If you'd invested in: LPA Group and Bonmarché
LPA Group designs and manufactures LED lighting systems, while Bonmarché sells clothes and accessories to mature women.
LPA Group (Aim: LPA) designs and manufactures LED lighting systems from its headquarters in Cambridge. Having "entered the year at a gallop", the company confirmed in a trading statement in September that it was "still galloping", and is likely to exceed market expectations. Latest half-yearly results show revenue up by 32% and pre-tax profits up too. Brexit hasn't affected the outlook, which "appears to be extremely positive". Its shares are up by more than 130% in the last year.
Be glad you didn't
Wakefield-based Bonmarch (LSE: BON) sells clothes and accessories to "mature women" via shops and mail-order catalogues, and online. A "difficult" first quarter of 2016, with like-for-like sales down by 7.7%, was followed by an equally tough second quarter and "extremely poor" sales in September, leading to a second profits warning in 12 months and forecast of "considerable uncertainty" ahead. The share price has fallen by more than 70% in the last year.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Sign up to Money Morning
Our team, led by award winning editors, is dedicated to delivering you the top news, analysis, and guides to help you manage your money, grow your investments and build wealth.
Ben studied modern languages at London University's Queen Mary College. After dabbling unhappily in local government finance for a while, he went to work for The Scotsman newspaper in Edinburgh. The launch of the paper's website, scotsman.com, in the early years of the dotcom craze, saw Ben move online to manage the Business and Motors channels before becoming deputy editor with responsibility for all aspects of online production for The Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday and the Edinburgh Evening News websites, along with the papers' Edinburgh Festivals website.
Ben joined MoneyWeek as website editor in 2008, just as the Great Financial Crisis was brewing. He has written extensively for the website and magazine, with a particular emphasis on alternative finance and fintech, including blockchain and bitcoin.
As an early adopter of bitcoin, Ben bought when the price was under $200, but went on to spend it all on foolish fripperies.
-
5 steps to shield your money from the taxman before the Budget
Experts have warned Labour is planning a tax raid in its upcoming Budget. We share five steps to shield your money from the taxman
By Katie Williams Published
-
The trading apps that let you put fractional shares in an ISA
Advice HMRC is set to change ISA rules to allow fractional shares to be included in the tax wrapper. Here are the trading platforms and trading apps that support this.
By Marc Shoffman Published