BUSINESS
We have a track record of making
profits... Our rivals are super loss
making and they cannot show the
path to profitability
Gopuff founder Yakir Gola takes aim at
the US start-up’s instant grocery delivery
rivals as it enters the UK marketYes38%
No62%
He’s the attack dog who loves
to tear politicians to shreds
on his LBC show, but radio’s
most robust interrogator also
has a cuddly side. Take his
adverts for ABC Estates,
which manages residential
blocks on behalf of
freeholders. In one, the
voiceover suggests you’ll be
happy as Larry by choosing
ABC — before a grinning
Ferrari, 62, adds: “Or even as
happy as Nick!”
But not everyone is
smiling. Disgruntled
leaseholders in southeast
London complained after a
bill from ABC, which is run
by Richard Davidoff, for
major works rocketed from
£10,000 to £100,000. A court
tribunal found that Davidoff
acted in breach of his
fiduciary duties.ABC Block Management
has been expelled from the
Association of Residential
Managing Agents (Arma)
trade body — a decision it
believes is wrong and says it
will challenge. It also
disputes the tribunal ruling.
Among unhappy
leaseholders at a different
block managed by ABC is
Nick Hargrave, a former
adviser to Theresa May.
Ferrari, who is dating
radio producer Clare
Patterson, once ranted on his
show about how he planned
to report Transport for
London to the Advertising
Standards Authority over its
ad promoting cycling in the
capital showed no cars on the
road. He’s very quiet on his
own ad for ABC, declining to
comment. Funny, that.Mail crusade has
skin in the game
The Daily Mail newspaper
has railed against the sale of
the “cherished” mutual
insurer LV to US private
equity giant Bain Capital. Its
campaign to “save LV from
the private equity sharks” is
gathering a head of steam,
with supporters including
Tory peer Lord Heseltine and
shadow business secretary
Ed Miliband.
Critics of the £530 million
deal fear Bain will embark on
a campaign of job-cutting
and asset-stripping.
Bosses chose to sell up to
Bain instead of Royal
London, another mutual that
bid for the company. A penny
for the thoughts of Kevin
Parry, Royal London’s
chairman, who also happens
to be on the board of DMGT —
owner of one Daily Mail.Listed life is killing
Soho House
US billionaire Ron Burkle is
making a killing out of both
Daniel Craig — 007 — and
Jodie Comer of Killing Eve
fame. The grocer’s son owns
more than half of
Independent Talent Group
(ITG), the West End agencythat looks after Craig, Comer
and a roster of other loaded
actors, including Gillian
Anderson, Claire Foy and
Felicity Jones. ITG’s profits
jumped to £8.5 million on a
£44.7m turnover over 18
months to the end of
September.
A 17 per cent rise in sales is
impressive considering the
disruption to film production
during the pandemic.
One of Burkle’s other
British investments, Soho
House, isn’t exactly worthy
of an Oscar. The exclusive
members’ club — where the
US tycoon, 69 last week, isexecutive chairman and its
largest shareholder — floated
in New York in July at the
bottom of the range and has
fallen a further 20 per cent
since then.
Reviving Soho House’s
shares might be a mission
that James Bond and
Villanelle would both reject.Epic trek leaves
no footprints
To Glasgow for Cop26, where
guests took special care to
keep their carbon footprints
to a minimum. Prufrock
hears that at a meeting of
energy analysts, one
mentioned that it might be
smart to turn off the radiator
to save energy. Guests tried
as hard as they could to
pretend they were warm
enough, before everyone
threw on their winter coats.
Meanwhile, at a Schroders
conference in Edinburgh,
London-based guests were
told it would be smarter to
catch the train back down
south instead of fly. A chaotic
journey ensued as trains
were cancelled, drivers went
AWOL and our intrepid
explorers ended up staying
the night in York. They finally
arrived back in London 17
hours after their proposed
flight would have landed.Nick Ferrari, with Clare Patterson, is quiet on his ad for ABCView to a kill: Jodie ComerFerrari falls silent on
his new lease of life
6 While MPs have been under fire for holding second jobs,
there are no such worries for former chancellor Lord (Philip)
Hammond, who has quietly nabbed himself another one.
Hammond, 65, is advising AP Wireless, a landlord for mobile
phone mast sites, which has been pushing hard against
reforms to laws that could mean less money for itself and
other land owners. Accounts for the UK company show it
racked up a loss of £9.5 million in 2020 following a £10 million
loss the year before. Perhaps the company is in need of
Spreadsheet Phil’s accounting skills, not his lobbying talents.Jamie Nimmo
JUST SAYING...
FUNNY BUSINESS
TWITTER POLL
Uber has been forced to
raise prices in London after
a shortage of drivers led to
more cancellations. Will
you still use its cabs?
@ST_Business117 Royal Mail 433.7 -4.5606.4270.0 2.3 7.0 4.
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35 Segro 1363.5 +34.51363.5875.8 1.4 6.5 16.
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120 Spectris 3870.0 +140.0 4083.0 2650.0 1.8 19.6 4.
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184 Synthomer 507.0 -4.5564.0419.0 3.4 10.0 2.
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105 Wizz Air Holdings 4775.0-60.0 5565.0 4092.0 0.0 N.A 4.
180 Worldwide Healthcare Trust 3730.0-45.0 3960.0 3515.0 0.6 4.5 2.
44 WPP 1109.0 +36.51109.0724.6 2.4 N.A 13.46 JD Sports Fashion 1162.5+41.51162.5 731.6 0.128.1 12.
168 Jet2 1252.0-80.01564.5 1044.0 0.0 N.A 2.
115 Johnson Matthey 2273.0 -445.0 3300.0 2224.0 3.1 21.4 4.
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173 Kainos 2052.0 +30.0 2084.0 1090.0 1.064.0 2.
197 Keywords Studios 2928.0 +32.0 3302.0 2056.0 0.088.1 2.
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18 Lloyds Banking 49.2 +0.1 51.1 33.0 2.5 7.5 35.
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100 M&G 196.8 -4.8 248.6 175.0 9.384.0 5.
147 Man 236.4 +6.3 242.5 116.2 3.5 14.0 3.
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179 Mediclinic International 332.8-10.4346.4269.6 0.020.8 2.
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200 Mercantile Investment Trust 272.5 -4.0 291.0 215.5 2.5 2.6 2.
60 Mondi 1865.0 +38.0 2068.0 1658.0 2.8 18.2 9.
141 Monks Investment Trust 1440.0 -8.0 1484.0 1230.0 0.1 3.0 3.
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26 NatWest 218.7 +1.9 234.3 143.8 2.710.8 24.
52 Next 8150.0 +28.0 8394.0 6386.0 0.018.0 10.
186 Ninety One 256.0 +2.0 272.6 211.6 4.9 15.2 2.
43 Ocado 1809.0 +83.5 2883.0 1565.5 0.0 N.A 13.
194 OSB 500.5 +6.3 515.0373.8 3.9 8.1 2.
103 Oxford Nanopore 604.0 +69.0 615.0525.0 0.0 N.A 4.
198 Page 663.0 -7.5 680.5 414.6 0.7 61.3 2.
107 Pearson 636.8+41.8 869.4587.6 3.1 17.2 4.
145 Pennon 1215.0 +28.01321.0867.8 2.4 37.7 3.
84 Pershing Square Holdings 3040.0 +20.0 3040.0 2210.0 0.4 2.8 6.
63 Persimmon 2727.0 +44.0 3238.0 2463.0 6.6 11.0 8.
136 Petershill Partners 310.4 +20.4 352.0290.0 N.A N.A 3.
188 Pets at Home 466.2-28.2 519.0369.0 1.7 24.2 2.
82 Phoenix Holdings 662.0 -0.2 786.2623.4 7.3 N.A 6.
195 Playtech 729.5+21.5 735.0 351.0 0.0 8.3 2.
135 Polar Capital Tech Trust 2676.0 -2.0 2678.0 2085.0 0.0 3.4 3.
77 Polymetal International 1492.0 +126.51841.5 1228.0 6.7 8.5 7.
14 Prudential 1509.0 +33.51585.51169.5 0.815.9 41.
171 Quilter 153.3 -3.4 168.9 137.3 3.585.9 2.
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192 Redrow 639.2 +5.8 718.8493.2 3.8 8.7 2.
12 Relx 2380.0 +30.0 2380.0 1692.5 2.034.4 46.
160 Renewables Infrastructure 132.4 +1.6 134.6 119.6 5.120.2 3.
130 Renishaw 5205.0 +70.0 6900.0 4368.0 1.334.0 3.
49 Rentokil Initial 636.2+27.6 636.2464.6 1.245.9 11.
85 Rightmove 725.0 +22.0 746.8555.8 1.0 41.1 6.
8 Rio Tinto 4562.5 +138.0 6658.0 4424.5 11.1 5.3 75.
119 RIT Capital Partners 2760.0 +50.0 2760.0 1924.0 1.3 3.4 4.
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151 Rotork 369.6 +4.4 376.6289.8 2.3 33.7 3.
2 Royal Dutch Shell 1641.2-42.21786.01165.8 3.7 38.1 128.5 Diageo 3826.0+47.5 3826.0 2812.5 1.9 33.7 89.
123 Diploma 3218.0+18.0 3248.0 2050.0 1.3 77.7 4.
133 Direct Line Insurance 277.0-13.0338.0276.0 8.1 10.5 3.
125 Dr Martens 390.2 +7.0 514.8362.6 0.0 109.3 3.
199 Drax 544.0 -0.5 560.5317.6 3.3 N.A 2.
98 DS Smith 392.9+13.1 462.3 321.1 3.1 29.7 5.
167 Dunelm 1366.0 +34.01551.01141.0 2.6 21.7 2.
112 EasyJet 598.0-59.2 1095.0566.0 0.0 N.A 4.
89 Electrocomponents 1246.0+41.01246.0790.0 1.3 31.7 5.
50 Entain 1997.5-50.52377.0960.4 0.074.6 11.
61 Evraz 620.0+19.0 698.2370.4 12.7 7.9 9.
20 Experian 3485.0 +26.0 3485.0 2273.0 1.053.3 32.
104 F&C Investment Trust 933.0 +1.0 935.0740.0 1.3 4.8 4.
25 Ferguson 11870.0 +555.0 11870.0 7970.0 1.5 21.7 26.
155 Fevertree Drinks 2666.0 +179.0 2749.0 2123.0 0.669.7 3.
29 Flutter Entertainment 12175.0 -495.0 16915.0 11860.0 0.0 N.A 21.
139 Frasers 679.0 +7.5 701.5 421.8 0.0 N.A 3.
74 Fresnillo 971.6 +70.61249.0 745.2 2.5 15.6 7.
121 Future 3414.0 +98.0 3910.0 1634.0 0.053.1 4.
152 Games Workshop 9660.0 -175.0 12220.0 9135.0 1.9 26.1 3.
134 Genus 5595.0 +105.0 6070.0 3920.0 0.677.6 3.
7 GlaxoSmithKline 1593.4+17.41593.4 1190.8 5.0 18.7 80.
11 Glencore 367.9+14.5 392.5 188.6 1.233.0 48.
159 Grafton 1270.0-90.01412.0807.0 1.8 14.6 3.
189 Grainger 312.0 -3.0 335.0259.6 1.8 22.7 2.
165 Greencoat UK Wind 133.6 -1.6 142.6 124.6 5.3 12.9 2.
153 Greggs 3082.0-49.03192.0 1657.0 0.536.9 3.
48 Halma 3150.0 +160.0 3150.0 2194.0 0.658.7 12.
144 Harbour Energy 361.8 +4.2 400.2 16.5 0.0 N.A 3.
73 Hargreaves Lansdown 1536.0 +43.01788.0 1399.0 2.524.6 7.
169 Hays 159.7 -5.9 176.7 130.2 0.844.0 2.
146 HICL Infrastructure 171.6 +0.2 179.4160.0 4.8 21.5 3.
97 Hikma Pharmaceuticals 2358.0-33.0 2690.0 2193.0 1.6 15.7 5.
162 Hiscox 834.6+10.41108.5770.0 1.0 N.A 2.
163 HomeServe 858.5 +8.01267.0803.5 3.092.9 2.
95 Howden Joinery 936.4 -8.2 975.6 619.0 1.021.8 5.
6 HSBC Holdings 434.2 -3.1 455.5359.8 1.2 10.4 88.
124 Hutchmed (China) 459.5+10.5 624.0352.0 0.0 N.A 4.
142 IG Holdings 785.0 -5.0 952.5750.0 5.5 7.9 3.
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149 Inchcape 850.0-17.0 933.0598.0 1.645.0 3.
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81 Intermediate Capital 2352.0 +60.0 2352.0 1533.0 2.4 15.0 6.
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102 ITV 125.1+13.1 132.5 89.8 0.013.8 5.
157 IWG 303.8 -6.2 383.6 279.2 0.0 N.A 3.
79 J Sainsbury 295.0+10.7340.0202.3 3.624.9 6.41 3i 1453.5+81.01453.5 1070.5 2.8 5.0 14.
158 3I Infrastructure 341.0+10.0 341.0286.0 3.0 8.2 3.
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148 Alliance Trust 1072.0 -6.01078.0868.0 1.4 4.5 3.
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190 Ashmore 321.6 +5.0 479.6304.2 5.3 9.4 2.
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164 Asos 2862.0 +271.05918.0 2300.0 0.022.4 2.
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1 AstraZeneca 8801.0 -508.0 9444.0 6794.0 2.4 41.1 136.
80 Auto Trader 718.0 +107.4 718.0539.8 1.135.4 6.
92 Avast 558.8 -5.6609.4420.0 2.1 26.9 5.
55 Aveva 3359.0 -181.0 4275.0 3107.0 1.1 386.8 10.
37 Aviva 403.6 -0.4 426.2305.5 3.6 25.4 15.
87 B&M European Value Retail 599.4-25.0 643.8 461.5 3.013.9 6.
31 BAE Systems 570.8 -3.2 599.4 462.1 4.2 10.4 18.
19 Barclays 195.3 +2.9 202.8 132.4 1.5 6.2 32.
78 Barratt Developments 685.8 +29.6 794.8583.4 4.3 10.7 7.
177 Beazley 404.4 -12.9 423.1294.4 0.029.9 2.
127 Bellway 3157.0-62.03712.0 2718.0 3.7 10.0 3.
106 Berkeley Holdings 4319.0 +28.0 4943.0 4053.0 0.2 12.0 4.
3 BHP 1960.8+52.22375.51621.4 11.5 11.8 102.
166 Big Yellow 1515.0 -8.01573.0 1053.0 1.7 9.9 2.
174 Boohoo 200.0 +6.4 373.3 178.4 0.043.1 2.
9 BP 340.9 -4.5 363.6236.9 4.7 14.1 67.
113 Bridgepoint 548.0 +2.0 569.0452.0 0.093.5 4.
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108 British Land Company 514.8 -3.0 544.8429.8 1.0 N.A 4.
181 Britvic 899.0 -1.0 1006.0745.0 3.1 27.1 2.
34 BT 167.2 +7.2 205.6 116.8 1.416.2 16.
58 Bunzl 2806.0 +74.0 2806.0 2150.0 1.9 20.7 9.
69 Burberry 1936.5 -71.5 2264.0 1590.0 2.8 16.7 7.
30 Carnival 1516.0 -180.01865.4 1067.0 0.0 N.A 19.
128 Centrica 65.9 +2.4 65.9 41.5 0.0 5.8 3.
193 Ceres Power Holdings 1178.0 +5.01588.0750.0 0.0 N.A 2.
57 Coca Cola HBC 2592.0+10.0 2784.0 2160.0 2.1 21.1 9.
24 Compass 1543.5-58.5 1646.01310.5 0.0 N.A 27.
140 Computacenter 2784.0 +94.0 3030.0 2086.0 2.0 17.5 3.
114 ConvaTec 218.6 -3.4 262.6 186.2 1.9 42.7 4.
182 Countryside Properties 466.0 -3.8 571.5400.4 0.0 N.A 2.
22 CRH 3786.0 +112.03921.0 2937.0 2.3 26.6 29.
42 Croda International 9892.0 +498.0 9892.0 5860.0 1.054.7 13.
183 Daily Mail and General Trust 1130.0-14.01146.0681.0 2.146.9 2.
122 Darktrace 582.0 +4.5 985.0315.0 0.0 N.A 4.
86 DCC 6112.0 -156.0 6614.0 5178.0 2.720.2 6.
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96 Deliveroo 298.0 +20.2 395.0228.0 0.0 N.A 5.
129 Derwent London 3446.0 +38.0 3802.0 2960.0 1.9 74.7 3.TOP 200 COMPANIES
Market cap ranking
VPriceChange
on week52-week
high lowYield P/EMkt Cap
(£bn)Market cap ranking
VPriceChange
on week52-week
high lowYield P/EMkt Cap
(£bn)Market cap ranking
VPriceChange
on week52-week
high lowYield P/EMkt Cap
(£bn)Market cap ranking
VPriceChange
on week52-week
high lowYield P/EMkt Cap
(£bn)Price/earnings ratios are based on historic data, with yield and p/e values
calculated from most recent reported dividends and earnings per share, using
trailing 12-month figures. P/E is not calculated when last twelve months EPS is
less than or equal to zero. 52-week highs and lows are end of day. Excludes
exchange-traded funds. nc = no change. N.A. = not applicable. Source: RefinitivHANG SENG
25,327.
U457.46H:31,084.
U1.84% L:23,966.SHANGHAI
3,539.
U47.53 H:3,715.
U1.36% L:3,310.CAC 40
7,091.
U50.61 H:7,091.
U0.72% L:5,362.DAX
16,094.
U39.71 H:16,094.
U0.25% L:13,053.DOW JONES
36,100.
V227.64H:36,432.
V0.63%L:29,080.NASDAQ
15,860.
V110.63H:15,982.
V0.69%L:11,709.S&P 500
4,682.
V14.68 H:4,701.
V0.31% L:3,537.NIKKEI
29,609.
U853.51H:30,795.
U2.96% L:25,215.FTSE EUROFIRST
1,883.
U13.26 H:1,883.
U0.71% L:1,489.SENSEX
60,686.
U619.07H:61,765.
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7,765.
V11.40 H:7,897.
V0.15% L:6,609.S&P TSX
21,768.
U312.71 H:21,773.
U1.46% L:14,783.Games Workshop customers
love a battle. So too, it seems,
does its board.
The FTSE 250 retailer
generates most of its turnover
selling table-top figurines for
The Lord of the Rings,
Warhammer and other
fantasy settings. The
Nottingham-based outfit also
gets royalty fees from
licensing its intellectual
property to video games
studios. And there is a
streaming service nearing
release called Warhammer+,
which will offer gaming,
tutorials and animated shows.
This is all a long way from
the company’s roots in the
1970s, when three friends
began to make wooden board
games. Former tax inspector
Tom Kirby joined in the 1980s
and steered the business
towards fantasy worlds.
Games Workshop has been
a rare high street success inFTSE 100Source: Thomson Reuters Eikon2020 20217, 5 0 07, 5 0 07,0007,6,5006,6,0006,ROBERT WATTS THE WEEK IN THE MARKETS
THE TIPSTER
recent times. Lockdowns
boosted its sales, with pre-tax
profits rising by nearly 70 per
cent to £150 million in the
year to the end of May 2021.
The shares have had a
great run overall since we
tipped them at £31 in
December 2018. On Friday
night, the closing price was
£96.60 — a 200 per cent rise
over less than three years.
Investors have also received a
strong run of dividends.
However, Games
Workshop’s directors are now
embroiled in a skirmish with
some of its customers, mainly
because of the retailer’s
tougher stance on protecting
its intellectual property.
It has clamped down on
fans who rip off its miniatures
by using 3D printers — not
unreasonably. Rather more
brutal is its decision to turn
its guns on devoted fans whospend hours making
animations.
“Individuals must not
create fan films or animations
based on our settings and
characters,” the company’s
new edict reads. “These are
only to be created under
licence [from us].”
Analysts at investment
bank Jefferies recently noted
that the policy had led to “a
lot of negative community
feedback”. Some 19,
people have liked a Reddit
post calling for a boycott of
Games Workshop.
There is also something
disconcerting about a public
company that does not
engage with the financial
press. Newspaper readers are
also shareholders. Put this all
together and there are
grounds to think that this is a
management starting to
believe its own hype.
Broker Peel Hunt has
highlighted that margins will
be lower this year than last,
due to exchange rates, higher
distribution costs and
ongoing investment. Sales are
still in good shape, but after a
great run, the shares are
already down more than
20 per cent since a trading
update in September. Time to
bank those gains. Sell.Fantasy
is fading
at Games
Workshop
Games WorkshopSource: Thomson Reuters Eikon2019 2020 202112,6,0variation 12 months
high low
UK 0.92 U0.07 1.20 0.US 1.57 U0.12 1.74 0.JAPAN 0.07 U0.01 0.17 0.GERMANY -0.26 U0.02 -0.09 -0.10-YEAR BOND YIELDS %
DOLLAR
USD > GBP$1.
V0.
12-month high: $1.
low: $1.EURO
EUR > GBP€1.
U0.
12-month high: €1.
low: €1.YEN
YEN > USD¥113.
U0.
12-month high: ¥114.
low: ¥102.OIL
DOLLARS/BARREL$82.
U0.
12-month high: $86.
low: $42.GOLD
DOLLARS/TROY OZ$1,864.
U47.
12-month high: $1,949.
low: $1,681.BITCOIN
DOLLARS$63,323.
U2,349.
12-month high: $68,906.
low: $15,725.
Price at 10.30pm FridayRISERS
M&S: 237p, U 22% on turnaround
Auto Trader: 718p, U 17.6% profits
Watches of Switzerland: £12.96, U
14.7% sales boost
JTC: 887p, U 12.8% on aquisition
Hothschild: 171p, U 12.7% output jumpFALLERS
Johnson Matthey: £22.73, V 16.4%
battery pullout announcement
Carnival: £15.16, V 10.6% downgrade
TUI: 225.9p, V 9.6% sentiment
Wetherspoon: 942p, V 9.5% sales drop
Source: AJ Bell/SharepadFTSE 100
7,3 47.9 1
U43.95 H: 7,384.
U0.60% L: 6,266.FTSE 250
23,557.
U39.27 H: 24,250.
U0.17% L: 19,270.THE ECONOMY
Consumer prices index current rate prev. month
3.2% 2.50%
CPI including housing current rate prev. month3.0% 2.1%
Retail prices index current rate prev. month4.8% 3.8%
Average weekly earnings on prev. monthon last year£581 U0.5%U5.6%
Unemployment current rate prev. month1.51m 4.5% 4.6%
Manufacturing output on the yearon last monthU2.8%V0.1%
Retail sales on the yearon last monthV^ 1.2%V 0.2%
UK trade
balance (£bn)latest 3 mthsprev. 3 mths latest 12 mths- 6.7 7 + 0.72 -2 2 .8 5
Gross domestic
product
latest quarter prev. quarterannual change
U1.3% U5.5%U6.6%
Budget deficit
(PSNB) in £bnlast month prev. month year to dateV21.8 V16.8 V108.