Shares in Gloucester-based social housing and care provider Mears (MER) surged 10% to a new five-year high last week after the firm posted strong full-year 2024 earnings and raised its 2025 outlook. Revenue at the FTSE 250 group increased to £1.13 billion, helped by around £220 million in new contracts awarded last year, while pre-tax profit jumped 37% to £64 million. Chief executive Lucas...

There is a common theme in the current wave of takeovers involving UK stocks, namely that many of the targets operate in the business-to-business space and provide products or services to other companies.Since the middle of July there have been more than half a dozen significant bids, most of which have been recommended by the boards of the target companies.Parker-Hannifin's bid for component...

UK stocks opened lower on Tuesday, with the blue chip benchmark off 0.21% at 6,541.85 early on, even as Britain began rolling out a Covid-19 vaccine.Investors continued to fret that a post-Brexit trade deal won't be hammered out before a transition period expires at the end of December. Also creating uncertainty were the continuing efforts to get a bi-partisan stimulus package away in the...

Online retail firm The Hut Group, the Manchester-based owner of the Lookfantastic website, is to raise £920 million in a stock market listing, valuing the business at £4.5 billion.The planned share offering would be the biggest this year on the London market and the first since the coronavirus pandemic, though in our view, there are several red flags around this offering.Hut Group, whose...

UK share prices opened firmly on the back foot in early trade on Tuesday as investors feared the possible spread of the corona virus, which broken out in China, could hit growth forecasts there and elsewhere.The worry is that this could turn out to be a new SARS-type virus, which affected millions of Chinese nationals and overseas travellers, sparking huge disruption to global trade.While it...

News of Chinese stimulus helps support the FTSE 100 as investors await the outcome of today's crunch vote on Brexit later.Theresa May's draft deal is widely expected to be voted down. The FTSE 100 is currently 0.2% higher at 6,867.15, though the more domestic-facing FTSE 250 reverses earlier gains to trade 0.2% lower.House builder Persimmon (PSN) dips 1% to £22.07 as it guides for annual...

Investors appear to be regaining confidence after a volatile period last week with markets marching forward across the UK, mainland Europe and Asia on Monday morning, the FTSE 100 climbing 26.4 points higher to 7,040.3 and the FTSE 250 up almost 140 points at 18,729.Industrial components distributor Diploma (DPLM) ticks up 7.3% to £13.90 on strong full year results revealing 9% growth in...

UK and European stocks are holding their ground in early trading on Thursday after falls in stock markets in Asia. China's benchmark Shanghai Composite index earlier hit a 4-year low as fears of a damaging trade war linger.After their best day in six months on Tuesday, US stocks finished modestly lower last night following minutes from the Federal Reserve which confirmed market expectations of...

Fashion chain Superdry (SDRY) on Thursday posted double-digit growth in full year revenue and underlying pre-tax profit, helped by its wholesale segment, sending its share price racing to the top of the FTSE All-Share in early trade.The company has also declared a special dividend worth 25p per share.Reported pre-tax profit fell to £65.3m, from £84.8m in the previous year due to currency...

The failure of drinks distributor Conviviality (CVR:AIM) has highlighted a growing problem with UK smaller companies, namely the misalignment of interests between shareholders and executive management.I am shocked how large institutional investors are prepared to throw vast sums at small companies embarking on an acquisition strategy yet demand little real financial commitment from executive...

Support services company Carillion (CLLN) is being put into compulsory liquidation. What does this mean for the many companies Carillion had contracts with and is there an opportunity for rivals to pick up business?Broker Numis says that while the event is clearly bad news for the whole industry in the short term many suppliers have been able to mitigate this to some degree by adopting low...

Cinemas chain Cineworld (CINE) has struck the previously flagged deal to buy US peer Regal, agreeing a $3.6bn, or rough £2.7bn price.Between them the combined group will have more than 9,500 screens across the US and Europe, making it the world's second biggest cinema operator.Investors appear to be somewhat nervous about the price tag and/or the value in bringing the pair together, marking...

By Daniel Coatsworth and Tom SieberInvesting is a continuous learning process. We're passionate about helping individuals to better understand how the market works and how to spot opportunities and avoid mistakes.This article details six ways in which you can sharpen your investing skills and get an edge over many other investors. We've included lots of topical examples to help you better...

Housing contractor Mears (MER) is down 6.1% to 451.8p as it warns that the tragic events at Grenfell Tower in London will impact the business this year as its clients review their safety practices.Delays to planned works are expected to reduce revenues in the division for the year to £800m from previous forecasts of £830m.Analysts at Liberum estimate that the order book has fallen from an...

The UK's main market continued on from yesterday's modest rebound opening in positive territory at around 7,365 points. Overseas markets have also been trading in the black indicating that the tensions between the US and North Korea are no longer weighing on investors' minds.Online bingo operator Jackpotjoy (JPJ) shares tick up by 1.5% to 676.25p as it reports a 13% increase in revenue to...

Social housing maintenance group Lakehouse (LAKE:AIM) is a classic turnaround story, according to Stockdale analyst Alastair Stewart.He believes demand for group's services should be driven by a growing focus on health and safety compliance, together with the Government's renewed commitment to social housing.Its core divisions of compliance, energy solutions and construction are profitable;...

The UK votes today as millions of Brits hit polling stations up and down the country to select their next government. Latest polls predict a Conservative win, but the margin of victory is very much unknown. Read on for Shares in-depth coverage (initially published on 1 June) of how today's election result could affect UK plc, its companies, financial markets and the pound.Election countdown:...

The UK is now a week away from voting in the general election. At the time of writing, the Conservative Party held the lead in the polls although the gap against Labour has narrowed.The current market rally, as represented by the domestically-focused FTSE 250 index, implies a Tory victory. There wouldn't be any radical changes to how the country is run and Theresa May could concentrate on...

Mears (MER) may not have quite hit analysts' forecasts for the full year to 31 December 2016 but chief executive officer, David Miles, remains 'very happy' with the results.The social housing and care firm recorded revenues of £940.1m, a 7% rise year-on-year, and also saw pre-tax profit increase 9% to £40.1m.The majority of Mears' business comes from its social housing arm, although it is...

Shares in North Sea oil company Xcite Energy (XEL:AIM) are suspended as bondholders reject a financial restructuring of the company. The stock fell 23.75% to 1.3p just before the suspension took effect at lunchtime today.With the liquidators being called in it now looks unlikely existing shareholders will get anything back.Xcite drilled a successful appraisal well on the Bentley heavy oil...