10 The Sunday Times April 10, 2022
BUSINESS
128 Royal Mail 330.3 +1.8 606.4 324.3 5.1 3.7 3.1
185 S4 Capital 330.0 +9.0 870.0 289.0 0.0 N.A 1.9
134 Safestore Holdings 1389.0 +49.0 1418.0 800.5 1.4 7.9 2.9
61 Sage 725.8 +8.0 853.8 622.4 2.4 27.8 7.4
53 Schroders 3224.0 +2.03871.0 2817.0 3.8 14.4 8.3
38 Scottish Mortgage IT 973.0-49.5 1543.5 834.6 0.4 2.5 14.0
30 Segro 1375.5 +24.51436.5 966.0 1.5 4.1 16.7
196 Sequoia Economic I’structure 102.8 +0.2 114.6 96.0 6.1 11.5 1.8
55 Severn Trent 3131.0 +59.0 3211.0 2391.0 3.2 N.A 7.9
165 Shaftesbury 600.5 -11.5 662.0 547.5 0.9 N.A 2.3
2 Shell 2168.0 +48.5 2168.0 1339.0 3.3 10.6 157.3
43 Smith & Nephew 1233.0 +19.0 1592.51179.0 2.3 26.9 10.7
83 Smiths 1414.5-20.0 1661.0 1355.5 2.8 21.9 5.3
142 Smithson Investment Trust 1611.0 -5.0 2025.0 1398.0 0.0 5.1 2.8
125 Softcat 1554.0 -137.0 2240.0 1445.0 1.4 31.0 3.2
143 Spectris 2538.0 +7.0 4083.0 2458.0 2.9 8.2 2.8
47 Spirax-Sarco Engineering 12710.0 +10.0 17135.0 10985.0 1.0 40.9 9.6
28 SSE 1817.0 +84.5 1817.0 1434.5 4.6 7.1 19.1
195 SSP 228.0 +1.1 345.3 214.3 0.0 N.A 1.8
59 St James's Place 1417.0 -12.0 1731.5 1180.0 3.7 26.8 7.6
36 Standard Chartered 509.2 -0.6 580.8 410.0 1.9 10.8 14.9
110 Tate & Lyle 774.2 +44.4 815.8 629.4 4.1 87.4 3.6
93 Taylor Wimpey 132.8 +1.6 191.7 127.9 6.6 8.5 4.7
198 Templeton Emerging Mkts IT 152.0 -3.6 1040.0 140.6 2.5 1.4 1.8
26 Tesco 271.3 -7.7 303.4 219.7 3.4 18.2 20.8
152 Travis Perkins 1249.0 -6.5 1830.01219.0 3.1 11.8 2.6
96 Tritax Big Box Reit 247.6 +3.6 249.0 185.8 2.2 4.5 4.6
160 Ultra Electronics Holdings 3330.0 +6.0 3370.0 2002.0 0.5 35.7 2.4
6 Unilever 3537.5 +29.5 4360.0 3328.0 4.1 18.2 89.8
97 Unite 1121.0-42.0 1237.0 990.2 1.1 13.1 4.5
54 United Utilities 1166.5 +44.5 1176.5 943.0 3.7107.1 8.0
161 Virgin Money UK 166.9 -7.2 218.1 160.3 0.6 6.0 2.4
179 Vistry 932.5 -11.51346.5 912.5 6.6 9.7 2.0
16 Vodafone 129.3 +2.9 142.4 106.9 5.8 N.A 35.9
150 Watches of Switzerland 1116.0 -25.0 1518.0 662.0 0.0 36.1 2.6
105 Weir 1591.0 -93.5 2005.0 1429.0 1.5 26.9 4.1
187 WH Smith 1446.0 +9.51902.5 1311.0 0.0 N.A 1.9
76 Whitbread 2828.0 -45.0 3545.0 2436.0 0.0 N.A 5.6
89 Wise 467.1 -31.9 1150.0 442.5 N.A 212.6 4.8
141 Wizz Air Holdings 2728.0 -135.0 5398.0 2496.0 0.0 N.A 2.9
172 Worldwide Healthcare Trust 3375.0 +130.0 3910.0 2960.0 0.7 16.4 2.2
42 WPP 989.2 -16.8 1224.0 909.8 3.2 18.7 10.9170 ITM Power 356.5 +3.2 536.0 228.0 0.0 N.A 2.2
127 ITV 79.1 -3.3 132.5 73.4 4.3 8.3 3.1
149 IWG 269.6 +6.3 380.0 232.4 0.0 N.A 2.7
73 J Sainsbury 246.6 -2.3 340.0 235.0 4.3 20.8 5.7
60 JD Sports Fashion 147.0 -3.8 1170.0 131.6 0.2 17.5 7.5
157 Jet2 1231.5 +96.01564.5 938.6 0.0 N.A 2.5
113 Johnson Matthey 1965.0 +88.0 3300.0 1721.0 3.8 23.9 3.5
174 Keywords Studios 2662.0 +104.0 3302.0 1952.0 0.1 75.9 2.1
86 Kingfisher 258.5 +0.4 376.4 252.6 4.9 6.3 5.1
74 Land Securities 783.8 +6.8 813.2 653.2 3.2 N.A 5.7
33 Legal & General 268.8 -2.4 307.8 238.9 6.9 8.2 15.9
17 Lloyds Banking 44.6 -2.8 55.1 41.3 4.5 5.9 31.1
14 London Stock Exchange 8504.0 +420.0 8504.0 6370.0 1.1 87.1 43.2
145 Londonmetric Property 276.4 +1.0 285.2 216.0 2.6 5.9 2.7
78 M&G 212.5 -10.1 248.6 178.3 8.6 70.0 5.5
123 Man 240.2 +4.0 243.6 159.5 4.5 9.2 3.2
133 Marks and Spencer 153.4 -4.5 256.9 131.6 0.0 119.2 3.0
148 Mediclinic International 376.0 +15.8 376.0 275.8 0.0 22.8 2.7
69 Meggitt 769.4 +7.0 839.2 397.0 0.0191.8 6.0
84 Melrose Industries 119.5 -4.8 190.8 109.4 1.5 N.A 5.2
64 Mondi 1413.0 -91.5 2068.0 1309.0 3.8 11.0 6.9
155 Monks Investment Trust 1100.0 -16.0 1472.0980.0 0.2 3.3 2.5
13 National Grid 1226.0 +63.01226.0 884.6 4.1 30.6 44.3
190 Nationwide 175.5 +0.0 191.0 164.0 0.0 N.A 1.9
23 NatWest 216.4 -1.5 253.5 189.3 4.9 9.3 22.5
57 Next 6034.0-74.0 8426.0 5770.0 2.2 11.1 7.7
164 Ninety One 254.0 -3.2 277.4 219.2 5.4 12.6 2.3
48 Ocado 1244.0 +63.5 2236.0 1077.0 0.0 N.A 9.2
151 OSB 590.0 +22.0 590.0 418.8 4.4 7.8 2.6
126 Oxford Nanopore 370.0 -24.0 716.0369.0 0.0 N.A 3.2
71 Pearson 762.2 +21.2 869.4 571.8 2.736.6 5.8
137 Pennon 1082.0 +12.0 1321.0 992.0 3.1 89.4 2.9
63 Persimmon 2192.0 +44.0 3238.0 2093.0 10.8 8.8 6.9
192 Personal Assets Trust 50300.0 +0.050900.046300.0 1.1 8.9 1.8
132 Petershill Partners 256.0 +2.0 352.0 194.8 N.A N.A 3.0
67 Phoenix Holdings 629.8+10.0 759.8 581.8 7.8 N.A 6.3
197 Playtech 584.0 -12.0 770.0 351.0 0.0 3.2 1.8
138 Polar Capital Tech Trust 2200.0-35.0 2750.0 2010.0 0.0 3.7 2.9
180 Primary Health Properties 151.2 +2.3 169.6 131.1 3.3 15.4 2.0
18 Prudential 1102.5 -18.0 1585.5 1000.0 1.2 16.9 29.8
191 QinetiQ 317.0 +9.4 356.0 243.0 2.2 24.6 1.8
163 Quilter 147.0 +3.6 168.9 114.6 3.9 105.8 2.3
15 Reckitt Benckiser 5958.0 -52.0 6801.0 5391.0 2.9 N.A 42.5
189 Redrow 542.0 +25.0 718.8 517.0 5.4 6.5 1.9
12 Relx 2444.0 +79.0 2449.01813.0 2.0 32.3 47.3
116 Renewables Infrastructure 136.4 +1.2 139.4 121.2 4.9 14.2 3.4
147 Renishaw 3814.0 -90.0 6565.0 3704.0 1.8 21.2 2.7
45 Rentokil Initial 527.4 +6.4 636.2 444.5 1.2 37.5 9.9
80 Rightmove 645.6+10.6 800.4 569.2 1.2 29.9 5.4
4 Rio Tinto 6138.0 -87.0 6658.0 4375.5 9.9 6.1 101.3
106 RIT Capital Partners 2555.0 +5.0 2765.0 2330.0 1.4 4.6 3.9
56 Rolls-Royce Holdings 94.3 -5.1 147.5 87.0 0.0 64.6 7.9
144 Rotork 316.4 -5.0 373.4 285.2 2.0 34.7 2.8114 Direct Line Insurance 268.4 -7.1 316.4 250.9 8.6 11.0 3.5
166 Dr Martens 241.6 +3.4 503.5 217.6 0.5 42.3 2.3
120 Drax 811.5 +36.0 831.5 393.8 2.3 63.6 3.3
104 DS Smith 308.2 -11.8 462.3 295.7 4.3 17.2 4.2
176 Dunelm 1038.0-39.0 1551.0 1019.0 2.3 13.7 2.1
107 EasyJet 523.2 -31.8 1095.0 439.5 0.0 N.A 3.9
91 Electrocomponents 1014.0-34.01255.0 868.0 1.6 25.8 4.8
171 Energean 1248.0 +4.0 1276.0620.0 0.0 N.A 2.2
49 Entain 1547.5 -104.52377.0 1392.5 0.0 34.8 9.1
20 Experian 2907.0 -4.0 3667.0 2580.0 1.3 36.3 26.9
99 F&C Investment Trust 858.0 -5.0 946.0 779.0 1.5 4.9 4.4
25 Ferguson 9936.0 -244.0 13305.0 9090.0 2.0 14.3 21.3
175 Fevertree Drinks 1782.0 -3.0 2812.0 1513.0 0.946.6 2.1
188 Finsbury Growth & Income 845.0 +20.0 930.0 756.0 2.0 9.5 1.9
37 Flutter Entertainment 8396.0 -350.0 15890.0 8000.0 0.0 N.A 14.9
122 Frasers 664.0 +8.0 813.5 491.8 0.0 N.A 3.2
77 Fresnillo 778.8 +35.4 986.8 622.4 3.4 17.4 5.6
139 Future 2400.0 -204.0 3910.0 2100.0 0.1 40.1 2.9
156 Games Workshop 7600.0 +280.0 12220.0 6365.0 2.720.9 2.5
193 Genus 2786.0-24.0 6070.0 2750.0 1.2 51.1 1.8
7 GlaxoSmithKline 1778.6 +122.0 1778.6 1287.8 4.6 20.1 88.5
10 Glencore 528.0 +20.4 528.0 286.2 3.9 18.0 67.8
162 Grafton 1015.0 +24.2 1412.0 965.0 3.1 11.4 2.4
168 Grainger 304.6 +9.0 335.0 269.8 1.7 18.7 2.2
194 Great Portland Estates 724.5 +10.5 803.5 629.0 1.5 120.2 1.8
108 Greencoat UK Wind 154.4 -0.4 157.6 126.6 4.6 8.6 3.6
158 Greggs 2414.0 -70.03416.0 2206.0 2.4 21.2 2.5
46 Halma 2532.0+41.03216.0 2217.0 0.7 37.1 9.7
101 Harbour Energy 488.3 +6.7 499.6 17.3 1.8 2.9 4.4
173 HarbourVest Global PE 2610.0 -20.0 2940.0 1988.0 0.0 2.1 2.1
88 Hargreaves Lansdown 1030.5 +45.3 1772.0 985.2 3.8 16.3 4.8
184 Hays 120.4 -1.2 176.7 112.9 1.9 16.7 1.9
182 HgCapital Trust 423.0 -9.5 444.0 320.0 1.6 3.1 2.0
115 HICL Infrastructure 179.8 +0.2 181.2 161.0 4.6 18.6 3.5
95 Hikma Pharmaceuticals 2064.0 +25.0 2690.0 1825.0 2.0 14.7 4.6
200 Hilton Food 1214.0 -26.01250.0 1004.0 2.5 27.1 1.1
117 Hiscox 984.6 -5.6 990.2 770.0 2.7 23.5 3.4
131 HomeServe 870.0 +20.0 1194.0 608.5 3.0 79.1 3.0
98 Howden Joinery 767.8 -13.2 975.6 730.8 2.6 14.3 4.4
3 HSBC Holdings 530.0 +1.1 567.2 359.8 3.7 11.0 105.2
153 Hutchmed (China) 280.5 -18.0 624.0 232.0 0.0 N.A 2.5
111 IG Holdings 840.5 +22.5 952.5 717.0 5.2 8.5 3.6
119 IMI 1307.0 -51.01838.0 1277.0 1.8 17.5 3.3
34 Imperial Brands 1677.5 +56.5 1818.5 1465.5 8.4 5.5 15.8
159 Inchcape 650.0 -28.0 933.0 647.0 3.5 21.9 2.5
167 Indivior 328.0 +43.0 328.0 133.2 0.0 15.7 2.2
51 Informa 611.2 +7.0 624.0 464.4 0.0 120.2 9.0
50 InterContinental Hotels 4922.0 -228.0 5338.0 4399.0 1.3 44.9 9.1
90 Intermediate Capital 1667.0 -135.0 2379.0 1385.0 3.5 9.5 4.8
65 International Group 133.2 -8.0 214.6 116.2 0.0 N.A 6.6
136 International Public P’ships 164.2 -10.0 174.8 156.0 4.4 52.7 2.9
52 Intertek 5154.0 -60.06198.0 4735.0 2.0 29.9 8.6
82 Investec 535.0 +23.0 535.0 228.7 3.5 13.2 5.339 3i Group 1371.5 -10.01503.5 1138.5 3.0 4.7 13.2
124 3I Infrastructure 356.0 +5.0 362.5 292.5 2.8 8.5 3.2
118 Abcam 1475.0 +74.01750.0 1171.0 0.0 859.2 3.4
100 Abrdn 207.9 -6.0 302.3 179.0 7.2 4.4 4.4
58 Admiral 2573.0+15.0 3688.0 2439.0 5.1 13.1 7.7
81 Airtel Africa 143.9 +2.4 160.0 71.4 2.4 12.2 5.3
135 Alliance Trust 981.0 -4.01078.0 901.0 2.0 5.7 2.9
11 Anglo American 4170.5 +101.04170.5 2470.5 5.6 7.6 53.2
32 Antofagasta 1707.5 +17.01925.0 1227.0 6.5 16.8 16.5
27 Ashtead 4679.0 -95.0 6450.0 4517.0 1.0 22.9 20.5
40 Associated British Foods 1662.0 +7.0 2490.0 1603.0 1.6 26.9 12.9
178 Assura 68.7 +0.7 79.8 59.6 3.8 13.7 2.0
1 AstraZeneca 10930.0+854.0 10930.0 7167.0 2.1 511.6 165.2
68 Auto Trader 644.2 +6.0 741.8 543.6 1.2 32.0 6.1
70 Avast 562.8 +0.2 645.4 434.5 2.2 21.8 5.9
62 Aveva 2443.0 +8.0 4220.0 2365.0 1.5 N.A 7.2
35 Aviva 425.8 -18.8 458.2 370.9 5.2 66.8 15.6
79 B&M European Value Retail 544.4+10.2 644.0 525.6 3.3 12.5 5.4
22 BAE Systems 743.6 +29.8 755.0 494.5 3.4 13.4 23.1
21 Barclays 144.6 -2.4 217.1 140.6 4.3 3.8 23.6
85 Barratt Developments 519.8 +1.6 794.8 507.8 6.5 7.9 5.2
154 Beazley 416.0 -2.4 504.0 294.4 3.2 10.8 2.5
129 Bellway 2576.0 +135.0 3712.0 2432.0 5.1 7.5 3.1
102 Berkeley Holdings 3973.0 +245.0 4943.0 3670.0 0.0 9.7 4.3
140 Big Yellow 1545.0 +14.0 1724.01147.0 1.8 6.0 2.9
9 BP 391.5 +12.6 417.2 278.5 4.3 13.3 73.4
146 Bridgepoint 330.8 -34.2 569.0 266.5 0.0 20.3 2.7
8 British American Tobacco 3291.0 +65.0 3439.0 2512.5 6.7 11.2 73.8
87 British Land Company 530.4 +5.4 556.4 463.1 2.6 71.9 4.9
169 Britvic 841.0 +37.0 1006.0 741.0 2.9 21.6 2.2
29 BT 191.0 +7.2 205.6 135.2 1.2 18.3 18.7
44 Bunzl 3111.0 +120.0 3115.0 2251.0 1.8 23.6 10.5
66 Burberry 1601.0 -72.5 2264.0 1551.5 3.4 13.7 6.3
181 Caledonia Investments 3670.0 +110.0 4100.0 2705.0 1.8 3.2 2.0
31 Carnival 1288.0 -73.0 1865.4 1092.2 0.0 N.A 16.6
92 Centrica 81.0 +2.7 84.5 45.5 0.0 8.0 4.7
186 City of London IT 425.0 +8.0 425.0 377.0 4.6 6.4 1.9
199 Close Brothers 1186.0 -23.0 1645.0 1072.0 5.5 8.7 1.8
72 Coca Cola HBC 1598.0 +28.5 2784.0 1460.5 3.8 12.7 5.8
19 Compass 1649.5 +53.51820.5 1407.5 0.982.0 29.3
112 Computacenter 2856.0 -74.0 3030.0 2404.0 2.3 17.8 3.5
103 ConvaTec 216.6 +1.2 262.6 166.9 2.1 48.5 4.3
183 Cranswick 3748.0 +222.0 4148.0 3182.0 1.9 19.4 2.0
24 CRH 3023.0-20.0 4002.0 2910.5 3.2 11.7 22.3
41 Croda International 7910.0 +50.0 10410.0 6490.0 1.3 34.8 11.1
130 Darktrace 437.9 -12.6 985.0 315.0 0.0 N.A 3.0
75 DCC 5744.0 -198.0 6486.0 5500.0 2.9 18.9 5.6
94 Dechra Pharmaceuticals 4136.0 +48.0 5405.0 3554.0 1.0 63.8 4.6
177 Deliveroo 114.4 -0.4 395.0 106.8 0.0 N.A 2.0
109 Derwent London 3192.0 -8.0 3802.0 2883.0 2.0 14.2 3.6
5 Diageo 4020.5 +150.54103.5 3155.5 1.9 30.7 92.1
121 Diploma 2594.0 -20.0 3460.0 2420.0 1.6 46.8 3.3TOP 200 COMPANIES
Market cap ranking
V
PriceChange
on week
52-week
high lowYield P/EMkt Cap
(£bn)Market cap ranking
V
PriceChange
on week52-week
high lowYield P/EMkt Cap
(£bn)Market cap ranking
V
PriceChange
on week52-week
high lowYield P/EMkt Cap
(£bn)Market cap ranking
V
PriceChange
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: RefinitivTHE TIPSTER
HANG SENG
21,872.01
V167.54 H:29,468.0
V0.76% L:18,415.1SHANGHAI
3,251.85
V30.87 H:3,715.4
V0.94% L:3,064.0CAC 40
6,548.22
V136.09H:7,376.4
V2.04% L:5,963.0DAX
14,283.67
V162.81 H:16,271.8
V1.13% L:12,831.5DOW JONES
34,721.12
V4.35 H:36,952.6
V0.01% L:30,547.5NASDAQ
13,711.00
V59.57 H:16,212.2
V0.43% L:12,397.1S&P 500
4,488.28
U56.43 H:4,818.6
U1.27% L:3,723.3NIKKEI
26,985.80
V680.18H:30,795.8
V2.46% L:24,681.7FTSE EUROFIRST
1,805.51
U14.03 H:1,917.4
U0.78% L:1,625.9SENSEX
59,447.18
U170.49 H:61,765.6
U0.29% L:47,705.8ALL ORDS
7,772.00
V13.90 H:7,926.8
V0.18% L:7,114.5S&P TSX
21,874.35
V78.60 H:21,953.0
V0.36% L:14,783.9For a non-alcoholic drinks
brand, Fever-Tree has
certainly given its investors a
few painful hangovers. The
maker of posh tonic water
enjoyed a fast and frothy
decade after its creation in
2004, culminating in a 2014
stock market listing on Aim
that saw it valued at
£112 million. Fever-Tree later
fizzed up to almost £40 a
share for a £4.5 billion
valuation, overshadowing
some of the FTSE 100. Then
came several crashes,
including lockdown’s
closures of the bars and
restaurants that stock Fever-
Tree’s mixers, when the
shares collapsed to 935p.
The stock is now bubbling
along at £17.70 and Fever-Tree
looks much more palatable.
Its profit margins, though,
have been dragged down
amid rising inflation, with
higher wages for lorryFTSE 1008,0006,5007,0002021 2022
Source: Thomson Reuters Eikon7, 5 0 0THE WEEK IN THE MARKETS
drivers, transatlantic freight
charges and US storage costs
piling on the pressure. Fever-
Tree raised some prices in
response — but then the
Ukraine war and a jump in
commodity prices led the
drinks brand to warn on
profits last month.
Yet, as Ashton Olds at
Berenberg bank put it, Fever-
Tree’s problems don’t reflect
“a structurally worse
business”. Sales momentum,
he added, “remains very
strong and the stock still
offers a long-term
opportunity”. Revenues rose
by 23 per cent to £311 million
last year.
Yes, some squeezed
households will swap to a
supermarket mixer to save
money, but international
growth looks strong — Fever-
Tree is building a bottling
plant in Australia and acanning line in the US — and
this year there will be more
benefits as bars pack in more
punters. It has also got funds
to invest, with net cash
increasing 16 per cent to
£166 million last year.
The management is
passionate, too. I first met
Fever-Tree’s founders in 2013,
when Tim Warrillow and
Charles Rolls’s sales stood at
just £12 million a year. They
were so intent on finding the
best, quinine-containing
drinks that the pair trekked to
the Congo, where their taxi
came under attack from
militia wielding AK-47s.
Warrillow remains at the
helm (with a 5 per cent stake
giving him skin in the game,
too) and still sounds like he
would face down a bullet for
his brand.
There is also the possibility
that the squeeze on the share
price makes it more likely
that Fever-Tree could at last
whet the appetite of the likes
of Diageo or Coca-Cola. Such
an approach has been long
rumoured; could 2022 be the
year? Bolting the premium
brand onto an existing
distribution network would
be an easy win for a global
drinks giant. Buy Fever-Tree
before they do.Fever-Tree
could soon
be fizzing
again
Fever-Tree£302010
2021 2022
Source: Thomson Reuters Eikonvariation 12 months
high low
UK 1.55 V0.06 1.75 0.51US 1.93 V0.46 2.70 1.17JAPAN -0.01 V0.17 0.25 0.00GERMANY 0.29 V0.27 0.71 -0.5010-YEAR BOND YIELDS %
DOLLAR
USD > GBP$1.30
V0.01
12-month high: $1.42
low: $1.30EURO
EUR > GBP€1.20
U0.01
12-month high: €1.21
low: €1.15
YEN
YEN > USD¥124.32
U1.83
12-month high: ¥124.32
low: ¥107.91
OIL
DOLLARS/BARREL$112.57
U8.18
12-month high: $127.98
low: $62.95
GOLD
DOLLARS/TROY OZ$1,945.85
U21.55
12-month high: $2,052.41
low: $1,726.11BITCOIN
DOLLARS$42,620.05
V3,543.62
12-month high: $68,789.62
low: $28,893.62
Price at 10pm FridayFTSE 100
7,669.56
U131.66 H: 7,672.4
U1.75% L: 6,844.4FTSE 250
21,174.32
V43.69 H: 24,250.8
V0.21% L: 19,169.8RISERS
Indivior: 328p, U 15.1% on US listing
Premier Foods: 126.8p, U 9.7% on
results hopes Trainline: 281p, U 9.3%
on commission boost Astra Zeneca:
£109.30, U 8.1% on upgrade
AJ Bell/SharepadFALLERS
TI Fluid Systems: 163.2p, V 15.5%
on bearish broker note Network
International: 252.4p, V 12.5% on
sentiment Aston Martin Lagonda:
869.8p, V 11% on sentiment Smurfit
Kappa: £30.70, V 9.9% on Russian hitLUCY TOBIN THE ECONOMY
Consumer prices index current rate prev. month
6.2% 5.5%
CPI including housing current rate prev. month
5.5% 4.9%
Retail prices index current rate prev. month
8.2% 7.8%
Average weekly earnings on prev. monthon last year
£596 V 0.7% U4.9%
Unemployment current rate prev. month
1.34m 3.9% 4.1%
Manufacturing output on the year on last month
U3.6% U0.7%
Retail sales on the year on last month
U 0.7% V 0.3%
UK trade
balance (£bn)latest 3 mths prev. 3 mths latest 12 mths
-21.08 -12.74 -41.16
Gross domestic
productlatest quarter prev. quarterannual change
U1.3% U0.9% U6.6%
Budget deficit
(PSNB) in £bnlast month prev. month year to date
V 13.1 U 7.1 V138.4Enemy number one: I think the
sociopathic grandpa from Omaha isperhaps the most honest and the
most directInvestor Peter Thiel tells a conference
that Warren Buffett is bitcoin’s most
implacable criticYes77%
No23%
Rapper Snoop Dogg has
several strings to his bow:
hip-hop artist, cannabis
investor and boxing
commentator at Mike Tyson’s
2020 comeback fight. Sadly,
the rap legend, 50, wasn’t in
London on Wednesday to
commentate on the row at
Oxford Cannabinoid
Technologies (OCT), which
nearly came to fisticuffs.
OCT’s investors include Casa
Verde, the venture capital
firm co-founded by Snoop.
At the meeting in the City,
things got tasty. Peter Abbey
was representing co-founder
and fellow angry shareholder
Gavin Sathianathan at a vote
called to oust chief executive
John Lucas and the majorityof the board over the
company’s dismal stock
market performance.
After the rebels lost the
vote, Lucas, 55, is said to
have confronted Abbey, 76,
and asked why Sathianathan
was not there. One witness
says Abbey responded by
calling Lucas a “prick” – a
sentiment that was
reciprocated before Abbey
told Lucas to watch his back.
Abbey, who says he was
referring to other
shareholders coming for
him, denies saying “prick”,
but adds: “Actually I’d like to
have called him a lot worse.”
Language worthy of the
D O Double G himself, no
doubt.Is Candy sweet
on Trump’s tech?
Donald Trump’s social media
platform Truth Social has
had a farcical start since its
iPhone launch in February.
Two top executives quit last
week, dealing a blow to
Trump’s plans to build an
empire to challenge “left-
wing cancel culture”.
The app is still not
available on Android phones
despite aiming for a launch
last month.
Not that it appeared to
bother the former US
president, 75, who looked
happy posing with Nigel
Farage at his Mar-a-Lago
resort in Florida alongside
property tycoon Nick Candy,
49, and his wife Holly
Valance, 38. Farage, 58, is
famously a buddy of Trump,
but why was Candy there?
The entrepreneur, who
failed to make the cut last
month in the bidding battle
for Chelsea Football Club,
says he was on holiday with
his family. What about a role
at Trump’s social media app
for the wannabe tech
investor? “I can’t comment
on that,” Candy replies coyly.
Will he soon be adding Truth
Social to his list of failed tech
bets that includes UK start-
ups Blippar and Crowdmix?Brittain recounts
battle of activists
Alison Brittain will soon be
heading off into the sunset
after seven years in charge of
Whitbread, as revealed in
these pages last week. And
who can blame her? The boss
of the Premier Inn owner hashad to fend off not one but
two activist investors.
Elliott and Sachem Head
both laid siege to Whitbread,
but Brittain put up a sturdy
defence, managing to sell
Costa Coffee to Coca-Cola for
£3.9 billion in 2018.
Reflecting on the
experience on the Little
Questions podcast, Brittain,
57, said: “If you’ve only got
one activist, you’re a bit of a
lightweight... To have two on
your books is the way to go.”
Good news for Dame
Emma Walmsley at Glaxo
Smith Kline, who has both
Elliott and Bluebell stalking
the pharmaceuticals giant.Hopin tycoon
hops off Twitter
Elon Musk might get away
(mostly) with tweeting his
every thought. But off-the-
cuff remarks on social media
don’t work for every founder.
Johnny Boufarhat, boss of
the virtual events platform
Hopin, thrashed out a tweet
on Friday that said: “It’s so
f***ing weird how today the
extreme fringes of society on
both the right and left are
dictating public discord and
policy.” Boufarhat, 27,
quickly deleted the tweet,
presumably after a panicked
PR flunky spotted it.Snoop Dogg’s skills were needed to referee an OCT rowCannabis boss escapes
the Dogghouse — just
6 This is the season of leaving dos. Last month, Anglo
American held a dinner at the Natural History Museum to
wave off Mark Cutifani after nine years running the mining
giant. And on Thursday, Schroders packed out Spencer House
in St James’s to toast Michael Dobson, the dominant — and
occasionally domineering — force at the fund manager for 20-
plus years. Schroders chief executive Peter Harrison and JP
Morgan vice-chairman David Mayhew gave speeches. Mayhew
is a youthful 81; Dobson, 69, quipped that he looked forward
to attending his leaving party “in 20 years’ time”.
Idiosyncratic as ever, the Old Etonian outgoing Schroders
chairman chose his own farewell gift, opting not for the
grandfather clock suggested by some — but a lawnmower.MICHAEL TRAN/FILMMAGICJamie Nimmo
JUST SAYING...
FUNNY BUSINESS
TWITTER POLL
Should ministers have gone
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