If you'd invested in: The Gym Group and Card Factory

If only...

The Gym Group (LSE: GYM) operates a chain of budget gyms in the UK. Its shares jumped in January as the group reported a 24.3% rise in revenue for 2017, which was due largely to a 44% increase in the number of branches. This, however, also racked up debt, which stood at £37.5m in January, compared with £5.2m at the end of 2016. The share price then dipped in May as the group's founder John Treharne announced he was stepping down as CEO, but quickly recovered last month as the company reported it had raised £24m to buy 13 easyGym sites.

Be glad you didn't...

Card Factory (LSE: CARD) is a chain of greeting-card and gift stores. Its shares tumbled in September as the firm reported a 14.1% fall in pre-tax profits to £23.2m in the six months to 31 July, a consequence of the weaker pound which raised import prices and higher wage costs. The shares plummeted a further 20% in January as the firm delivered another profit warning. In April, Card Factory posted a 12.3% drop in pre-tax profits on the previous year, down to £76.2m, and said it would not return to profit growth until 2019.

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Alice grew up in Stockholm and studied at the University of the Arts London, where she gained a first-class BA in Journalism. She has written for several publications in Stockholm and London, and joined MoneyWeek in 2017.

Alice is now Consumer Editor at The Sun and covers everything from energy bills to Social Security.