Shares in Centrica have fallen nearly 20% after the company slashed its dividend and announced that their CEO, Iain Conn, is to step down from the role next year. The company has made a loss of nearly £500m in the last six months and has seen its shares decline an eye-watering 70% since Iain took […]
Surprise, surprise, Centrica has just fallen off another cliff… Read More »
Having written about my painful experience of investing with Carillion I have watched with interest as shares of Kier have followed a similar route. From a peak of over £24 in 2007, the shares collapsed to £6.50 during the financial crisis, never recovering their previous height and now having lost over 90% of their value
One of the first companies I bought shares in bought was Centrica. If you’ve ever paid for gas in your home then you’ve probably heard of them. A huge, FTSE250 company with decades of trading history and operating in what is usually considered the ‘defensive’ market of utilities. When I bought the shares, I loved
Earlier this week I was alerted to a story about everyone’s favourite electric car company Tesla and their ‘interesting’ approach to the on-going financial black hole that represents their balance sheet. Despite declared a loss every quarter since they were founded in 2008 (yes, that’s right, ten years ago), this is a stock that has
The house of cards that is the Tesla balance sheet Read More »
I must confess to being absolutely fascinated by the on-going saga of General Electric. Originally founded in 1892 by Thomas Edison, the company employs more than 300,000 people and is structured as a conglomerate, with about 12 divisions including GE Aviation, GE Power and GE Capital. It holds diverse interests including healthcare, transportation and lighted
When the financial services sector (and most global economies) fell off a cliff in 2007/08, savings rates fell with them. Several years (and many interest cuts) later, I decided to take the plunge and invest some money with Zopa Loans. At the time, I wasn’t sure whether the company would survive or if I’d ever
Being a business student, I find the structure and thinking of much of the business world a useful lens for viewing aspects of my personal life. Once a year, I imagine sitting with my ‘board’ and presenting my progress for the year. If I’ve done well, I could imagine that external investors (my girlfriend, my
If your household were a company, would it be an attractive investment? Read More »
Have you ever wondered how to go about analysing a Cap Rate for an investment ? Are you trying to figure out what NOI means? Do you want to know how to calculate the various types of ROI, like Cash-on-Cash Return and Total Return? If so, no need to struggle alone – I’ve written what
An introduction to Real Estate Investment Analysis Read More »
I generally try to avoid too much controversy on this blog. Admittedly, I might occasionally pen a provocative opinion piece, but by and large, I try to stick to informative articles. Earlier this week, I took a call from now investor who really, really wasn’t ready for an investment in his business. That might sound
Are you ready to start seeking investment in your business? Read More »
If you were paid 50% more than your current salary for doing the same job, would be able to create 50% more value for your company? The topic of executive pay is one regularly and eagerly debated across media of all colours. From the million pound bonuses of the bankers, to the rewarded executives of
Do complex pay schemes really encourage value creation? Read More »
