CRYSTAL AMBER FUND (CRS) – Investment Trusts Price: 151p +0.4%NAV: n/aMarket Cap: £95mYield: n/a The board of Crystal Amber announced today a strategy update and a change of manager with the support of two major shareholders. Following the sale of the holding in De La Rue to US investment firm Atlas Holdings in April this year for a healthy profit, the fund’s 97.7% holding in Morphic Medical represents almost 75% of NAV (net asset value) with £20.8 million in cash making up the balance. Given MMI’s potential to deliver ‘substantial additional shareholder value’, the fund will look to sell its…

3i GROUP (III) – Investment Trusts Price: £33.77 -17.2%P/E: 6.3xMarket Cap: £33.3bnYield: 2.0% The 3i board must be wondering what they said to send the share price down by 17%, one of the biggest one-day moves in the firm’s long and venerable history. The group reported a solid total return of £3.29 billion or 13% on opening shareholders’ funds over the six months to the end of September, with NAV per share rising by 315p to £28.57 including a 78p per share foreign exchange gain against a loss in the same period last year. Almost all of the return came…

RIGHTMOVE (RMV)– Media Price:  561.8p -0.5%P/E: 21.7xMarket Cap: £4.3bnYield: 1.8% After receiving a drubbing last week for announcing plans to ramp up AI spending, property portal Rightmove has revealed it faces a potential claim for as much as £1 billion from estate agents who allege the group charged them ‘excessive and unfair’ fees to list on its website. Our View The legal action is apparently being led by Jeremy Newman, a former panel member of the UK’s antitrust authority. In a statement, Newman said the case would ‘seek to return the overpaid fees to estate agents across the country and…

FLUTTER ENTERTAINMENT (FLTR) – Gaming & Leisure Price: £162.35 -8.9%P/E: n/aMarket Cap: £31.2bnYield: n/a Flutter, the world’s largest online gambling group which includes the Betfair, Paddy Power and SkyBetting brands, as well as PokerStars and FanDuel, disappointed the market today by lowering its 2025 and 2026 profit forecasts. On the one hand, the firm has been on the wrong end of a long streak of sports results which have handed punters healthy payouts, while on the other it has decided to invest aggressively in the fast-growing ‘events contracts’ market. Events contracts let people bet on the probability of specific events…

YOUNG & CO’S BREWERY (YNGA) – Leisure Price: 77p -2%P/E: 12.5xMarket Cap: £440mYield: 3.1% Like FULLER’S (FTSA), AIM-listed pub group Young’s is enjoying a buoyant 2025, posting record revenue and operating profit for the six months to 30 September. LFL sales were up 5.7% (vs 4.6% at Fuller’s) thanks to a combination of a well-invested premium estate and good weather during late spring and early summer. Good cash generation together with working capital timing and a delayed investment plan has allowed the group to reduce debt by £26.5 million to £221.8 million excluding leases, which equates to gearing (a net…

PERSIMMON (PSN) – Construction Price: £12.70 +3.1%P/E: 16xMarket Cap: £4.1bnYield: 4.9% Persimmon has managed to do what few other housebuilders have done and buck the trend of doom and gloom which has pervaded the sector all year. The firm’s third-quarter trading update, covering the period from 1 July to today, revealed a 15% increase in forward sales to £2.79 billion from £2.42 billion for the same period a year ago. Private forward sales, which excludes ‘bulk sales’ to housing associations and buy-to-let groups, also rose 15% to £2.09 billion, with just a small increase in average selling prices, and over…

AVIVA (AV.) – Financials Price: 654p -5.6%P/E: 29.7xMarket Cap: £19.9bnYield: 5.3% Insurance giant Aviva posted a positive third-quarter trading update saying it was on track to meet its 2026 financial target of £2 billion in operating profit a year earlier than planned, before any contribution from the acquisition of smaller rival Direct Line. The firm also raised its forecast of cost synergies from the acquisition from £100 million to around £350 million and projected capital synergies of more than £500 million. As if that wasn’t enough, it also set out new three-year targets with EPS (earnings per share) expected to…

TAYLOR WIMPEY (TW.) – Construction Price: 102.15p -3.4%P/E 33.1xMarket Cap: £3.75bnYield 8.6% Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey delivered a downbeat trading statement for the period from the end of June to 9 November. The opening comment on UK trading more or less sums it up: ‘Reflecting current uncertainty in the housing market ahead of the November Budget, we continue to experience softer market conditions in the second half of the year to date.’ Net private sales per outlet per week are down on last year, even including ‘bulk deals’ which are sales to buy-to-let operators or housing associations, plus the order book…

GAMMA COMMUNICATIONS (GAMA) – Technology Price: 970p -1.5%P/E: 10.2xMarket Cap: £908mYield: 2.2% Communications solutions group Gamma has revealed its CFO, Bill Castell, will leave the firm in March 2026 to take up a role at a private equity-backed business. When Castell, 47, joined Gamma at the start of May 2022 – just a couple of months before the arrival of new CEO Andrew Belshaw – the share price was £11.40. Since then, the price has been as high as £17 but it currently languishes close to a post-pandemic low. For the six months to June, the group reported a 12%…

FULLER, SMITH & TURNER (FSTA) – Travel & Leisure Price: 644p +3%P/E: 16xMarket Cap: £342mYield: 3.4% Pub group Fuller, Smith & Turner posted strong results for the six months to the end of September with revenue up 6.9% to £207.5 million and adjusted EPS (earnings per share) up 37% to 30p. The firm flagged ‘industry-leading’ LFL sales growth of 4.6% with drink sales up 6.5%, food up 2% and accommodation up 3.3%. Moreover, sales to 8 November have continued to rise at 4.6% on a LFL basis. Christmas bookings are up 16% on the same period last year, and the…