If you'd invested in: Coats Group and Mothercare
Venerable British thread-maker Coats is flying high, while Mothercare continues to struggle.
If only
Coats Group (LSE: COA) is a venerable British maker of threads and textiles, with a history going back to the 1750s. It's not always been plain sailing. By the end of the last century it was facing oblivion, and in the early 2000s was bought up by investment firm Guinness Peat, who took the company private. It returned to the stockmarket in 2015, and now employs 19,000 people in 60 countries. After a deal to settle its pension deficit in December that enabled it to pay dividends, the share price took off. In the last year, the shares have risen by 180%.
Be glad you didn't
Mothercare (LSE: MTC) has been battling a decline in sales for a long time, stuck in an endless "turnaround" loop. Competition has been eroding margins and customers have been deserting the stores. In April 2016 a dramatic drop in international sales caused a big fall in the shares. Despite a rally after positive news a month later, the shares have fallen steadily since. The price has turned back up in the last few weeks, but remains more than 40% down 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.
-
UK GDP: Economy returns to growth in August
The economy grew by 0.2% in August, according to the latest UK GDP figures. Will it influence the Bank of England’s next interest rate decision?
By Katie Williams Published
-
Tipping culture: when to tip and how much is too much?
Travel Tipping culture in one country can be very different from another. If you want to know when to tip, when to skip, and how much to give – we’ve got you covered
By Oojal Dhanjal Published
-
Mothercare’s inevitable demise
Features Mothercare's UK arm has gone into administration, But that's hardly any surprise.
By Dr Matthew Partridge Published
-
If you’d invested in: Flowgroup and Mothercare
Features Gas boiler-maker Flowgroup relaunched its product in January following a few tweaks to its design. Since then, its shares have heated up.
By Ben Judge Published
-
Shares in focus: How our tips have fared this year
Features It's been a tough year for stocks. Phil Oakley looks back over the share tips he made in 2014 to see how they have fared, and what investors should do next.
By Phil Oakley Published
-
Tips update: Mothercare
Features Phil Oakley tipped children’s goods retailer Mothercare as a risky but potentially good value turnaround story back in May. But are the share still a buy?
By moneyweek Published
-
Company in the news: Mothercare
Features High-street retailer Mothercare has issued a £100m rights issue. Should you buy in? Phil Oakley investigates.
By Phil Oakley Published