Big Yellow Group (BYG) £11.74Market Cap: £2.28 billionIt may not be a glamorous sector, but self-storage is a remarkably stable and lucrative business with tremendous growth prospects.As the UK market leader, with a portfolio of 109 stores and 6.4 million feet of lettable space, Big Yellow (BYG) is easily the most recognisable brand.The business is driven by 'life events', which can range...

Self-storage and private rental markets strongFirms all investing for future growthValuations yet to respond due to high ratesWhile shares in UK property stocks are stuck in the doldrums due to rising interest rates, the latest announcements from a leading self-storage firm and a pair of property rental groups suggest it is very much 'business as usual'.A GROWING MARKETIn its first-quarter...

- £120 million debt refinancing reduces group cost of debt to 3.4%- Year to date shares down 26.9%- Recessionary fears impact investor sentiment despite strong pipelineShares in FTSE 250 listed self storage company Big Yellow Group (BYG) edged 1.1% higher to 1248p following news that it has refinanced its £120 million debt facility with M&G for a seven-year term expiring in 2029.The current...

If you'd been keeping an eye on news from the UK commercial property market, you might be forgiven for thinking the sector was a complete basket case.Bankrupt retailers have left gaping holes on the high street, while office occupancy has been decimated by the pandemic.Meanwhile many open-ended commercial property funds suspended trading for over a year, with some ultimately shutting their...

Our latest review of the best and worst earnings revisions across the FTSE 350 throws up a few surprises in terms of sectors and individual stocks, particularly in the light of their relative performance.There are three distinct clusters of winners, split between investment, real estate and consumer discretionary companies.Among the investment companies, Molten Ventures (GROW) - previously...

The most significant director deals over the last week have been in the sell column. Top of the list is a transaction involving the chairman of self-storage provider Big Yellow (BYG) Nicholas Veitch through his wife Catherine Veitch.In two separate transactions on 27 August and 2 September she sold £3.8 million and £1.7 million worth of shares respectively, leaving the chair's family with...

Interestingly, the biggest insider deals of the past fortnight have all been sales rather than purchases, which may or may not be telling us something about the mood in the market.The chairman and chief executive of Potters Bar-based social care housing specialist Caretech (CTH:AIM) each sold 750,000 shares at 620p at the start of August, netting £9.3 million between them.The sale, which...

On a largely uninspiring day for global equity markets, London's FTSE 100 ended modestly lower after trading broadly flat for much of the day.Sterling strength weighed on the overseas earnings dominated index, with the blue chip benchmark closing down 0.3% at 7,029.79, while the more domestically focused FTSE 250 finished 0.2% lower at 22,438.90.Reopening names were in demand, among them the...

London's FTSE 100 was struggling for direction by midday on Tuesday, down a modest 0.01% to 7,050.78 points after UK public borrowing figures came in lower than expected, although the FTSE 250 edged 0.08% higher to 22,502 points.Government borrowing hit £31.7 billion in April, official data shows, and while this was the second highest amount on record it was lower than the same month last...

UK stocks continued their winning streak on Tuesday, extending their gains after figures showed Government borrowing came in less than expected last month amid growing optimism over the recovery of public finances.Government borrowing hit £31.7 billion in April, official data shows, and while this was the second highest amount on record it was lower than the same month last year as parts of...

London's FTSE 100 ended Wednesday's session broadly flat, closing 0.13% lower at 6,745.5 points. The blue chip benchmark recovered losses from earlier in the day as stocks opened higher in the US ahead of a House of Representatives debate on an impeachment of US president Donald Trump.Companies served up a mixed bag of updates, among them food delivery company Just Eat Takeaway.com (JET),...

London's FTSE 100 was broadly flat by midday on Wednesday, off a mere 0.2% at 6739.7 points as investors weighed vaccine optimism with lockdown fallout fears, while companies released a mixed bag of updates.Among them was food delivery company Just Eat Takeaway.com (JET), which fell 4.1% to £86.98 despite expecting annual revenue growth of more than 50% after reporting a 57% rise in order...

The FTSE 100 edged somewhat higher on Wednesday morning as investors weighed vaccine optimism with lockdown fallout fears, while a number of companies released a mixed bag of updates.Helping the index was a higher oil price, with Brent Crude above $57 per barrel after a fall in US stockpiles, another output cut from Saudi Arabia, and economic optimism out of China, leading BP (BP.) 1.97%...

UK stocks held onto early gains on Monday to close up 0.7% to 5,944 points.UK and European shares followed US markets higher on comments from the White House that US president Donald Trump continued to improve overnight and is ready to leave hospital and return to work.At the Conservative party conference Chancellor Rishi Sunak said he envisaged hard choices ahead as he warned about the need...

Despite worries over President Trump's health and added jobs cuts in the UK, investors focused on the increasing prospects of another stimulus package getting voted through in the US. At midday UK stocks were ahead by 0.9% to trade at 5,954 points.CINEWORLD SHUTS UP SHOPShares in Cineworld (CINE) collapsed 40% to 23.8p after the cinema operator confirmed weekend press reports that it would...

Investors showed a 'risk-on' attitude at the start of the week as it appeared President Trump was recovering from Covid-19 and could be released from hospital as soon as this afternoon.US stock futures rallied 1% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.7% and the Australian ASX index jumped more than 2%, helped by news of wage subsidies to spur employment.The pound held steady at $1.29,...

UK markets were dragged lower in early trade on Tuesday by worries of investor over-exuberance after another surge for Wall Street overnight.Monday's rally in US stocks pushed the S&P 500 back into the green for the year as easing lockdowns bolstered optimism on an economic rebound. The benchmark closed at a 15-week high, bringing its rally from the March low to almost 45%, while the Nasdaq...

Lok'n Store (LOK:AIM) 730pGain to date: 28.7%Original entry price: Buy at 574p, 7 November 2019Self-storage play Lok'n Store (LOK:AIM) is rewarding our faith with the latest trading update for the six months to 31 January 2020 revealing decent momentum in the business (10 Feb).Like-for-like revenue was up 7%, with occupancy also increasing and the price let per square foot unchanged...

Smaller companies in the UK have been an unloved asset class since the 2016 Brexit vote, yet sentiment has recently started to improve. One savvy way to profit from this situation is to buy Montanaro UK Smaller Companies Investment Trust (MTU).Despite a recent advance in the share price, the trust remains good value trading on a 7.9% discount to the value of its underlying assets. It also pays...

The FTSE 100 got off to a strong start on Tuesday as the prospect of a majority Conservative government increased.Seen as more business friendly, the Tories have a 10 percentage point lead over Labour, according to the latest ICM opinion poll.The latest survey results also boosted the pound. While that is usually unhelpful for the export-heavy FTSE 100, the UK's benchmark index jumped 0.6%, or...