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Second, it can take on new franchisees. The company receives about 1,000 enquiries a year, of which it recruits at most 20, according to Belvoir's broker, Seymour Pierce. Finally, existing franchisees can open new outlets. In the boom years they could finance their own set-up or expansion by taking out bank debt, but that's harder now. Instead, franchisees increasingly look to Belvoir for start-up loans. Rapid expansion invariably comes with risks. Belvoir could lend to the wrong franchisees, incurring bad debts, or overpay for acquisitions - risks made more acute by the easy-come, easy-go nature of the lettings business. Yet regulation of the rental market is increasing, and bank loans are hard to come by, so the barriers to entering this market are not quite as low as they used to be. Belvoir has been well-run so far, judging by its financial track record. Last year's operating profit margin was 53 per cent, and underlying earnings have grown steadily since 2008.

Revenues from service fees have been increasing at an impressive clip. They were 9.6 per cent higher in the first half of this year than in 2011, but the track record of growth extends much further back. Monthly fee income has increased from £20,000 to £240,000 over the past decade. Overall revenue growth was higher, at 17 per cent, because the company received £190,000 in training and start-up fees from new franchisees (against £67,000 last year). Belvoir is using the £6.2m of cash it received from its February flotation to accelerate its rollout programme, in three ways. First, it can use the money to expand its portfolio of centrally run outlets - as it has done this year in Lichfield, Burton and Pimlico.

The UK housing market is not an obvious source of growth - outside London, house prices have been sagging for over two years. Yet this has created winners, too, above all in the private rented sector. That's the main reason to buy shares in Belvoir Lettings (BLV), one of this year's most successful flotations on Aim. A decade ago, 70.5 per cent of British homes were owner-occupied. That share has fallen to 66 per cent. The slack has been taken up by the private rental sector, which houses 70 per cent more households now than it did in 2002. This is most likely a long-term shift. With the average first-time buyer deposit running at about 80 per cent of income compared with 10-20 per cent in the 1990s, Britons will surely buy later and rent for longer. Belvoir, which runs a lettings franchise business from its Grantham head office, is a useful way to play this theme. It has 144 outlets, of which it owns just four. The rest pay Belvoir 12 per cent of their turnover as a monthly 'management service fee', the financial cornerstone of the company.

Berkeley's bosses aim to return the £1.7bn - mostly in three tranches in September of 2015, 2018 and 2021 (the forthcoming interim is classified as £20m of the first tranche) - without any damage to the group's balance sheet. In other words, come September 2021 shareholders will have received their dividends equating to an annual yield of about 8.5 per cent and will still own a business underpinned by at least £9 per share of net assets, most likely a lot more. It seems like a 'no brainer' for patient investors

The land bank now comprises 26,370 plots, which Berkeley reckons is worth £2.76bn. And the aim is to bring this up to £3bn by April 2014. Notable purchases in the first half include the former News International site in Wapping for £150m; the plan is to turn the 15-acre site into over 1,000 homes, right on the fringes of the City of London with a waterfront setting. The delivery of current schemes continues to focus on Berkeley’s seven major projects in London, although management warns that difficulties in establishing exact delivery dates could lead to revenues being a bit lumpy. This year, for example, will benefit from the completion of the development at Chelsea Creek, but no other major completions are anticipated in the period. Meanwhile, building costs have risen and overheads jumped 37 per cent to £55m. However, a change in the product mix meant that gross margins rose from 28.8 per cent to 29.3 per cent, while overheads as a percentage of gross income actually fell from 9.9 per cent to 8 per cent.

Berkeley also provides down-to-earth accommodation for students, recently finishing a 730-bedroom scheme in Acton. True, a downturn in the housing market in London and the south-east would hit the group, but current trends suggest that this is not about to happen. In fact, business is booming. Pre-tax profits in the six months to the end of October grew 41 per cent to £142m, and management claims a return on equity of 24.5 per cent. Underlying operating profit margins are the best in the sector at 19.6 per cent, and net asset value rose by 11 per cent to 929p. Berkeley's bosses also feel they can make a start on that £13-per-share cash-back - Berkeley will pay a 15p dividend next April. Their confidence reflects the significant amount of cash due on forward sales of over £1.3bn. Moreover, despite investing £202m securing 1,965 new plots - that’s an average cost per plot of £103,000 - cash inflow of £52m meant that in the past 12 months net debt has fallen from £58m to a nominal £5.5m. Paying over £100,000 per plot of land may seem a lot, but in the first half of the year sales rose from 1,506 a year earlier to 1,927, and the average selling price jumped from £254,000 to £335,000, boosted by a change in the mix of completions to more expensive homes.

Shares in Berkeley (BKG) command the biggest premium over net asset value of all the quoted housebuilders, but they still look worth buying. That's because of Berkeley's potential to return cash to its shareholders. It has promised to pay them £13 a share by September 2021 (most of it from 2015 onwards). In crude terms, that works out at 144p a year for the next nine years, equivalent to an annual yield of 8.5 per cent. True, a lot can happen over the next nine years, but it is a measure of Berkeley's quality that, since the start of the financial crash, it has not had to devalue its land bank, has virtually no debt and didn’t tap shareholders for more capital. Chairman Tony Pidgely has seen it all during his 44 years in house building, and has carved out a successful business model in the housing sector. The beauty is in its simplicity - buy brown-field sites close to London and build expensive flats. Even in relatively unfashionable areas, such as Woolwich Arsenal, the plan has worked well, with many overseas buyers purchasing off plan. And the group has undoubtedly benefited from the Olympic Games because these helped to turn an unfashionable part of East London into an acceptable place to buy a property.

True, West African could still discover a world-class iron ore deposit on its inland permits. But geophysical anomalies close to existing deposits persistently end up being just that - anomalies. Which is why, at 58p, there seem to be more risks than rewards in holding the shares

Meanwhile, it could take West African six months or longer to complete first-pass drilling on its inland targets. That's because the company needs to clear thick jungle cover to transport its single drill rig around. Management is, nevertheless, upbeat. Executive vice-chairman Brad Mills says it may take two to three months to test the first target, Djadom South, but enticing geophysical anomalies suggest it and two other targets have the potential to contain a billion tonne deposit each. The anomalies are even bigger than the ones at Binga, according to Mr Mills. There is also a technical concern that 74 per cent of the company's shares are tightly held by management and seed investors. Many have been locked up for the past year, but they will become free trading on 9 January 2013. That could put the stock under selling pressure in the new year.

So West African is turning to its inland permits in its search for a big high-quality deposit. These permits are beside the huge Mbarga deposit owned by an Australian explorer, Sundance Resources, which is the subject of a A$1bn (£650m) takeover bid by Chinese conglomerate Hanlong. Hanlong plans to spend A$4.3bn building rail and port infrastructure to handle iron ore, and West African's bosses hope to be able to use this infrastructure should they find an economic deposit. But Chinese authorities have held up Hanlong's bid for the past 18 months and there's no certainty it will be pushed through.

How much would you pay for some geological anomalies on mining prospects next door to major undeveloped iron ore deposits? £164m? Essentially that's the value that London's stock market puts on permits in Cameroon owned by mining explorer West African Minerals - and we think that's too much. Don't get us wrong - we're all for plays in exciting early-stage minerals exploration. But West African's share price rose from 10p to 94p this year as the company advanced its early-stage exploration permits to a drill-ready state. Since then, however, drilling results released earlier this month have been lacklustre. The share price has pulled back but, at 58p, it still looks vulnerable. Successful iron ore exploration hinges on three things: the grade of the ore, the size of the deposit and access to infrastructure. Recently completed 'first-pass' drilling on the company's Binga permit, near proposed infrastructure on the coast of Cameroon, has yet to meet the first requirement. Drill results so far look disappointing. True, follow-up drilling could still turn up a sizeable deposit. But not one of 114 scout holes drilled at Binga found substantial high-grade (60 per cent iron) mineralisation, or so-called 'direct shipping ore' (DSO), suggesting limited scope for a valuable new discovery.

Bus and train group National Express said it is on target to deliver full year results in line with company expectations despite challenging conditions. In an update on trading ahead of its year end on December 31st 2012 the group said UK Bus revenue increased 4% in the year to date while core revenue from non-concession passengers increased 2%. In rail it said c2c has driven good revenue growth and has also recently pre-qualified for a fifth rail bid in Germany. Total revenue growth at Alsa in the year to date is 3% while North American revenue grew by 3%. Chief Executive Dean Finch commented: "The group remains on course to deliver its 2012 targets, despite the significant challenges of prevailing economic conditions and government austerity measures." "Recent bid wins from an expanding pipeline of opportunities, combined with strong cash generation, underpin our platform for growth in the medium term." National Express said its financial position remains robust. "With the group's recent investment programme complete and a focus on capital-light development opportunities, we are driving strong cash generation and free cash flow across our businesses," the group said.

Diversified resources giant BHP Billiton has given the green light for a half-a-billion-dollar investment in its Longford Gas Conditioning Plant (LGCP) project in Australia, necessary to its production plans. The company announced on Thursday the approval for a $520m investment in the PGCP project as part of the Gippsland Basin Joint Venture in Victoria with Esso Australia Resources Pty (operator). Each company owns a 50% interest in the partnership. "The LGCP is a necessary extension of Bass Strait infrastructure to enable valuable hydrocarbon liquids production and domestic gas supply for years to come," said J Michael Yeager, the Chief Executive of BHP's Petroleum division. The new conditioning plant will add carbon dioxide removal capacity to the Longford Gas Plant, which is necessary to condition production from the Turrum offshore development project. It will process around 400m standard cubic feet of gas per day and will cut CO2 content of treated gas to less than 3%. BHP said that saleable gas production will start in 2016

Chief Executive of Genus, Karim Bitar, has welcomed Wilson to the board. "We are delighted that Stephen will be joining Genus," Bitar said. "He brings strong financial and business development skills, and will be a valuable business partner, with his experience of working in large global enterprises and his record of building strong finance teams. I am looking forward to working closely with Stephen in continuing to execute our exciting and ambitious growth strategy."

Genus announced Thursday that Group Finance Director John Worby will be stepping down after eight years at the leading global animal genetics firm. Worby - who joined the board in 2004 as non-executive director before being appointed the group finance director - is set to retire from the board of the FSTE 250 company next March as he focuses on his non-executive portfolio. "During his time at Genus, John has been an invaluable member of the Board in both his Non-Executive and Group Finance Director capacities," Chairman Bob Lawson said in a statement. "His vast knowledge and experience supporting quoted companies has helped Genus to develop strong relationships with its shareholders and has been a huge source of strength for the CEOs with whom he has worked. We are very grateful to John for all his contributions over the years and on behalf of the board, we wish him well in his retirement. " Stephen Wilson, who is currently Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of financial software provider Misys, will step into Worby's shoes. Wilson was Vice President and CFO of IBM UK prior to joining Misys. He is also a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and is a non-executive director of Xchanging.

Defence, security, transport and energy company Ultra Electronics on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding with AREVA to initiate a future partnership in nuclear power generation and the build of new EPR (Eurpean pressurized water) reactors in the UK. The agreement covers potential collaboration on instrumentation and control systems including reactor protection and control and relates to the two EPR reactors planned by EDF Energy at Hinkley Point for which a site licence was granted last month. The firm said the collaboration could also extend to other EPR reactors including those planned at Sizewell. Rakesh Sharma, Chief Executive of Ultra, said: "I am pleased to have signed this agreement which recognises Ultra's position in the supply of safety critical instrumentation & control to the global nuclear industry. Through our continuing strategic relationship we are happy to support AREVA with our proven range of proven specialist technologies."

The company is providing the facilities with hazardous and non-hazardous LED lighting fixtures including high bay, low bay, linear and wallpack - designed by the energy team at Honeywell International in Puerto Rico. Dialight has a market capitalisation of £333.40m. Shares fell 1.51% to 1,041.00p at 9:40 Thursday.

Dialight has completed delivery of the initial phase of its one million dollar project for the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority. The FTSE 250 firm has taken the first step towards the major multi-phase operation by providing LED lighting fixtures for a waste water treatment facility in Puerto Rico at a value of $150,000. The leading LED lighting technology company is working on six PRASA water treatment facilities which are due for completion next year. "In addition to the orders that we have seen coming from more traditional industries such as mining and oil and gas, this order, along with the recently announced US solar thermal power plant project, demonstrates an increasing penetration into the environmental and clean energy markets," Dialight's Group Chief Executive, Roy Burton, said in a statement Thursday. "While our customers are acting sustainably through the services they provide, they are also have greater awareness of their own business consumption. The adoption of LED lighting enhances a company's green credentials through greater energy efficiency and a reduction in their carbon emissions, as well as proving to be economically beneficial."

oh and Argatroban injection made approximately $105m in sales for the 12 months ending October 2012, according to IMS Health. Hikma will be selling the argatroban injection in 100mg/ml vials and was developed through the company's partnership with the speciality pharmaceutical company, Exela Pharma Sciences

Hikma Pharmaceuticals announced Thursday the US launch of an injection for the treatment of thrombosis in adults. The FSTE 250 multinational group is releasing the argatroban injection after receiving approval from the US Food and Drug Administration earlier this year. The London-based pharmaceutical firm's argatroban is used for the prevention of disease and treatment of thrombosis in patients with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT). Thrombosis is the formation of a blood clot inside the blood vessel obstructing the flow of blood through the circulatory system. HIT is due to the administration of various forms of heparin, an anticoagulant, and is caused by the formation of abnormal antibodies that activate platelets. Argatroban will also work as an anticoagulant in preventing the clotting of the blood in adults at risk of HIT undergoing coronary angioplasty, a non-surgical procedure used to treat the stenotic coronary arteries of the heart found in coronary heart disease. "Hikma is pleased to be bringing argatroban injection to market," Chief Executive Officer of Hikma, Samih Darwazah, said in a statement. "Argatroban will expand our injectables product line and help to differentiate our product portfolio in the US."