STOCKWATCh: Man U still golden for fund star

Manchester United’s form has been erratic on the pitch of late, and times are tough off the field too. 

The Red Devils suffered a net loss of £23.2million in the year to June 30 as the pandemic sucker-punched ticket and broadcast revenues. 

Man Utd shares, listed in the US, are down from almost $20 to $14.20 so far this year.

Off form: Manchester United shares have slumped this year

That’s bad news for Nick Train, manager of the Finsbury Growth & Income Trust, who holds the stock. 

The floppy-haired funds star has seen the trust’s share price diminish by about 10 per cent this year, but tells me he’s sticking with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men for the long haul.

He says: ‘Perhaps contemplate the comparison between equity in Manchester United and gold. Both are rare and beautiful in the eyes of some. Both have eternal characteristics.

‘New gold cannot be created and no one can recreate Manchester United. Both have been fine preservers of real value over time.’ Another flop season on the pitch may undermine that.

G4S braces for shareholder decision on GardaWorld bid 

G4S has until this Saturday to respond to the £1.90-a-share hostile bid from its Canadian outsourcing rival GardaWorld, with shareholders due to decide whether to accept by Saturday, November 7. 

A mooted rival tilt from America’s Allied Universal could yet scupper Garda’s feisty attempt, while the City is on tenterhooks over what price any sale ends up at. 

One City banker remarks: ‘Everyone is watching. If a buyer takes it for its post-lockdown value then that resets the price of other UK bid targets.

‘The assumption at the moment is that companies are still fundamentally worth what they were in February.’

Clock is ticking on bid for AA too 

The clock is also ticking on private equity pair Towerbrook and Warburg Pincus, who have to lodge a bid for the AA by Tuesday.

The duo have twice extended the deadline to make a formal swoop for the breakdown and insurance stalwart.

Are they worried about what’s under the bonnet of the former Automobile Association?

Covid-19 fallout is key for GSK 

Investors will be keeping a close eye on shares in Glaxo-SmithKline this week, as the drugs giant posts its third-quarter trading update. 

The race to discover a Covid-19 vaccine is dominating the pharma world, but the virus outbreak has had a more immediate impact on sales.

Analysts note that less travel and delays in going back to college may have hit US vaccination rates for hepatitis and meningitis, while Glaxo’s over-the-counter business could see a winter pick-up in demand for vitamins, pain and cough-cold remedies amid the second wave of Covid-19. 

Quarterly revenues are expected to come in at about £8.65billion.

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk