COMPANY NOTES
rr HE merger last week between the Bank
I Insurance Group and the fifteen-month-old Crosby Unit Trust, run by the merchant bankers Robert Fleming & Co., has produced the largest unit trust in Great Britain, to be known as the Save and Prosper Group. This will bring into the highly successful BIG (Consolbits, Bank Units and Scotbits, etc.) the general industrial unit from Crosby and will mean that the new group will have total invested funds of just over £76 million held by 162,500 investors, of which 6,403 are members of the regular savings group. There is a lot to be said for the planned regular investment especially at a time like the present when stock markets are falling. Scotbits, Scotshares and Crosby are the only units which can be purchased over a bank counter in the UK. There is now more than £208 million invested by small savers in the unit trust movement.
Another announcement of importance to savers comes from Mr. Algernon Denham, the president of The Halifax Building Society, who
reports impressive progress for his soil Britain's biggest-for the year to January 31,1,, Total' assets were £51 million higher at „' million, while mortgage advances were increa.0 by no less than £82 million, of which £13 mill°, were lent to finance per-1919 houses without ac sorting to the Government for loans to fin° this form of business. The Halifax now , 535,000 shareholders and 154,000 deposit°'" these figures exceed the total (610,200) of all, vestors in the unit trust movement.
The old-established London and New banking house of Schroder's have issued their fia report as a public company. This contains.! optimistic forecast for 1960 by the chairman, r'' W. B. Schroder, who outlines the suceesst achieved by the various sections of the bank including the two recently formed subsidiarlic Schroder • Investment Co., and Forty Five Hal, ings. The £1 ordinary shares at 44s. yield ea' 2.7 per cent. on the 6 per cent. dividend, but al tainly have great possibilities for the future. Last May •Mr. Eric Knight, the energell managing director of Lombard Banking, foreca• a dividend of 17 per cent. for 1959-the comPa" is now paying 18 per cent., which is covered ab°1 times by earnings. Profits subject to tax 10 increased by nearly 80 per cent. while the ° income is up from £420,000 to £860,000. This vet fast expanding hire-purchase company (which he so far resisted an approach by any of the III banks to take an interest in them) now has all °t/ standing debt of around £60 million. Its oversee subsidiaries in Australia, New Zealand and 11 West Indies, and those at home, namely Eel Credit and Associated Acceptances, will no doll contribute increased profits during the carat year. The 5s. ordinary shares have attained a 11I/ investment ranking and at• 31s. 6d. yield 2.9111 cent.
It is encouraging for Watney Mann and shareholders to hear from their chairman, I"
Simon Combe, that they can expect a divides of at least 17 per cent. against 15 per cent. fort' year ended September 30, 1959. This is the idt of announcement which is always welcome at was made with the bid terms for Phipps Brewer after the close of the stock market last Frida The £1 ordinary shares are now 78s. 6d., at whirl price they yield 4.3 per cent. on a 17 per cet dividend, which is a minimum expectation. Another valuable interim statement is made 1 Mr. J. M. Tilling, the chairman of A. Wilson Stores (Holdings), on the company's recent acquisition of Cheshires of Nottingham, the largest carpet wholesalers in the UK. He estimates earnings of 121.5 per cent. for the year ending June 30, 1960, on the increased capital of £234,0 in 2s. ordinary shares. It is reasonable therefotel to expect a dividend of 60 per cent. as agaill4 40 per cent. as forecast in these notes on July I last year, when the shares were I Is.; they are no 25s. 6d., and would certainly seem to have future prospects even at the present price level. With the continuance of the boom conditio in' the motor industry, providing that peace Pre- vails, Sir Graham Cunningham, chairman of ti Triplex Group, tells shareholders that the rate' production is running at 25 per cent. above II rate for this time last year, which indicates creased production, reduced costs and higher pre' fits. It is proposed to make a bonus issue of tOI 10s. ordinary shares for every one held. The Iasi dividend of 30 per cent: was covered 3.3 times earnings. There is plenty of room for an uPlifII in the dividend this year, on the increased capita which would fully justify the present price ' f 117s. 6d. although the yield is down to 2.5 Pet cent.
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