Just over five years ago the stock market began to react in earnest to news of the Covid pandemic.The sell-off was short and sharp, with a modest recovery from the lows in the spring followed by sharper gains in November 2020 after AstraZeneca (AZN) made a vaccine breakthrough.However, a large number of UK stocks are still trading below the levels they were at by the close of trading on 21...

JPMorgan UK Small Cap Growth & Income(JUGI) 293.5pMarket cap: £403.4 millionA major trend in the investment trust sector is mergers between sub-scale trusts with similar remits to create funds large enough and sufficiently liquid to attract wealth managers and retail investors.One example which Shares believes offers a compelling proposition is JPMorgan UK Small Cap Growth & Income (JUGI),...

Office market has upside potentialPrime rents set to keep risingHelical and Shaftesbury rated BuyThe London REIT (real estate investment trust) sector may be ?under attack?, according to analysts at Berenberg, but there are reasons to be cheerful.While the companies ?may have issues?, London property still has a place in the market, but in a different format, meaning firms will need to...

Melrose director offloads nearly £280,000 sharesShaftesbury Capital director snaps up 50,000 sharesVianet director splashes out after HSBC fundingDavid Lis, non-executive director at Melrose Industries (MRO) sold 30,000 shares at 541p for the total value of £162,400 on 16 November.The sale comes a day after Lis sold 21,400 shares at 542p for the total value of £115,914 on 15 November.The...

There was a telling piece of information in the latest trading update from UK property investor British Land (BLND). Faced with a situation where Facebook-owner Meta Platforms (META:NASDAQ) had decided break its lease on 1 Triton Square on British Land's Regent's Place 'campus' (at a cost to the social media giant of £149 million), the latter felt confident enough to reject Meta's offer of an...

This week marks the start of a new chapter for the UK property sector with the completed merger of London's West End landlord Shaftesbury and rival Capco.Shaftesbury, which first listed in 1987, was formed by the Levy family as a vehicle to invest in areas such as Carnaby Street, Chinatown and Seven Dials, and brings to the marriage two million square feet of lettable space including over 600...