Daily Stock Market Report (Fri 16 May 2025) - VLE, FUTR, CCT, WKP, DWL, VSVS, CRW

Fri 6:01am by Graham Neary

40 comments 4056 reads

Good morning!

Some readers were asking about the spreadsheet for this report - here's the link. I've updated it to the middle of March, and will bring it further up to date soon. Cheers!

Graham

The Agenda is complete.

1.30pm: I'm afraid I've run out of time there. Have a nice weekend!

Companies Reporting

Name (Mkt Cap)	RNS	Summary	Our view (Author)
Land Securities (LON:LAND) (£4.5bn)	Final Results	EPRA earnings £374m (FY March 2024: £371m). NAV 877p (share price 589.5p). LTV ratio now 38%.
Vesuvius (LON:VSVS) (£930m)	Trading Statement	Full year results to be slightly lower than previous guidance although high level of uncertainty. End markets remain challenging. Direct effect of tariffs expected to be neutral.	AMBER (Graham) [no section below] I’m reluctant to give this a BLACK as a fully-fledged profit warning, as new guidance is only “slightly” below, with a high degree of uncertainty, and they say that “the year has started as we expected”. With limited growth apparent, we have been struggling to get excited about this one. I’ll leave the AMBER from our last coverage unchanged.
Dowlais (LON:DWL) (£904m)	Update on Combination and Secondary Listing	American Axle announces that it intends to seek a secondary listing on the LSE after the acquisition.	PINK (Graham) [no section below] This is a nice gesture and a very reasonable one as Dowlais shareholders are set to own 49% of the combined group after they are acquired by American Axle. So it’s only right that they should be able to continue to trade their shares on the LSE.
Workspace (LON:WKP) (£872m)	Post-close Financial Update	Profit warning. SP down 8% FY March 2026: several factors causing £7m headwind versus trading profit consensus £66-72m.	BLACK (AMBER) (Graham) Cutting my stance on this in light of the profit warning. If we take the long view this may still be too cheap, but management need to sort out the occupancy problem to prove this.
Future (LON:FUTR) (@794m)	Half Year Results	Profit warning. Given macro uncertainty, it is prudent to adopt a more cautious view on H2. Expects low single digit decline in FY 2025 organic revenue.	BLACK (AMBER/GREEN) (Megan) There is more work to be done before my faith in the company is fully restored, but it seems to be on the right track.
Craneware (LON:CRW) (£726m)	Statement re Possible Offer	SP +9% Bain Capital notes the recent share price movement and confirms it is assessing a…

Unlock with Email

Unlock with Google

Already have an account?
Login here

The Phoenix

Fri 9:36am

Good to see you back posting RD, any thoughts on how the US will roll over the estimated $9 trillion against a falling dollar and Bessent wanting to cap 10 year yield at max 5%, and risk massive QE would possibly ignite inflation ?

RDHOWARTH

Fri 10:20am

Thank you for the kind comment. I wish I had a perfect answer for you alas not. Although not discussed much on Trumps election the $ had really entered the war. Weakness is not good for financial flows nor inflation but economic weakness should it emerge weakens inflation. Personally I don’t think the US will struggle too much financing the deficit. Rigidity in the defect will weaken growth but over what time frame. It’s not good for anyone that the US thinks it’s a good idea to go it alone. I think this will backfire but only time will tell. It is reassuring that UK equities and bonds are so unloved so we should be able to weather a weaker outlook globally. We will see. Best of luck.

Fri 10:39am

I respect your comments but they are a little harsh. The vehicle is and always has been very conservatively run yet produce a long run compound return anyone would be proud of.

yiannos1

Fri 10:53am

This comment is under review

RJS89

Fri 11:06am

it should also be noted that TCI is having to find a home for $40B+! (yes, with a B).

from a liquidity and investable standpoint, your options are extremely limited at that level i.e you are forced to look at $50B+ mega-caps, as investing in e.g a <$1B market cap. is a literal rounding error and a waste of time

your returns will also gravitate over time towards the market average due to said mega-caps essentially being the market themselves due to their sheer capitalisation size

'buffett-like' is essentially an euphemism for what buffett was forced to do once he had accumulated billions in capital in & since the mid 80s; go stock-shopping amongst the biggest and most liquid publicly listed businesses i.e Coca-Cola Co (NYQ:KO) , American Express Co (NYQ:AXP) , Wells Fargo & Co (NYQ:WFC) and so on etc.

none of this is to say that you can't generate (slightly) outsized returns shopping in this area; but compared to any previous, smash it out the park returns when managing much, much less capital, they will be drastically lower

snowdrop

Fri 11:55am

To get feedback like this, RJS89, is exactly why Stoko is worth it!

Fri 12:48pm

Compounder

Fri 12:54pm

Re, Character (LON:CCT)

There is significant hidden value not shown on the balance sheet. They purchased a run down warehouse for £5m in 2021 ( Infinity House near Manchester, Postcode M24 1AT )

This property was fully refurbished and fitted with a new roof. After finishing the works, they changed their mind and decided they no longer really needed this additional space.

This surplus property is up for sale and is expected to fetch around £12m.

Fri 1:15pm

Me no Zimbabwe

You?

rwh3ue

Fri 1:17pm

Assura (LON:AGR)

PHP have just announced a slightly better shares and some cash offer.will it be enough?

Fri 2:46pm

Hi Yiannos your batting at a level above me but given 10 year bond yield is currently 4.42% and first quarter gdp number for the US were down presumably at the moment its not doable without some form of QE ?

Fri 2:56pm

Yes correct

QE is following if 10 Yr above 4.75%

Glad to see that some people still want to engage in sensible discussions rather than coming up with racist remarks.

Zimbabwe economics?

And his comment is still up there!

All the best

tiswas

Fri 3:03pm

Well, in the space of a few weeks I have gone from a dismal investing failure who should not be allowed near a bingo card yet alone a share portfolio, to an investing rock-god, updating my portfolio spreadsheet on an hourly basis to reflect the latest ill-gotten gains as the portfolio hits all time highs.

Of course I could have probably made the same sort of gains with a tracker. I would have made a lot more had I piled in to the magnificent seven at recent lows.

But that would have negated the whole reason that I have been doing this full time for the last 20 years. The highs, the lows, the buzz when you get it right.

What have I learned over all this time?

I will continue to make the same mistakes, even though I am gradually eliminating some of them.

I have realised it is no good crying over what I did wrong yesterday. I can not change it I just have to learn from it.

And finally, I realise I am so lucky to be able to do this for a living when every day I read about the pain and suffering going on on a daily basis around the world. But I do sometimes ask why I actually deserve to make money for sitting behind a computer, doing a bit of research and pushing a few buttons? What am I contributing to society?

Anyone else sometimes feel that way?

Have a great weekend one and all.

Howard Adams

Fri 4:19pm

Hi tiswas

My thoughts for what they might be worth (I suspect some might disagree a lot with them).

Your capital (which you are risking) has helped to keep a company (companies) afloat. Thus helped to keep people employed and possibly (depending on company) produced something worthwhile for a society (otherwise the company would not exist).

Regards

Howard

The Ox 2906

Fri 6:04pm

Sir Chris Hohn was interviewed on the “In Good Company” podcast, haven’t listened yet but they’re normally very interesting.

Fri 6:07pm

LeicesterPete

Fri 6:33pm

He is thanked at least in the comments later in the RNS, so I take some comfort from this. Hopefully he is just off to a competitor and nothing too serious. Plenty of buyers today after an initial dip also reflects well. I hold.

BnB

Fri 6:47pm

I know that you, like me, are a long term investor who takes the role seriously and responsibly. But let’s not kid ourselves. Unless we entered seed funding or bought at IPO, you and I are no more than a parasitic leeches sitting on the coat of the company waiting for a profitable moment to drop off again and look for a new host. We aren’t keeping it afloat or fostering employment. We’re just temporary passengers hoping for a pay-off.

Fri 7:14pm

Wow BnB. Hit the nail right on the head!

En masse we help set the price by providing liquidity though our buys and sales but in 95%+ cases that is about that.

Gari

Fri 9:03pm

Too cynical. Companies raise capital through placings which grease the wheels of industry. Buying and selling shares is just a part of that even though often it’s just a transaction

Daily Stock Market Report (Fri 16 May 2025) - VLE, FUTR, CCT, WKP, DWL, VSVS, CRW

Companies Reporting

Unlock the rest of this article with a 14 day trial

About the Author

Graham Neary

40 comments

Unlock the metrics for all these stocks and more...

Unlock the metrics for all these stocks and more...