If you'd invested in: Sanne Group and Nanoco

published 13 October 2017

If only

Sanne Group (LSE: SNN) provides administration services to hedge funds and corporate and private clients. It employs more than 1,000 people in 15 offices around the world, and is expanding steadily via acquisitions, its latest being two Luxembourg fund-services companies, adding a further 70 staff. Revenue for the first half of 2017 was up by more than 100% on the same period the previous year, with pre-tax profit up by more than 50%.

Be glad you didn't

Nanoco Group (LSE: NANO) develops and manufactures fluorescent semiconductor nanoparticles for use in lighting, displays and solar panels. The market for these products is developing "more slowly than anticipated", the firm said recently, which has led to disappointing results. It now plans to raise £8.6m in equity, to allow it to retain its manufacturing facility at Runcorn. The share price has slid by more than half in the last year.

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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.