The Sunday Times - UK (2022-06-05)

10 The Sunday Times June 5, 2022

BUSINESS

That hurricane is right out there,

down the road, coming our way. We

just don’t know if it’s a minor one or

Superstorm Sandy

JPMorgan Chase boss Jamie Dimon

predicted torrid economic times

following the Ukraine war and inflation

Yes

35%

No

65%

The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

was not the only party in

town last week.

On Wednesday evening,

dealmaker Mervyn Metcalf

threw an anniversary knees-

up of his own to celebrate a

decade in business for his

London boutique firm Dean

Street Advisers.

The former Merrill Lynch

banker founded Dean Street

— which has advised on deals

such as the £1.2 billion sale of

esure in 2018 — with his

colleague Graeme Atkinson

at the height of the Greek

sovereign debt crisis. It is

based on the Soho street of

the same name, where

Metcalf also has a flat

adorned with an impressive

collection of modern art.

The bash was held at the

Marylebone hotel, where

guests including YouGov

chairman Roger Parry, 69

this month, and his wife

Johanna Waterous, 64,

swigged champagne.

The event had plenty to

live up to. Metcalf ’s 50th

birthday party in March at

the Century Club in Soho was

quite the spectacle. His

mother had a surprise in

store for her son, a Star Wars

fan, sending half a dozen

stormtroopers to the event.

“No party now is complete

without stormtroopers,”

Metcalf jokes. They must

have had Jubilee plans last

week.

The plot thickens

at troubled THG

There will be no shortage of

intrigue at THG’s annual

shareholder meeting this

Friday. Joining chief

executive Matt Moulding, 50,

on stage will be his fellow

board director Iain

McDonald, who is combining

some of his humdrum non-

executive duties with efforts

to buy the entire company.

Belerion Capital, where

McDonald is chief investment

officer, tabled a £2 billion bid

to end THG’s troubled stay on

the public markets.

McDonald’s boardroom

colleagues rejected

Belerion’s approach last

month.

McDonald, 51, is

understood to be excluded

from board conversations

pertaining to takeover

interest — but if Glass Lewis

gets its way, he will soon be

excluded from everything.

The shareholder advisory

firm has recommended that

THG’s investors vote against

McDonald’s re-election on

the basis that he has sat on

the board for 12 years.

Belerion has until June 16

to clarify its takeover

intentions. Those attending

this Friday’s meeting at

Manchester airport’s

Marriott hotel will no doubt

be scrutinising the on-stage

body language.

Spin your way

out of this one...

Talking of retail prima

donnas, is Mike Ashley’s

Frasers Group finally

growing up?

Since the Sports Direct

founder’s son-in-law Michael

Murray, 32, took over as chief

executive, Frasers has

appointed Sir Alan Parker’s

Brunswick to, presumably,

shift the narrative away from

alleged Dickensian working

conditions and vomiting in

fireplaces.

The City spinners will be

well aware that they are not

dealing with an ordinary

client. As representatives to

Debenhams, the PR firm had

a front-row seat as Ashley, 57,

booted the executives of the

collapsed department store

group off the board and

demanded others take lie

detector tests.

Still, a fee is a fee.

Quick to criticise,

slow to report

Sir Martin Sorrell was back

giving his views on how the

world works last week.

The advertising tycoon, 77,

took aim at the Bank of

England’s rate-setters for

delaying the decision to hike

the cost of borrowing to

tackle rising inflation.

He said: “It is fair to say

that they were behind the

curve, or behind the rate at

which they should do it.”

Sorrell knows a thing or

two about delays. This year,

S4Capital, the digital

marketing group he created

after leaving WPP, has twice

delayed the release of its

annual results because

auditors at PwC were not

happy with the numbers.

The party force is strong in Star Wars fan Mervyn Metcalf

Matt and Jodie Moulding

Soho’s finest see stars

but not another galaxy

6 Boris Johnson was in typically jovial form on July 22, 2020,

when he attended the first virtual meeting of the Jet Zero

Council to explore ways to decarbonise aviation. The prime

minister thanked his colleague, then-business secretary Alok

Sharma, before adding: “Or as I like to call him, ‘Alcock’.”

Some startled guests — who included Rolls-Royce chief

Warren East and easyJet boss Johan Lundgren — assumed it

was a rude Bullingdon joke. But, thankfully, Johnson was in

fact referring to Britons John Alcock and Arthur Brown, who

became the first aviators to cross the Atlantic in 1919. Sharma

and transport secretary Grant Shapps were planning to make

the first transatlantic flight in a zero-carbon passenger jet.

That’s a relief.

SUNDAY TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER RICHARD POHLE

Jamie Nimmo

JUST SAYING...

FUNNY BUSINESS

TWITTER POLL

Was Ryanair’s chief

executive Michael O’Leary

right when he said the

government should draft in

the army to ease the chaos

at airports?@ST_Business

92 RS 960.0+27.51255.0 868.0 1.9 19.8 4.5

151 Safestore 1118.0 -6.0 1418.0 939.5 1.8 6.4 2.4

60 Sage 653.6 -19.4 853.8 637.6 2.7 23.6 6.7

49 Schroders 2894.0 -42.03871.0 2752.0 4.2 13.1 7.9

39 Scottish Mortgage IT 795.6 +0.8 1543.5 693.2 0.5 1.9 11.5

35 Segro 1084.0-34.5 1436.5 1050.5 1.9 3.2 13.1

190 Sequoia Economic Infra IF 98.0 +0.0 114.6 96.0 6.4 11.0 1.7

171 Serco 178.9 +5.0 178.9 121.2 1.3 7.4 2.2

54 Severn Trent 2833.0 -106.0 3211.0 2469.0 3.6 N.A 7.1

155 Shaftesbury 591.0 -12.0 662.0 547.5 1.4 5.8 2.3

1 Shell 2361.0 -19.0 2404.0 1339.0 3.3 10.6 175.5

40 Smith & Nephew 1269.0 -27.0 1592.51179.0 2.5 26.8 11.1

71 Smiths 1561.0 +6.51635.0 1355.5 2.5 24.8 5.8

158 Smithson Investment Tr 1324.0 +20.0 2025.0 1215.0 0.0 4.3 2.3

131 Softcat 1398.0 -37.0 2240.0 1266.0 1.6 27.4 2.8

117 Spectris 2985.0 -51.0 4083.0 2458.0 2.4 9.8 3.2

51 Spirax-Sarco Engineering 10480.0 -85.0 17135.010230.0 1.3 33.0 7.7

26 SSE 1760.5 +8.0 1920.0 1445.5 4.9 7.3 18.8

166 SSP 269.6 -6.0 325.5 207.8 0.0 N.A 2.1

58 St James's Place 1247.5 -20.0 1731.5 1180.0 4.2 23.8 6.8

27 Standard Chartered 632.8 +5.8 632.8 410.0 1.5 12.9 18.8

126 Tate & Lyle 752.0 -3.0 800.0 629.4 4.8 73.9 3.0

87 Taylor Wimpey 129.8 -0.5 182.9 120.3 6.6 8.5 4.6

191 Templeton Emer Mkts IT 154.0 +6.8 1040.0 140.6 2.5 1.5 1.8

25 Tesco 258.9 +0.4 303.4 221.8 4.2 13.2 19.5

182 THG 144.9 -7.1 684.0 80.0 0.0 N.A 1.8

144 Travis Perkins 1199.0 -14.0 1830.0 1127.5 3.2 11.6 2.5

106 Tritax Big Box Reit 200.0 -3.6 249.0 196.3 2.7 3.7 3.7

149 Ultra Electronics 3220.0 -148.0 3370.0 2072.0 0.5 34.4 2.3

5 Unilever 3705.0 +229.5 4360.0 3328.0 4.0 18.7 94.5

91 Unite 1125.0 -2.0 1237.0 990.2 1.1 13.1 4.5

57 United Utilities 1040.0 -4.0 1176.5 968.4 4.2 95.1 7.1

164 Virgin Money UK 147.1 -5.8 218.1 139.7 2.4 3.8 2.1

176 Vistry 902.5 +4.5 1318.0 760.5 6.6 7.9 2.0

187 Vivo Energy 140.2 +0.0 149.0 96.4 3.2 16.0 1.8

16 Vodafone 126.7 -3.4 139.5 106.9 6.0 20.7 35.6

160 Watches of Switzerland 943.5 -5.0 1518.0 808.0 0.0 30.8 2.3

97 Weir 1613.0 +39.0 1948.5 1429.0 1.5 27.2 4.2

168 WH Smith 1580.0 -32.51805.5 1311.0 0.0 N.A 2.1

77 Whitbread 2629.0 -101.0 3438.0 2436.0 1.3 127.3 5.3

104 Wise 352.5 -26.0 1150.0 319.8 N.A 159.0 3.6

124 Wizz Air 2854.0 -139.0 5398.0 2496.0 0.0 N.A 2.9

175 Worldwide Healthcare Tr 2980.0-95.0 3910.0 2935.0 0.9 15.3 1.9

41 WPP 922.8 -3.61224.0 875.6 3.4 17.6 10.1

67 JD Sports Fashion 122.1 +2.1 1170.0 112.0 0.0 147.5 6.3

142 Jet2 1130.0-67.0 1423.0 938.6 0.0 N.A 2.4

192 John Wood 223.4 -26.9 257.1 151.0 0.0 N.A 1.5

103 Johnson Matthey 2100.0 -13.0 3200.0 1721.0 3.7 34.3 3.8

194 Keywords Studios 2348.0 +98.0 3302.0 1952.0 0.1 63.8 1.8

80 Kingfisher 259.9 -5.8 376.0 237.0 4.8 6.5 5.2

72 Land Securities 766.4 -8.2 813.2 653.2 3.9 6.5 5.7

32 Legal & General 255.6 -6.6 307.8 235.2 7.2 7.8 15.3

18 Lloyds Banking 45.1 -0.1 55.1 41.3 4.4 6.0 31.2

15 London Stock Exchange 7144.0 -414.0 8504.0 6370.0 1.3 73.8 39.9

145 Londonmetric Property 253.2 -5.0 285.2 231.4 3.0 3.2 2.5

74 M&G 216.4 -1.5 248.6 178.3 8.5 71.6 5.6

112 Man 255.0 -2.8 259.6 178.0 4.6 9.5 3.4

128 Marks and Spencer 149.9 +0.1 256.9 131.6 0.0 9.9 2.9

133 Mediclinic International 399.6+13.4 399.6 275.8 0.8 19.5 2.9

68 Meggitt 775.0 -2.0 839.2 397.0 0.0 193.8 6.1

73 Melrose Industries 133.4 +4.4 190.8 107.6 1.3 N.A 5.8

52 Mondi 1532.0 -28.5 2068.0 1309.0 3.6 11.5 7.4

165 Monks Investment Trust 975.0 -1.0 1472.0 928.0 0.2 3.0 2.2

14 National Grid 1121.0-43.0 1245.5 884.6 4.5 18.7 40.9

193 Nationwide Building Society 163.5 +0.0 191.0 163.5 0.0 N.A 1.7

24 Natwest 226.7 -0.5 253.5 192.2 4.6 8.8 23.8

47 Next 6462.0 -78.0 8426.0 5770.0 2.0 12.3 8.4

169 Ninety One 215.2 -19.4 277.4 215.2 6.8 9.6 2.0

61 Ocado 908.6 +7.2 2090.0 727.8 0.0 N.A 6.8

153 OSB 512.0 -16.5 599.0 418.8 5.1 6.8 2.3

137 Oxford Nanopore Tech 307.5 -19.5 716.0 254.5 0.0 N.A 2.5

76 Pearson 748.8 +6.0 869.4 571.8 2.7 35.8 5.6

139 Pennon 1010.0 -1.0 1321.0 992.0 3.8 348.4 2.7

56 Persimmon 2185.0 -52.0 3236.0 2032.0 10.8 8.9 7.0

184 Personal Assets Trust 48800.0+100.050900.047200.0 1.1 8.7 1.8

136 Petershill Partners 226.0 -7.0 352.0 194.8 N.A 13.3 2.6

197 Pets at Home 338.8 +1.8 519.0 278.0 3.5 13.8 1.7

65 Phoenix 633.4 -12.8 752.0 571.2 7.7 N.A 6.3

195 Playtech 550.0 -12.0 770.0 351.0 0.0 2.9 1.7

143 Polar Capital Tech Trust 1946.0 +6.0 2750.0 1816.0 0.0 3.3 2.6

177 Primary Health Prop 145.7 -2.3 169.6 131.1 3.4 14.8 1.9

20 Prudential 1018.0 -12.0 1553.5 881.0 1.3 15.3 28.0

167 QinetiQ 369.2 +0.2 369.2 243.0 2.0 23.8 2.1

199 Quilter 117.3 -2.3 168.9 114.6 5.6 74.2 1.6

13 Reckitt Benckiser 6180.0 +62.0 6624.0 5391.0 2.8 N.A 44.2

181 Redrow 528.0 -1.0 718.8 500.0 5.4 6.5 1.9

12 Relx 2207.0-76.0 2449.0 1841.0 2.3 29.1 42.5

118 Renewables Infrastructure 132.4 +1.6 139.4 123.2 5.1 13.6 3.3

132 Renishaw 4048.0 +126.0 5580.0 3704.0 1.7 23.1 2.9

44 Rentokil Initial 494.0 -15.2 636.2 444.5 1.3 35.0 9.2

82 Rightmove 586.6 -9.2 800.4 533.4 1.3 27.6 4.9

4 Rio Tinto 5758.0 +56.0 6292.0 4375.5 10.9 5.6 96.8

105 RIT Capital Partners 2415.0 -40.0 2765.0 2330.0 1.5 4.4 3.8

55 Rolls-Royce 88.7 +1.8 147.5 78.3 0.0 60.5 7.4

157 Rotork 280.0 +11.2 373.4 260.2 2.3 30.4 2.4

125 Royal Mail 300.3 -20.7 606.4 300.0 2.2 4.9 2.9

172 Dr Martens 258.8 +49.6 503.5 182.9 2.1 14.3 2.6

140 Drax 693.0 +37.0 831.5 393.8 2.7 53.7 2.8

96 DS Smith 303.2 -5.9 462.3 293.1 4.3 17.2 4.2

189 Dunelm 872.5 +2.0 1521.0 823.5 2.6 11.8 1.8

99 Easyjet 507.4-24.6 986.2 439.5 0.0 N.A 3.8

150 Energean 1323.0 -11.0 1391.0 620.0 0.0 N.A 2.4

48 Entain 1460.0+27.02377.0 1234.0 0.0 32.6 8.6

22 Experian 2568.0 -127.0 3667.0 2506.0 1.6 25.8 23.6

94 F&C Investment Trust 831.0 -2.0 946.0 779.0 1.5 4.8 4.3

183 Fevertree Drinks 1509.0-66.02812.0 1460.0 1.1 39.5 1.8

188 Finsbury Growth & Inc Tr 787.0 -10.0 930.0 756.0 1.2 16.2 1.7

31 Flutter Entertainment 9282.0 -264.0 15890.0 7922.0 0.0 N.A 16.3

115 Frasers 698.5 +9.0 813.5 562.5 0.0 N.A 3.4

70 Fresnillo 769.0-33.0 986.8 622.4 3.7 16.9 5.7

152 Future 1961.0 +1.0 3910.01831.0 0.1 27.7 2.4

154 Games Workshop 7225.0 +75.0 12220.0 6365.0 2.8 19.9 2.4

185 Genus 2674.0-60.0 6070.0 2234.0 1.2 49.3 1.8

10 Glencore 523.7 -2.5 535.6 296.2 3.9 17.7 68.8

162 Grafton 924.8 -23.2 1412.0 873.3 3.3 10.7 2.2

156 Grainger 312.8 +0.6 335.0 269.8 1.7 15.4 2.3

110 Greencoat UK Wind 149.6 -1.4 159.9 126.6 4.8 8.2 3.5

159 Greggs 2238.0 -2.03416.0 2094.0 2.5 19.6 2.3

6 GSK 1707.8 -25.4 1810.4 1343.4 4.4 16.9 86.8

46 Halma 2181.0-84.03216.0 2080.0 0.8 31.6 8.3

109 Harbour Energy 378.7 -3.4 530.0 20.0 2.3 39.1 3.5

180 HarbourVest Global PE 2305.0 -45.0 2940.0 2070.0 0.0 2.2 1.8

98 Hargreaves Lansdown 838.4 -13.6 1677.0 826.4 4.6 14.9 4.0

173 Hays 121.6 -1.7 176.7 112.4 1.8 17.6 2.0

186 HgCapital Trust 375.0 -14.5 454.0 332.0 1.9 2.7 1.7

113 HICL Infrastructure 175.6 +0.2 183.0 161.0 4.7 9.2 3.4

107 Hikma Pharmaceuticals 1673.0 -15.5 2690.0 1673.0 2.6 11.6 3.7

200 Hilton Food 1062.0 -62.01250.0 1004.0 2.8 23.9 0.9

116 Hiscox 912.0-44.0 990.2 787.6 3.2 21.0 3.2

100 HomeServe 1165.0 +0.0 1166.0 608.5 0.6 29.6 3.9

102 Howden Joinery 674.8 -1.0 975.6 649.8 2.9 12.7 3.9

3 HSBC 529.6 -2.8 567.2 359.8 3.9 11.7 106.4

123 IG 714.0 -11.0 945.0 702.0 6.1 7.3 3.1

108 IMI 1407.0 +41.01838.0 1246.0 1.7 19.2 3.7

30 Imperial Brands 1791.5 -5.51857.0 1486.0 7.8 8.4 17.0

135 Inchcape 728.5 -11.5 933.0 647.0 3.1 24.7 2.7

161 Indivior 331.8 +9.6 336.8 144.7 0.0 19.2 2.3

50 Informa 537.4 -10.6 624.0 464.4 0.0 106.4 7.9

45 InterContinental Hotels 4841.0-95.0 5338.0 4399.0 1.5 42.1 8.9

88 Intermediate Capital 1540.5 -55.5 2379.0 1338.5 4.9 8.4 4.5

64 International Airlines Group 125.9 -4.6 204.5 116.2 0.0 N.A 6.2

121 International Public Part 166.6 +1.2 174.8 156.0 4.5 21.7 3.2

53 Intertek 4558.0 -117.0 5782.0 4558.0 2.3 25.6 7.4

85 Investec 480.6 +10.6 536.8 270.5 3.8 12.1 4.9

178 ITM Power 286.5 -27.0 521.0 228.0 0.0 N.A 1.8

134 ITV 70.6 -0.0 132.5 67.1 4.7 7.6 2.8

147 IWG 245.6 -2.0 369.2 222.1 0.0 N.A 2.5

79 J Sainsbury 227.2 -3.9 340.0 227.2 1.4 7.9 5.3

36 3i Group 1238.5-44.01503.5 1138.5 3.8 3.0 12.1

120 3I Infrastructure 348.5 -6.5 366.5 294.5 3.0 7.7 3.1

138 Abcam 1182.0+10.01750.0 1049.0 0.0 693.7 2.7

95 Abrdn 192.8 -3.4 299.0 178.9 7.6 4.2 4.2

62 Admiral 2201.0 -37.0 3688.0 2147.0 5.9 11.2 6.6

69 Airtel Africa 153.9 -6.0 160.3 76.7 2.6 11.5 5.8

130 Alliance Trust 964.0 +3.0 1078.0 901.0 2.0 5.7 2.9

11 Anglo American 3850.0 +47.04170.5 2470.5 6.0 7.1 51.5

33 Antofagasta 1495.0 +25.0 1781.5 1227.0 8.1 14.4 14.7

196 Ashmore 241.8 +0.8 410.8 216.0 7.0 8.2 1.7

29 Ashtead 4011.0 -109.0 6450.0 3765.0 1.2 19.1 17.8

34 Associated British Foods 1705.0 -31.0 2367.0 1548.5 1.6 17.0 13.5

170 Assura 71.3 +0.2 79.8 59.6 3.7 12.8 2.1

2 AstraZeneca 10442.0-138.0 10930.0 7935.0 2.2 N.A 161.8

78 Auto Trader 586.8+10.0 741.8 536.6 1.4 23.0 5.5

83 Avast 479.3 +1.0 645.4 464.0 2.7 18.0 5.0

59 Aveva 2215.0-58.0 4220.0 1924.0 1.6 N.A 6.7

37 Aviva 428.7 -12.2 458.2 370.9 6.8 51.5 12.0

90 B&M European Value Retail 383.7 -68.4 644.0 383.7 4.3 9.1 3.8

198 Babcock International 350.0 +17.8 380.2 255.9 0.0 N.A 1.8

23 BAE Systems 778.2 +11.4 778.2 522.0 3.2 14.2 24.6

19 Barclays 167.8 -2.6 217.1 140.6 3.6 4.8 28.1

81 Barratt Developments 500.0 -3.6 768.4 459.1 6.6 7.8 5.1

127 Beazley 479.8 -7.4 504.0 304.9 2.9 12.1 2.9

129 Bellway 2315.0-34.0 3656.0 2232.0 5.5 7.0 2.9

86 Berkeley 4238.0 +3.0 4943.0 3670.0 0.2 10.6 4.7

148 Big Yellow 1315.0 -15.0 1724.0 1200.0 3.0 3.4 2.4

8 BP 431.3 +0.7 435.3 278.5 4.0 N.A 83.3

141 Bridgepoint 317.0 -1.2 569.0 255.4 1.1 19.5 2.6

9 British American Tobacco 3536.5 -14.0 3580.5 2512.5 6.1 12.2 80.2

84 British Land Company 521.2 -5.0 556.4 463.1 3.8 5.1 4.8

163 Britvic 806.0 -22.0 1006.0 741.0 3.2 18.6 2.2

28 BT 187.6 +3.3 205.6 135.2 4.1 14.9 18.6

42 Bunzl 2811.0-47.0 3163.0 2258.0 2.0 21.3 9.5

63 Burberry 1701.5+31.0 2264.0 1482.0 2.8 17.4 6.7

174 Caledonia Investments 3800.0 +75.0 4100.0 3085.0 1.7 3.5 2.1

38 Carnival 969.0 -17.41865.4 872.0 0.0 N.A 12.1

89 Centrica 80.5 +3.3 89.6 45.5 0.0 8.0 4.8

179 City of London IT 419.0 -2.5 425.0 377.0 4.6 6.4 1.9

66 Coca Cola HBC 1703.0 -52.5 2784.0 1460.5 3.6 13.4 6.2

17 Compass 1769.0-30.51820.5 1407.5 1.3 43.0 31.5

122 Computacenter 2504.0-54.0 3030.0 2390.0 2.6 15.6 3.1

93 ConvaTec 213.4 -0.6 262.6 166.9 2.2 46.2 4.4

21 CRH 3235.0 -54.0 4002.0 2910.5 3.0 12.5 24.7

43 Croda International 6758.0 -124.0 10410.0 6524.0 1.5 29.5 9.4

146 Darktrace 363.6 +4.9 985.0 319.8 0.0 N.A 2.5

75 DCC 5604.0 -12.0 6486.0 5500.0 3.1 17.7 5.5

101 Dechra Pharmaceuticals 3568.0 -42.0 5405.0 3148.0 1.2 53.3 3.9

114 Derwent London 2932.0-90.0 3802.0 2786.0 2.2 13.1 3.3

7 Diageo 3622.0 -21.54103.5 3343.0 2.0 27.9 82.8

119 Diploma 2572.0 -2.0 3460.0 2400.0 1.8 43.5 3.2

111 Direct Line Insurance 254.8 -5.2 316.4 231.4 8.9 10.6 3.4

TOP 200 COMPANIES

Market cap ranking
V
PriceChange
on week

52-week

high lowYield P/E

Mkt Cap

(£bn)

Market cap ranking

V

PriceChange

on week

52-week

high lowYield P/E

Mkt Cap

(£bn)

Market cap ranking

V

PriceChange

on week

52-week

high lowYield P/E

Mkt Cap

(£bn)

Market cap ranking

V

PriceChange

on week

52-week

high lowYield P/E

Mkt 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: Refinitiv

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20,790.73

U42.15 H:21,670.3

U0.20% L:14,783.9

Games Workshop is an

outlier on British high streets.

Amid the carcasses of failed

retailers, its 400 branches

stand out for being stuffed

with thousands of minuscule

painted warriors; still more

strikingly, they are generally

packed with customers, too.

At its Nottingham factories,

the 47-year-old firm makes

wildly popular fantasy

figurines including cult

tabletop game Warhammer,

selling £353 million worth in

2021. It has also made its
      investors a lot of money: at
      £72.25, the shares today are
      worth 60 times what they
      listed for in 1994, and have
      almost tripled since 2018.
      Yet they have almost
      halved since last September —
      and that retreat makes the
      stock worthy of a fresh look.
      The sell-off seems to be
      mostly tangential to Games
      Workshop’s own health. It is

FTSE 100

8,000

6,500

7,000

7, 5 0 0

2021 2022

Source: Reinitiv/Eikon

THE WEEK IN THE MARKETS

down to “short-term issues”

such as rising freight costs

and the war in Ukraine,

according to Alex Chatterton

at investment bank Panmure

Gordon. He sees “a good

opportunity to buy”.

The firm insists on

handpainting every figurine

in Nottingham before

shipping them to hubs in the

US and Australia for sale

there and in Asia. That did

mean freight costs climbed by

about £10 million last year.

Then there’s the cost-of-

living crisis; no one needs to

spend £28 on an Ash Waste

Nomad War Party figurine if

the weekly food shop is

becoming unaffordable.

This concern about

consumer spending has

helped Games Workshop’s

price-to-earnings ratio drop

from a very substantial 30 to

a more appealing 18. And its

fans are diehards; Superman

actor Henry Cavill once

described Warhammer

models as “plastic crack”,

which helps explain how the

firm managed to up its gross

margin from an already

impressive 67 per cent to

almost 73 per cent last year.

It is a very sensibly run

business, with chief executive

Kevin Rountree emphatic

about staying true to its main,

miniatures-making activities.

Yet some of its other

activities are noteworthy, too.

Revenues in the video games

industry are set to hit a record

$81 billion (£64 billion) this

year and Games Workshop

had nine new games out last

year and is working on 15

more, including Warhammer

40,000: Darktide.

The company is a generous

dividend payer — 235p this

year — and “as it only returns

‘truly surplus cash’ to

shareholders... dividends

are a true reflection of

cashflow,” said Charles Hall at

Peel Hunt, flagging its “global

growth opportunity, valuable

intellectual property and

exceptional return on

capital”.

The buoyant prospects at

Games Workshop are no

fantasy: buy.

Miniature

warriors

resist retail

apocalypse

Games Workshop

£140

60

80

100

120

2020 2021 2022

Source: Reinitiv/Eikon

variation 12 months

high low

UK 1.55 V0.37 2.15 0.51

US 1.93 V0.82 3.14 1.17

JAPAN -0.01 V0.17 0.25 0.00

GERMANY 0.29 V0.67 1.27 -0.50

10-YEAR BOND YIELDS %

DOLLAR

USD > GBP

$1.25

V0.01

12-month high: $1.42

low: $1.22

EURO

EUR > GBP

€1.17

V0.01

12-month high: €1.21

low: €1.16

YEN

YEN > USD

¥130.86

U3.75

12-month high: ¥130.86

low: ¥109.04

OIL

DOLLARS/BARREL

$121.00

U1.57

12-month high: $127.98

low: $65.18

GOLD

DOLLARS/TROY OZ

$1,850.77

V1.96

12-month high: $2,052.41

low: $1,726.11

BITCOIN

DOLLARS

$29,725.93

U 988.50

12-month high: $68,789.62

low: $26,350.49

Price at 10pm Friday

FTSE 100

7,532.95

V52.51 H: 7,672.4

V0.69% L: 6,844.4

FTSE 250

20,272.90

V99.62 H: 24,250.8

V0.49% L: 19,169.8

RISERS

Dr Martens: 258.8p, U 23.7% on sales

forecasts Countryside Partnerships:

282.8p, U 18.5% on £1.5bn takeover

approach Unilever: £37.05, U 6.6% on

activist taking stake RHI Magnesita:

£25.66, U 6.6% on rebounds from lows

FALLERS

B&M: 383.7p, V 15.1% on warning over

profits Wood Group: 223.4p, V 10.7%

on sale of consulting business Trustpilot:

92.5p, V 10.2% on deadline extention

Auction Technology: 970p, V 8.7% on

gains return Source: AJ Bell/Sharepad

LUCY TOBIN THE ECONOMY

Consumer prices index current rate prev. month

9% 7%

CPI including housing current rate prev. month

7.8% 6.2%

Retail prices index current rate prev. month

11.1% 9.0%

Average weekly earnings on prev. monthon last year

£615 U 2.3%U9.9%

Unemployment current rate prev. month

1.26m 3.7% 3.8%

Manufacturing output on the year on last month

U1.9% V 0.3%

Retail sales on the year on last month

V^ 4.9%U 1.4%

UK trade

balance (£bn)

latest 3 mths prev. 3 mths latest 12 mths

-32.53 -6.15 -56.35

Gross domestic

product

latest quarter prev. quarterannual change

U0.8% U1.3% U8.7%

Budget deficit

(PSNB) in £bn

last month prev. month year to date

V 18.6 V^ 14.7 V18.6