Portfolio
Anchored in Crown
Nephew Wilde
Don't come crying on my shoulder, old boy, I told you long ago that the stock market was only for professionals."
These were the unkind unwarranted words of my broker Wotherspool when I rang him to say what I thought of his advice. Anyway if it is some comfort I reassured myself, many of the professionals will be making much greater losses than mine. As for any remedy for the current malaise, Wotherspool is fast coming to the opinion that the only good thing will be the exit of Mr Heath. A few months ago the City was prepared to forgive; world food prices soaring to new heights were hardly the fault of the Government. However, Mr Heath apparently hell-bent on his risky economic policy is throwing prudence to the wind. So the short-term outlook at least must be bad for shares.
Yet whether or not two million
odd investors are at present a= gloomy as myself, others must be smiling. James Griffiths, I read last week, said his favourite toast Was to the day when the last miner left the last pit. He must be happy as with interest rates what they are people are beginning to realise that there are easier ways of living than digging holes in the ground. In' dustry, in fact, is so much the poor cousin in this country of ours that industrialists might as well pack up and leave money making to the bankers.
Yet there is one firm that I like and this is buckling down to the job of making profits and can at least boast of making a return of 22 per cent on its assets. The company is Crown House with activities in glass manufacture and electrical engineering. The group Is well diversified and recentlY acquired an advertising companY and bought a stake in the Holiday Inn franchaise. As for the fundamentals Crown House is selling at just over ten times last earning and yields an attractive 6.8 pet cent. Although bank overdrafts at the year were quite high, certain property sales should see that Crown House is not short of funds.
This then is my purchase and because I cannot contemplate today's penal interest rates and borrow more funds I reluctantly must sell Revertex.
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