Having hammered the insurance industry for its practice of ?walking up? renewal prices for existing car and home policyholders, the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) has a new target in its sights ? the motor finance market.Firms which generate revenue from providing motor finance include Close Brothers (CBG), Inchcape (INCH), S&U (SUS) and Secure Trust Bank (STB).In 2021, the regulator banned...

UK stocks dropped at the open on Tuesday as the fuel crisis sweeping the country showed no signs of easing. To make matters worse, Brent crude oil prices surged to a three-year high over $80 per barrel, pushing up prices at the pump, and UK and European natural gas price hit new records.By 8.45am the FTSE 100 index was down 30 points or 0.4% to 7,035 points as weakness in miners and...

S & U (SUS) £24.40Gain to date: 9.9%Original entry point: Buy at £22.20, 30 May 2019Motor finance and bridging loan provider S & U (SUS) delivered another positive trading update last week, confirming our view that the business is well placed to cash in on a recovery in the UK economy.The volume of transactions has increased in both businesses since the general election in December with the...

Britain's automotive industry has stalled as low global demand and weak domestic consumer confidence weigh on sales, profits and sentiment.Disruption is impacting the global car industry and many of the businesses whose fortunes are tied to the automotive sector are in for a very bumpy ride. Yet those able to adapt to the shifting landscape could see exciting times down the road.In this...

S&U (SUS) £21.40Loss to date: 4%Original entry point: Buy at £22.20, 30 May 2019Shares in motor finance and bridging loan provider S&U (SUS) have traded in a narrow range since we said to buy in May at £22.20, despite steady progress in the business.The non-prime segment of the used car market serviced by S&U's Advantage motor finance brand has been relatively immune to the challenges...

The FTSE 100 index of leading stocks edged higher in early trade, adding 0.2% or 10 points to 7,336 as investors awaited a crucial court ruling on prime minister Johnson's prorogation of parliament.After dragging the market down yesterday, banks were making amends with HSBC (HSBA) up 0.6% to 617p, Lloyds (LLOY) up 0.5% to 54.5p and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) up 1.2% to 211p.ALL-CLEAR FROM...

Motor finance and bridging lender S & U (SUS) offers a winning combination of growth at a reasonable price and a high dividend yield to comfort income investors.Profits are up 10 years in a row yet the shares are trading on just nine times current-year earnings while the dividend yield stands at 5.5% with the pay-out covered more than four times.RECORD PROFITS IN MOTOR FINANCEThe Advantage...

London's FTSE 100 firms 29.4 points to 7,207 on Tuesday, the blue-chip benchmark bouncing back from two sessions of losses as exporters benefited from a weaker pound following MPs vote to take control of the Brexit process.Bombed-out department store operator Debenhams (DEB) rebounds 42% to 2.2p following 'a possible offer' from Mike Ashley's Sports Direct (SPD) for the remaining shares it...

The FTSE 100 is down 18.39 points to 7,769 although the index had reached dizzying heights this week as oil majors rallied. Trade war fears were stoked again with an escalation of rhetoric from President Donald Trump.Pharma giant AstraZeneca (AZN) retreats 3.1% to £51.80 as the company reports core operating profit is down 46% to $896m in its first quarter. The company did manage to increase...

'It has been a good year, but it is still early days,' says Rosemary Banyard, manager of the CFP SDL Free Spirit (GB00BYYQC271) fund, a £7.2m OEIC which has just celebrated its one-year anniversary (3 Jan 2018).The investment objective of this concentrated fund is to achieve real growth in capital and income over the long term, through investments mainly in UK equities listed on the LSE, AIM...

Motor finance specialist S&U (SUS) offers a decent 5% prospective yield and trades at an attractive valuation. Restrictions over the type of borrower it accepts as a customer and the types of finance it offers mean it is less exposed to the risks associated with the current credit boom in the car market, in our view.The company's recently released results for the six months to 31 July make for...

88 Energy in 633% rallyShares in Alaska-focused 88 Energy (88E:AIM) have increased by 633% in value to 2.66p since the start of February 2016 thanks to exploration success. 'Icewine#1 is in the predicted sweetspot where the volatile oil window meets the gas condensate window,' says managing director Dave Wall. (DC)Takeover battle for TangentA bidding war looks on the cards for media group...

One of the more interesting screening filters on Stockopedia's website is 'Winning Growth and Income', inspired by a strategy from investment analyst Kevin Matras. It screens the market looking for high yielding companies with strong growth characteristics.Stockopedia says the filter looks for companies with an above-average return on equity, a below-average price-to-earnings ratio and where...

S&U (SUS) £24.29Gain to date: 19.0%Original entry price: £20.42 (7 May 2015)The £82.5 million sale of S&U's (SUS) home credit unit Loansathome4u means investors could be in line for a special dividend once the board considers its options.Equating to 694p a share, the deal sees S&U's already conservative balance sheet stocked full of cash waiting to be either reinvested into Advantage, its...

At the time of writing talks between the Greek government and its creditors were in deadlock ahead of a 30 June debt repayment deadline. Even if an agreement is brokered, any deal is likely to offer short-term resolution at best, essentially kicking the risk of default and a Greek exit from the eurozone down the road.This is not the only threat to equity markets for the remainder of 2015. You...

The FTSE is trading 15 points higher (0.21%) at 7,022 partly thanks to supermarket giant Tesco (TSCO) rising 1% to 222.9p on speculation that it is on the verge of selling its Korean business.Royal Mail (RMG) dips 1.4% to 493p as full-year resultsincluding a warning about the state of the UK parcels and letters market with the company expecting it to remain 'highly competitive'. Adjusted...

'As the great South African golfer Gary Player once opined "the harder I practice, the luckier I get".'Home credit and motor finance provider S&U (SUS:AIM) certainly takes the award for the most colourful outlook statement of the 2015 reporting season.Chairman Anthony Coombs' admiration for Player's legendary ability to escape from bunkers is no doubt a reflection of the number of hazards the...

Necessity, it is said, is the mother of all invention. The need for credit - and the apparent inability of high street banks to provide it - has seen alternative lenders spring up on high streets and internet browsers across the country.It even spawned a cash shell last week (19 Feb), Non-Standard Finance (NSF), raising £100 million from some heavyweight investors to buy up smaller...

Fashion-to-furnishings firm Laura Ashley (ALY) falls 14.3% to 22.5p on poor figures for the first half to 27 July. Blaming the impact of changeable weather on fashion and home furnishing sales, the small cap reports a £500,000 drop in taxable profits to £7.8 million on total sales down 5.6% to £137.3 million. Alarmingly, both like-for-like retail sales and e-commerce revenues went...

Buy S&U (SUS) ahead of a New Year rerating on the back of an update on credit quality at the firm's full-year results (26 Mar).The £102 million cap specialist consumer lender is delivering strong growth in the run up to the festive period. Its loan book is expanding at a double-digit clip as high street lenders continue to retreat from the sub-prime space.S&U's rating is being held back amid...