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City News: Momentum maintained Catherine Stratton updates all the latest Stock Market information. CURRENT
SHARE
PRICES
&
MARKET
CAPITALISATIONS
(24
April
2006) As our table demonstrates, The London Stock Market has been exceptionally strong through the first four months of 2006, fuelled by a mixture of strong corporate results and a high level of takeover speculation. The performance of most of the quoted hire companies has been in line with the wider market and, of course, the market has seen Wolseley’s bid for Brandon in late March. The offer document was posted to shareholders on 10 April and acceptances were due by 2 May. The Brandon share price indicates that the deal is all but complete. Of course there were other suitors for Brandon; Speedy was definitely amongst them and it may well now be turning its attention elsewhere. The company’s recent trading update, issued ahead of its preliminary results for the year ended March 2006, show that the company continues to prosper. Total turnover in the first eleven months of the year has risen 22%, while like-for-like revenues in its tool hire division are up 9%. In the past year Speedy has made four acquisitions costing a total of £35m. The company states that its “strong balance sheet enables it to consider further acquisition possibilities as they arise in a still fragmented sector.” Speedy will announce its results on 31 May. The past year has seen a significant re-rating of Vp’s shares (which have doubled since the end of April 2005). It has also published a confident trading update ahead of its results on 8 June. The company indicates that trading has been “satisfactory” and “in line with the Board’s expectations.” The statement concludes by saying that the outlook remains positive and the Board expects “another year of progress for the year ended 31 March 2007.” CATHERINE STRATTON MAKES HER OWN CITY NEWS Catherine Stratton managed to take time out from her financial analysis and reporting duties to officially open the new A-Plant Tool Hire Shop in Oxford on 6 April. It is the company’s first depot in the city, where Catherine lives. Also present was Yas Swindell, who was recently appointed as A-Plant’s Tool Hire Development Director. He has worked for the company for ten years and was previously Operational Director for the Home Counties. “Oxford has been identified as a key area for A-Plant, and the opening has created a number of new jobs for the region,” he states. A-Plant operates from more than 200 locations nationwide, and claims to now have depots in every major town and city in Britain. The Oxford branch will offer a wide range of equipment for construction and DIY work, including air tools, painting and decorating equipment, lifting and safety products, diamond blades, surveying items, woodworking tools, air conditioning units and garden machinery. It can also provide large site equipment such as dumpers, compressors and excavators. Executive Hire News › Archives › May 2006 › City News › Momentum maintained
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