The number of companies on London's AIM market worth more than £1 billion has hit a nine-year low. A mere six stocks were worth more than £1 billion at the end of November 2024 compared with 30 at the end of 2021.From those 30 companies and excluding those still worth more than £1 billion, seven have disappeared through takeovers, three have moved to the Main Market, and the rest have...

First-quarter sales top estimatesCRH lime acquisition to boost growthAnalysts see nearly 50% upsideRaw materials group SigmaRoc (SRC:AIM) signaled a positive start to 2024 ahead of its AGM (annual general meeting) and said the board was ?confident in the firm?s ability to make further progress in the current year and beyond?.The shares gained 0.6p or 1% to 64.4p in line with other mining and...

This year has brought some tentative optimism from investors linked to easing inflation and Chinese reopening. Corporate confidence is gradually recovering after the invasion of Ukraine brought fundraisings to a halt, with businesses beginning to tap the market for growth capital again.In this article, we outline why the year ahead should see a rebound in equity fundraisings and explain how...

As 2022 draws to a close amid continuing market volatility Shares has canvassed leading fund managers to find out where they have been finding the best opportunities.Jamie Ross - Henderson Eurotrust (Hne)LOOKING OUT FOR BOMBED-OUT GROWTH STOCKSWe have spent the last 12 months trying to find opportunities within the growthier area of the market - our favoured part of the market and the part of...

- Strong underlying growth boosted by acquisitions- Shares more than halved this year- Significant new venture with global leaderConstruction and industrial materials firm SigmaRoc (SRC:AIM) released an upbeat first half trading statement and announced a major joint venture with one of the world's leading steel makers.Investors warmed to the shares, which have more than halved in value this...

Look at the investment trust space if you want to outperform the market when it comes to investing in UK smaller companies.Using data from FE Fundinfo, Shares compared the sector performance to the FTSE All-Share and the Numis Smaller Companies indices.Only seven out of 17 open-ended funds in the UK Smaller Companies sector have beaten the market over the past five years, according to analysis...

Over the last decade UK shares have lagged their global counterparts, in part thanks to the disruption from Brexit, and that is reflected in the performance of the UK All Companies funds sector. A recent shift in the market towards value suggests it could be time for this space to play catch up.Funds in the category have a pretty broad remit, beyond having 80% of their assets in UK stocks and...

Shares in AIM-listed building materials firm SigmaRoc (SRC:AIM) jumped 5% to 88p after the group announced the acquisition of privately-owned Johnston Quarry Group for £35.5 million.Johnston owns and operates eight quarries and two processing sites in Oxfordshire, Lincolnshire and the South West, supplying Cotswold Ironstone and Bath Stone for upmarket new-build residential housing as well as...

London's FTSE 100 started 2022 on the front foot, led by travel, leisure and energy stocks as investors attempted to move on from worries about the economic impact of the Omicron variant.Gains for oil firms, airlines and hotel, pub and restaurant plays reflected diminishing concerns over the latest Covid variant amid hopes it is milder, if more transmissible, and therefore may have a limited...

UK stocks edged lower on Wednesday in line with most European markets despite another positive session in the US overnight and a slightly better than expected domestic inflation print.UK consumer prices for September climbed 3.1% against expectations of a 3.2% rise, briefly easing fears of an early rate rise, although inflation still remains well above the Bank of England's 2% target rate.Both...

London's FTSE 100 finished Friday's trading session just 0.07% higher at 7,029.2 points after US markets turned lower on a PPI inflation reading of 8.3%, which highlighted the risk of inflation-driven monetary tightening.Worries over the spread of the delta variant and weaker than expected UK GDP growth also weighed on sentiment, with the more domestically-focused FTSE 250 ended 0.28% lower at...

London's FTSE 100 was up 0.4% to 7,051.64 by midday on Friday with sterling also higher despite weaker than expected UK GDP growth.Growth of 0.1% in July compared to a consensus estimate of 0.6%, inhibited by the proliferation of the Delta variant that prevented many workers from being able to participate in the labour market.Significantly the largest sector of the British economy, the...

Shares in buy-and-build quarried materials company SigmaRoc (SRC:AIM) gained 3.6% to trade at 114.5p after it announced a collaboration with paving slabs-to-bollards maker Marshalls (MSLH) to develop ultra-low carbon products for the concrete building materials sector.For SigmaRoc, whose institutional backers include BlackRock, M&G and Janus Henderson Investors, the collaboration represents a...

After a strong start opening on the back of gains in Asian markets and bid stories, the FTSE 100 index trod water for most of the day to close 21 points or 0.3% higher at 7,109 points. Gains in consumer and mining stocks were offset by losses for healthcare and utility names.One stock which managed to extend its morning gains was supermarket group Sainsbury (SBRY), which finished up 15% to...

After a strong start to the week on the back of gains in Asian market, the FTSE 100 index ebbed back on Monday lunchtime to sit 20 points or 0.3% higher at 7,109 points. Gains in consumer and mining stocks were offset by losses for healthcare and utility names.One stock consolidating on its morning gains was supermarket group Sainsbury (SBRY), which gained 15% to 340p having opened up around...

Major UK stock made a strong start to the new trading week, taking its cue from Asia's main markets. At 8:50 UK time, the benchmark FTSE 100 was trading higher by 0.3% at 7,108.45. The midcap FTSE 250 was 0.2% higher at 23,798.23.Top riser early on was Sainsbury (SBRY), jumping more than 10% to 325p after weekend reports it is in the cross-hairs of private equity. This as the battle continues...

London's FTSE 100 fell in early trading on Monday following the release of disappointing Chinese economic data and amid mounting geopolitical concerns sparked by the Taliban's swift resurgence in Afghanistan.Asian stocks fell overnight after China released disappointing retail sales and industrial production data, amid a surge in Delta coronavirus cases there and elsewhere in the world.The...

UK stocks represent a 'once in a generation' opportunity for investors, say fund managers. After years dogged by political and economic uncertainty, and soggy stock market performance, this is a welcome change of mood music.'UK equities are on a 30 year low versus peers, and we see this as a once in a generation opportunity to get involved in some fantastic businesses,' said Rory Bateman,...

UK stocks went into reverse on Wednesday as consumer price inflation more than doubled in April to 1.5% compared with a 0.7% rise in March.Higher prices for clothing and footwear helped lift the CPI, along with rising petrol costs due to higher oil prices and higher household energy bills.That overshadowed a generally positive day for company reports with several firms raising their full-year...

While we regularly look at how our Great Ideas are getting on we have had reader feedback about providing more clarity on the performance of our investment ideas elsewhere in the magazine.This feature will therefore be the first of several in the coming months where we look retrospectively at these other ideas to see if they have added value.As a starting point, we are revisiting our article...