If you’d invested in: Morgan Sindall and Pets at Home

Property and infrastructure firm Morgan Sindall is trading ahead of expectation, while Pets At Home shareholders are suffering.

Ben Judge
By
published
in Features

If only

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Morgan Sindall (LSE: MGNS) is a construction and property services company. It employs 6,000 people across a range of businesses, including housing, offices and infrastructure. In 2016 revenue rose by 7% to £2.56bn and profits by 32% to £45.3m. A recent update reported strong trading in the first few months of 2017, with orders up and full-year profits forecast to be ahead of expectations. The share price has risen by 57% in the last year.

Be glad you didn't

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Pets at Home (LSE: PETS) sells pet food and pet products, and offers veterinary and grooming services. It was founded in 1991 and now operates over 400 stores and veterinary practices. The firm listed on the London Stock Exchange in March 2014. The share price peaked in October 2015 and has been sliding ever since, down 37% in the last year. Veterinary services is still growing, but investors are concerned about growth prospects and margin pressures for the wider business.

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Ben Judge
Ben Judge

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.

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