If you’d invested in: Mensch und Maschine and Sports Direct

Mensch und Maschine Software (Frankfurt: MUM) sells computer-aided design (CAD) software. It began life in 1984 as a reseller of Autodesk products. This still makes up the bulk of its revenue, but its own software products now make an increasingly important contribution.

Net profit came in at €3.9m in 2015, up from €3.7m in 2014, and the first quarter of 2016 proved the best "in the company's history", with profits up 78% year-on-year. The shares are up by more than 50% in the year to date, and more than 100% in the last year.

Be glad you didn't buy

Sportswear retailer Sports Direct (LSE: SPD) has more than 700 stores in 20 countries, plus 80 "premium lifestyle" stores under brands such as USC and Cruise. Under its controversial founder Mike Ashley, it's hit the headlines for many of the wrong reasons in recent years. The share price has slid by 65% in the past year. Recent results proved disappointing, with underlying pre-tax profit for 2015-2016 falling by 8.4% to £275.2m.

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