Frasers increases stake to 8.9%Sports Direct-owner a ?strategic shareholder?Opportunity to sell more products via GAME chainMike Ashley-controlled Frasers (FRAS) has shunted its way up the shareholder register at model trains-to-planes maker Hornby (HRN:AIM) as the deal-hungry conglomerate pounces on yet another retail name going through tough times.Shares in Hornby leapt 40.5% to 29.5p on news Fr

Department store in talks with co-ownerRising interest rates hammer borrowersStamp dealer seals its own demiseSince opening its doors in 1909, celebrated London department store Selfridges has survived war, recession and a sea-change in consumer spending habits, but now it faces what could be its biggest challenge to date.The store has had to go cap in hand to its Thai owner Central Group for cash

We are now a little more than a fortnight away from Christmas Day with TV adverts pushing festive products, high streets adorned with Christmas decorations and shops flush with discount offers.The so-called 'Golden Quarter' including Black Friday is the most hotly contested period of the year amongst retailers and those that suffer disappointing sales or resort to overly-promotional strategies typ

Most investment trusts provide investors with a diversified portfolio invested across many different stocks and sectors which lowers the volatility or variability of returns.They typically own small stakes in anywhere between 30 to over 100 companies which can be sold without disturbing the market price.Castelnau (CGL) is different in that it takes big stakes in a few companies. It is a higher ris

The idea of owning a portfolio of companies that have gone off track may not appeal to every investor. There are high risks because the underlying companies need to be fixed before they can grow. Yet the rewards could be equally high if this repair and revive strategy works, and that's where Castelnau (CGL) sits in the investment trust universe.It's more of a corporation than a traditional investm

Aurora Investment Trust (ARR) 214.3pGain to date: 26.8%Original entry point: Buy at 169p, 22 October 2020A rotation out of value and back into growth saw our gains on Aurora Investment Trust (ARR) eroded in recent months but signs that bargain stocks are back in favour could help reverse this trend.The first half results revealed an 8.5% increase in its net asset value, lagging the FTSE All-Share'

Phoenix Asset Management's new investment trust Castelnau is targeting a minimum 20% annual return by helping to modernise a group of old-fashioned businesses. Direct Line (DLG) and Esure founder Peter Wood will be a cornerstone investor and will work with Castelnau to jointly invest in new opportunities.Joining the stock market on 18 October, Castelnau's initial portfolio will include stakes in t

Bombed-out stamps-to-rare coins dealer Stanley Gibbons (SGI:AIM) saw its share price rally on news (23 Feb) that fund manager Phoenix will invest up to £19.45m for a controlling 58.09% stake.The lifeline should help Stanley Gibbons emerge from a challenging period, to quote Phoenix founder Gary Channon, 'bought on by questionable acquisitions and poor management decisions' under previous leadersh

London's FTSE 100 sheds 14 points to trade at 7,513 early on, ahead of inflation figures which could potentially trigger an underlying base rate rise from the Bank of England in November.Theme park operator Merlin Entertainments (MERL) slumps 20% to 358.2p on the news like-for-like sales growth for 2017 will be flat and the downgrading of earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amorti

Most takeover offers require shareholders to give up their partial ownership of a company in exchange for cash or shares in the acquirer.Only in the rarest of occasions does the acquired business remain on the stock market and investors who didn't accept the takeover offer continue to hold the shares in their portfolio. It's quite an odd situation and one we believe will soon happen to toy maker H

With the blue chip benchmark opening lower ahead of the Queen's Speech, FTSE 100 constituent Whitbread (WTB) is marked up 5.1% to £40.48 on news of a good start to the year with sales growth of 7.6%. An encouraging first quarter trading update highlights positive, albeit slowing, like-for-like sales at Costa Coffee and robust growth at hotel chain Premier Inn.London and South East-focused housebu

Fans of small cap stocks are being treated to two new investment trusts targeting the lower end of the market cap spectrum.The Stewart Investors-managed ScotGems investment trust will launch in June, targeting smaller companies in the emerging markets space. Keep reading this article to get the full details on that product.Before we discuss ScotGems, it is also worth noting the fresh launch (9 May

Activist investor Alexander Anton wants to kick out toy maker Hornby (HRN) chairman Roger Canham and take his place, and his effort is supported by the group's second largest shareholder New Pistoia Income.New Pistoia has a 20% stake and supports the upheaval as the company has lost £31m over the last five years.Other investors are unmoved by the news as the stock remains static at 33p.WHY DOES A

Beleaguered toy maker Hornby (HRN:AIM) has launched a desperate bid to return the company to profitability after swinging to an underlying pre-tax loss of £5.7 million in the year to 31 March.The Scalextric and Airfix maker has issued four profit warnings over the past three years on the back of poor sales and an expensive restructuring plan that failed to bear fruit.The £17.6 million cap, which

The UK stock market opens cautiously higher in early trade on Wednesday with financials and housebuilders leading the early northbound charge. With less than 24 hours before voting on whether the UK should stay or exit the European Union, latest polls suggest the results is too close to call, keeping investors on the fence.The FTSE 100 index nudges around 10 points higher to 6,236, although midcap

London shares rally in early deals on Wednesday, bouncing having initially slipped modestly lower, as traders go cautiously on the hunt for value buys after yesterday's hefty sell-off. Wall Street was lower overnight, while Asia is mixed this morning. Europe is modestly higher.The FTSE 100 index is up around 65 points, or 1.15%, at 5,698.In corporate news, microchips designs company ARM (ARM) post

A fourth profit warning in three years from model railway and Scalextric owner Hornby (HRN:AIM) suggests its products simply haven't kept up with the changing tastes of the British public.The £44.5 million cap has warned its full year loss will be substantially wider than expected, to the tune of £6 million, because of a disappointing response to January product promotions and poor underlying sa

If you think fishing tackle, Peppa Pig toys and laundry machines are the must-have items of the future then leisure goods could be for you.One of the quirkiest sectors on the London Stock Exchange, it is home to some real investment gems like toy company Character (CCT:AIM) and photobooth operator Photo-Me International (PHTM). The sector also contains some disaster stories which means investors n

Supplier problems and an IT upgrade at model railway and Scalextric owner Hornby (HRN:AIM) have resulted in its first half statutory pre-tax loss widening from £0.5 million to £4.5 million, sending the shares down 2.1% to 93p.The £53 million cap's European operations were severely disrupted by its reorganisation plan and a delay in getting products into European stores from its Chinese supplier

UK stocks sharply decline in early trade on Tuesday morning as import/export data from Chinese spooks investors that the squeeze on the global economy is not easing off. This after lower sessions on Wall Street and across Asia overnight as OPEC on Monday decided not to limit crude oil production.The FTSE 100 index sags 43 points, or 0.68%, to 6,180, while main indexes across Europe are also under