LONDON (ShareCast) - Workspace Group operates in a very promising - and profitable - niche of the London property market; renting space to fast-growing smaller businesses and entrepreneurs in the capital, most of them in areas such as technology, media and telecoms. More specifically, occupancy levels at the end of the year were approaching 90% while the total return seen on the portfolio was running at more than four times’ the accepted industry average. Nevertheless, the shares now sell on a 13% premium to their net asset value. Short term, they start to look a little toppy; investors in over the past year might consider taking some profits, writes The Times´s Tempus.

A deal between Severn Trent and the LongRiver consortium may still be a possibility, if nothing else because they are such a perfect fit, despite yesterday’s passing of the deadline set for a new bid. The Ontario Municipal Employees retirement scheme, the Kuwait Investment Office and the UK Universities Superannuation Scheme are classic long-term investors and the company is highly profitable and transparently regulated. As well, of course, it must not be forgotten than Severn Trent has been the best performer among the three listed UK water utilities, offering a total shareholder return since April 2010, when the current regulatory regime started, of twice its two listed peers, the Financial Times’s Lex column argues.

The latest figures from Oxford Instruments – yesterday – sent the shares into a tailspin, as investors learned of the slowing in demand in the company’s industrial products business. However, what that shows is that companies are more cautious, not that we are heading into a sharp downturn. Meanwhile. the side of the company dedicated to nanotechnology showed an 8% rise for the last financial year and that market is expected to keep growing at a 10% to 20% clip. For now, the shares sell on just short of 20 times’ earnings, which is where they have tended to be historically. Yesterday’s fall offers not a bad entry point for long-term investors, Tempus says.

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AB

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