Shares in Artisanal Spirits (ART:AIM) have dropped 50% over the past six months, and at 47p languish the best part of 60% below their June 2021 initial public offering (IPO) issue price of 112p. The latest dram of weakness was stirred by a profit warning (8 December) from The Scotch Malt Whisky Society owner.Edinburgh-based Artisanal cautioned both sales and adjusted EBITDA (earnings before...

Persistent inflation and higher interest rates are squeezing disposable incomes. In this scenario there is logic in investors putting their cash behind companies which make premium products which confer pricing power or sell affordable luxuries which help consumers to socialise or unwind at the end of the working day.One sector that enjoys both these attributes is Beverages, the domain of soft...

Investors looking for deep-value opportunities should note that shares in online premium whisky purveyor Artisanal Spirits (ART:AIM) trade at a material discount to the value of its maturing stock of Scotch whisky.As Equity Development notes, this inventory has an estimated value of £430 million, more than 10 times Artisanal Spirits' £40 million market capitalisation at 57.15p a share. A...

With markets being buffeted by concerns over rising inflation and slowing growth - the dreaded 'stagflation' - and nothing but negative headlines it's easy to be despondent about the outlook for UK businesses.Yet, having scanned all the company announcements of the last couple of weeks, it's clear there are still dozens of firms which are optimistic about trading and/or are raising their...

The FTSE 100 closed Thursday's session fractionally lower, off 0.06% at 7,585.01 points, though the FTSE 250 ended 0.27% higher at 22,714.98 as select travel and leisure names rallied, including EasyJet (EZJ), Trainline (TRN), TUI (TUI) and JD Wetherspoon (JDW).The blue chip benchmark began on the front foot, boosted by miners reacting to news from China, but a drop in the oil price and a...

Shares in Artisanal Spirits (ART:AIM) rallied 5% to 117.5p in debut AIM dealings with investors keen on the potential of the online whisky seller's global growth plans.The owner of Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) and distiller of premium single cask Scotch malt whisky and other spirits, Artisanal Spirits plans to use the £26 million raised from investors through its stock market listing to...

UK stocks were little changed on Friday in the absence of major market-moving company news and ahead of the latest non-farm payroll figures from the US, due at 1.30pm London time.Given how wrong forecasters were last month, there remains a great deal of uncertainty over today's report, but there is a sense that the figures could surprise to the upside.On currency markets the pound held steady...