology AT. 00:04:54.319 --> 00:04:57.439 So uh final cash offer£6.15. 00:04:57.600 --> 00:05:01.600 The shares closed yesterday at£5.30, so a nice bump. 00:05:01.759 --> 00:05:10.240 And look, if you own the stock at three quid where it was trading before there was any whisper of a bid, then you've doubled your money, which is very nice. 00:05:10.399 --> 00:05:15.360 Um, Gulf Keystone is merging with another company, so more corporate action. 00:05:15.519 --> 00:05:22.160 Um, the other things I think caught my eye this week are XPP, uh XP power, record order intake. 00:05:22.319 --> 00:05:27.519 You know, continuing this run of good news among you know UK mid-cap industrials. 00:05:27.600 --> 00:05:32.480 Um, and then unfortunately, on the other side of it, Genuit, the old polypipe business. 00:05:32.639 --> 00:05:36.959 Uh, that took a proper hit because they talked about challenging conditions. 00:05:37.040 --> 00:05:40.959 Uh, luckily, we left that out of our climate change picks, James. 00:05:41.839 --> 00:05:44.240 Um, then we had Tristel yesterday. 00:05:44.319 --> 00:05:45.519 Now that's one of mine. 00:05:45.680 --> 00:05:47.519 Good numbers, but the shares went down. 00:05:47.600 --> 00:05:52.639 I gather HSBC trimmed their price target on it, but nothing you can do about that. 00:05:52.720 --> 00:05:56.879 Um, then we have plus 500 making an acquisition in Brazil. 00:05:57.040 --> 00:06:05.040 That's interesting because you and I do a little note on non-tech growth stocks, and that definitely qualifies plus 500. 00:06:05.120 --> 00:06:12.879 Uh, I have to say, Domino's interestingly, out today, slight downturn in or slow down in key threes. 00:06:13.040 --> 00:06:17.519 But actually, that has been a phenomenal growth stock for the last 25 years. 00:06:17.680 --> 00:06:19.199 Um, so I wrote that up. 00:06:19.279 --> 00:06:29.519 I have to say, big mistake writing that up from 11 o'clock because I'm absolutely starving now looking at pictures of pizzas and chicken dip, which you were telling talking about. 00:06:29.600 --> 00:06:31.839 Um, and then of course your virgin wine. 00:06:31.920 --> 00:06:34.800 So I'm just now picturing a pizza and a bottle of Brunello. 00:06:35.839 --> 00:06:57.040 Um, I think the really interesting point I think worth making here is we've been talking about uh UK uh fund managers and talking about how how many opportunities they are up there are, despite the UK market largely being out of favour with the global uh investor scene, how many opportunities, and this was confirmed with the conversation we had with uh Joseph uh Lichdau uh yesterday. 00:06:57.199 --> 00:07:05.279 Um the fund managers he's been speaking to that are UK based, just saying they they can see just a deluge of brilliant investment opportunities. 00:07:05.439 --> 00:07:14.000 So it really will be a testing ground of will those brilliant uh investment opportunities show up in in future returns over the next year or two? 00:07:14.160 --> 00:07:16.959 And that I suppose is is how how you'd assess it. 00:07:17.199 --> 00:07:24.000 Yeah, and and the interesting thing is quality growth seems to be turning around again after a really tough period. 00:07:24.160 --> 00:07:27.680 Quality growth stocks seem to be coming to the fore, which is fascinating. 00:07:27.839 --> 00:07:31.120 Um, James, what else have we got to look forward to this week? 00:07:31.439 --> 00:07:34.639 Yeah, we've got uh half one results from Bloomsbury tomorrow. 00:07:34.800 --> 00:07:37.279 So that's the Harry Potter publisher and uh Sarah J. 00:07:37.360 --> 00:07:38.959 Marr's Romancy novels. 00:07:39.040 --> 00:07:40.560 I'm sure you're you're both fans of. 00:07:40.720 --> 00:07:43.759 Um Sainsbury's yeah, romantic, that's it. 00:07:43.839 --> 00:07:46.160 Yeah, uh first half results from Sainsbury tomorrow. 00:07:46.319 --> 00:07:49.120 And what I'll be keeping in on is a third quarter update from Inchcape. 00:07:49.279 --> 00:07:53.519 So this is the global automotive distributor, uh big emerging markets presence. 00:07:53.600 --> 00:07:56.639 So um that should be very interesting to see what they've got to say. 00:07:56.959 --> 00:07:57.360 Interesting. 00:07:57.519 --> 00:08:00.639 Uh I picked up a little story, James, in that retail space. 00:08:00.720 --> 00:08:06.480 Uh uh I notice my local pound land is is always really busy, but they seem to be really struggling. 00:08:06.800 --> 00:08:16.000 It's privately owned, and it sounds like B and M are in negotiations to potentially pick up um some of the store portfolio if it goes that far. 00:08:16.160 --> 00:08:22.079 Uh Pound Stretcher also uh said to be eyeing up stores maybe in the UK, maybe in Ireland as well. 00:08:22.160 --> 00:08:29.439 So maybe that's a story to keep your eye on with from the BM uh point of view, uh, to see if they um decide to take on some of that real estate. 00:08:29.680 --> 00:08:32.639 Yeah, well, Steve, you'll be looking at IBM. 00:08:33.120 --> 00:08:35.200 Uh IBM, yeah, absolutely. 00:08:35.279 --> 00:08:37.519 And not to be confused with with IBS. 00:08:37.679 --> 00:08:42.879 Um,

there's a there's a there's a you know a deluge of of big earnings um later this week. 00:08:42.960 --> 00:08:49.360 We've got meta overnight tonight, uh, we've got land research, uh, we've got IBM, uh, we've got Texas Instruments. 00:08:49.440 --> 00:08:52.799 Um, even companies like uh Thermo Fisher are announcing results. 00:08:52.879 --> 00:08:54.240 I think they're tomorrow night. 00:08:54.320 --> 00:08:56.879 Um, a big scientific technology company. 00:08:56.960 --> 00:08:59.759 Um, loads and loads and loads of stuff to look forward to. 00:08:59.840 --> 00:09:20.320 Um and it will really um, I think by the time we get to the end of this week, I think we'll have a much clearer idea about what the temperature is for um what the appetite is from investors for um AI, the AI story, the AI trade, and and generally in in technology shares, are they willing to pay some of the higher valuations? 00:09:20.480 --> 00:09:27.679 But it's also worth remembering that some of the big companies you presume are on really fat valuations and not necessarily so. 00:09:27.759 --> 00:09:40.399 And and look look again at your Microsoft's at your Nvidia's the old school ones that we haven't talked about um uh for a few months, really, because they've been other stories, and and some of these companies are trading now on on barely 20 PX. 00:09:40.639 --> 00:09:53.759 So it's really worth reassessing some of the um the big stories that have been around for four or five, six years, really driving portfolio turns, and to see where their valuations really are, because they might be lower than you actually expect. 00:09:54.000 --> 00:09:59.919 Yeah, it we'll be fascinating actually when we get back together on um on Friday to see what these results look like. 00:10:00.080 --> 00:10:05.840 Um, UK, I would just finish up with Barclays, um, which is down 12% this year. 00:10:05.919 --> 00:10:08.559 It's been a real disappointment, it's had a terrible Q3. 00:10:08.879 --> 00:10:11.840 In fact, most of most banking stocks have had a poor Q3. 00:10:12.399 --> 00:10:15.120 Um, we've got London Stock Exchange Group. 00:10:15.200 --> 00:10:18.159 Now that is another great growth stock. 00:10:18.240 --> 00:10:21.120 It's um it's up there with plus 500 and dominoes. 00:10:21.200 --> 00:10:27.679 Uh and of course, here it's been it's been dogged by this story about will it's will its lunch be eaten by AI? 00:10:27.759 --> 00:10:41.120 And and the idea to me has always been if you own big data sets, then that's really valuable because you can use those data sets to train AI models, and AI companies will have to pay you to utilize those data sets. 00:10:41.279 --> 00:10:47.600 So why on earth the the NSE is is being uh hammered in the way it has, does rather surprise me, I have to say. 00:10:48.480 --> 00:10:55.360 Yeah, I mean the fact is that whether it's an AI agent or a whatever third party, um, they still have to pay to access the data. 00:10:55.440 --> 00:10:56.399 There's no two ways about it. 00:10:56.639 --> 00:11:00.559 And they and they're not cheap either, as we know from the shared point of view. 00:11:01.120 --> 00:11:03.759 I wasn't gonna go there, but yeah, you're right. 00:11:03.919 --> 00:11:08.879 Um, and then we've got interesting, we can compare and contrast Rentakill and Rollins. 00:11:09.200 --> 00:11:19.120 Now, Rollins was always the uh the star of this of these two, and uh Rentakill was always the poor relation, but this year Rollins has really had a fall from grace. 00:11:19.200 --> 00:11:26.480 So it was it was really overvalued and disappointed, and shares are down 45%, so we get a chance to compare these two. 00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:35.759 Um, and then finally, I'll probably, you know, Amex, I would flag on Friday because that's a very good indicator of the state of the US consumer, basically. 00:11:36.000 --> 00:11:40.720 One of Warren Buffett's favourites, uh, you've held that for many, many, many years. 00:11:40.799 --> 00:11:46.799 Um, and and it's still a significant holding in the Bark Hathaway portfolio, uh, as far as I understand. 00:11:46.960 --> 00:11:48.159 Yeah, really interesting. 00:11:48.240 --> 00:11:49.600 Uh, that will be, I think. 00:11:49.840 --> 00:11:51.600 Yeah, well, that's it for us. 00:11:51.759 --> 00:11:56.720 Um, we will catch up with you on Friday, and uh bye for now. 00:11:57.279 --> 00:11:58.000 Cheer out