GLOBAL SMALLER COMPANIES TRUST (GSCT) – Investment Trusts Price: 177.3p n/cNAV: 190.7pMarket Cap: £770mYield: 1.75% The Columbia Threadneedle-managed trust put in a reasonable performance in the half-year to 31 October with a 15.6% increase in NAV, although this lagged the total return benchmark of 21.6%. As the chair remarks, and as we can attest, this year has been tough for investors in good quality growing businesses at attractive valuations, with the market chasing more speculative stocks or those already trading at elevated valuations (see Goodwin). The trust continued to buy back shares, but the discount still widened to 11.6% as…

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BAE SYSTEMS (BA.) – Aerospace & Defence Price: £16.73 +0.5%P/E: 23.7xMarket Cap: $49.6bnYield: 2.1% Defence group BAE Systems has offloaded the majority of its stake in Kazakh airline AIR ASTANA (AIRA) through the sale of nine million GDRs (global depository receipts) at a price of $5.80 each, raising $52.2 million. The stake represented 10.1% of the airline’s capital, leaving the UK group with a further 6.9% of the shares, which are subject to a 90-day lock-up. Our View The sale price represents a hefty discount to yesterday’s closing price of $6.70, but Air Astana has been something of a dog…

GOODWIN (GDWN) – Industrials Price: £204 -5.6%P/E: 68xMarket Cap: £1.55bnYield: 2% Engineering group Goodwin posted a ‘solid’ 1H performance with trading profits for the six months to 31 October more than doubling from £17.1 million to £37.2 million. Steel Castings and the international business continue to see ‘robust’ demand from the defence and nuclear sectors, while pumps saw mixed trading with softness in Australia and Brazil offset by strength in India and South Africa. Full-year profit guidance is unchanged at ‘above £71 million’, with order cover underpinning activity for the second half. Our View The absence of an upgrade to…

INSPECS GROUP (SPEC) – Consumer Price: 82p n/cP/E: n/aMarket Cap: £83mYield: n/a Over the weekend, Italian eyewear firm SAFILO has bowed out of the takeover battle for AIM-listed glasses maker Inspecs. Shares in Inspecs jumped nearly 14% on Wednesday last week when the company said it had accepted an 84p per share offer from UK private equity firm Risk Capital Partners. Our View Private equity buyers have been circling Inspecs for some time, and it looks as though we finally have a winner. Given the premium being offered by RCP (over 100%), it’s no wonder SAFILO decided to walk away.…

HIKMA PHARMACEUTICALS (HIK) – Healthcare Price: £14.95 -1.4%P/E: 10.5xMarket Cap: £4.45bnYield: 4% A month after the firm lowered its outlook, Hikma chief executive Riad Mishlawi is out the door and chairman Said Darwazah is stepping back in while the company looks for a new candidate. Group guidance remains unchanged from the 6 November trading update and the full-year results will be released on 26 February 2026. Our View With the shares down around 25% year-to-date and sitting at their lowest since late 2023, it was inevitable something would have to give and in time-honoured tradition the chief executive has fallen…

TT ELECTRONICS (TTG) – Industrials Price: 104.7p -20.9%P/E: 47xMarket Cap: £190mYield:1% After announcing last week it was considering a possible offer for TTG, DBAY Advisors has turned round this morning and said it’s not making an offer. However, it might make an offer if the current offer from Cicor is withdrawn or lapses, or if a third party makes an approach or there is a ‘material change of circumstances’. Our View DBAY owns 25% of the shares in TT Electronics and has previously rejected Swiss-based Cicor’s 150p per share offer as ‘unattractive’. Having said it might make a bid, it…

FILTRONIC (FTC) – Aerospace & Defence Price: 147p +2.8%P/E: 49x Market Cap: £320mYield: n/a AIM-listed electronics maker Filtronic has been selected by a ‘major European defence prime’ for high-performance components for a long-standing project. The order proper begins in Q1 2026 and is worth £11 million over two years, deepening the firm’s position with the customer and within the European defence sector which is a growing market. Our View This quite a decent order for Filtronic, as consensus revenue forecasts for FY26 and FY27 are £55 million and £63 million respectively, so analysts are going to have to upgrade their numbers…

BP MARSH (BPM) – Financials Price: 675p +1.8%P/E: 3.7x Market Cap: £243m Yield: 1.9% AIM-listed specialist insurance investor BP Marsh has announced a special dividend following the sale of its holding in Stewart Specialty Risk Underwriting. Shareholders will receive a special payout of £8 million or 22.23p per share on 26 March 2026, with the stock going ex-dividend on 5 March. In addition to the special dividend, the firm says it intends to pay an annual ordinary dividend of at least £5 million for the financial years to 31 January 2027 and 2028. Our View After a strong 2024, BPM shares…

TRIBAL GROUP (TRB) – Software Price: 67.6p +8.2%P/E: 18xMarket Cap: £145mYield: 1.5% AIM-listed education software and services firm Tribal revealed it has enjoyed stronger-than-expected second-half growth and will deliver revenue and EBITDA ahead of current market expectations for the year to 31 December. The group also said it expects a ‘substantial’ improvement in its cash position, and is now sustainably cash-positive so it will pay a special dividend of 1.5p per share at the end of January. Our View While it may not quite be on the same scale as NEXT or GAMES WORKSHOP, it’s nice to see another firm…