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http://www.investegate.co.uk/grainger-plc-(gri)/rns/re-german-jv/201211090700077171Q/

Valuation: Rising premium to the media sector The shares are up 20% since the interims in August and are now on a 16% P/E premium to the media sector (up from11%), falling to a premium of 1% and a discount of 3% for FY13 and FY14. Rolling forward the 16% premium suggests potential share values of 403p and 418p on our FY13 and FY14 estimates.

http://www.edisoninvestmentresearch.co.uk/researchreports/4imprintupdate081112.pdf

Valuation: £46m supported by clinical programme The valuation is supported by the existing clinical pipeline alone, with no value attributed to the technology platform or the intellectual property estate. Our rNPV model suggests a value of £46m, which compares to the current EV of £35m. We expect further upside as clinical progress occurs and from future collaborations and partnerships.

http://www.edisoninvestmentresearch.co.uk/researchreports/e-Therapeutics081112update.pdf

Admiral COO shows support for company during tough times The Chief Operating Officer of Admiral Group has shown his faith in the company less than a week after it disappointed investors with its third-quarter revenues. David Stevens, the Chief Operating Officer and co-founder of the company, pushed his stake in the company to 10.63m with the addition of 97,500 shares. Stevens, who has held his role since 2004, purchased the shares at 1,022p each for a total of £996,450.

Tempus writes that the phrase ‘high operational gearing’ is used to describe companies where fairly small changes in sales or costs have an overwhelming effect on profits. It is hard to think of a better example than Electrocomponents, the world’s biggest distributor of electrical and electronic bits and pieces. This is a well-known proxy for global economic performance because its goods are ordered in their millions, so the slightest slowdown has an immediate effect. In the first half to end-September, cost inflation was running at about 3%. Margins fell by 1.2% and the lower euro hit earnings from the Continent and thre were one and a half fewer trading days than in the previous first half. These are tiny changes, but together they meant that pre-tax profits were off by 30% to £41.5m on flat revenues. It is the ultimate cyclical stock, and on 12.5 times this year’s earnings, unless you think the world economy is set for a significant bounce, probably worth leaving for now.

Tempus in The Times writes that Schroders’ performance since the financial crisis started gives an idea what can be achieved if you stick to your knitting and abjure significant acquisitions, unlike other fund managers such as Aberdeen Asset Management. Over the past 14 quarters Schroders has gained an inflow of £53bn in new business, with only one of those quarters showing a negative performance. In the three months to end-September, net inflows were £2.6bn. Of this, £1.9bn came from institutions and £800m from retail clients, while private banking had a £100m outflow. S chroders shares, despite the strong rise this summer, sell on a typical sector multiple of about 11 times this year’s earnings, stripping out the spare cash. Further outperformance looks unlikely in the short term, but they remain one of the strongest holds in the sector.

Valuation: Yield yardstick during earnings low Mid-cycle considerations seem further away following the latest IMS, leaving the valuation debate more open. A change of year end (to March) further complicates short-term measures. (NB we will adjust our estimate year end once the base comparator is established; the figures shown above are a reasonable proxy for now.) A second interim dividend (for the six months to December) is not expected, but we expect last year’s FY dividend of 5p to be maintained (and spread over 15 months), suggesting a yield of c 5%.

http://www.edisoninvestmentresearch.co.uk/researchreports/SeverfieldUpdate081112.pdf

Credit Suisse reiterated its 'neutral' rating and 330p target price for defence contractor Chemring following The Carlyle Group's announcement last night that it will not be making an offer for the company. The broker said: "We see slim chance of other bids in the short term." While the shares trade at just 7.8 times forward estimated earrings, Credit Suisse said it is staying cautious, saying that the stock is "clearly volatile given earnings uncertainty".

Nomura has downgraded its rating for United Utilities (UU) from 'buy' to 'neutral', saying that the stock is now a fully valued take-out option. Analyst Jonathan Constable said: "We estimate that the shares are pricing in an acquisition in the next six months with a probability of one-fifth for each of UU and SVT [Severn Trent] (equivalent to a 36% probability of at least one of the two companies being acquired)."

Daniel Stewart reiterated its "buy" recommendation on technology firm DDD Group (DDD) with a target price of 50p. The broker's recommendation comes on the back of the nationwide launch in China of Hangzhou ShumWang Technology's 3D gaming technology which incorporates DDD'S TriDef 3D software in i-cafes throughout China following a testing period in the summer. The broker believes that this news validates DDD's key position in the 3D PC market in China

Canaccord Genuity maintained its "buy" recommendation on Rightmove (RMV) with a target price of 1,800p and believes its recent trading statement suggests "healthy growth in revenue and earnings and strong cash generation". The UK's number one property website held 23.5 million pounds in cash as at 31st October 2012, which was 1.4 million pounds higher than the broker's forecast, an impressive achievement according to Canaccord. The broker is also impressed with the management team and welcomed Nick McKittrick's elevation to the position of Chief Executive.

Hugh Scott-Barrett, Chief Executive, commented: "The sale of The Junction is an important step in accelerating Capital & Regional's focus on our core UK shopping centre business. Following on from eight earlier property sales which were sold for £478 million, 2.3% ahead of prevailing valuation, we have generated an annualised return of 21% since the restructuring in 2009. Our core business has continued to perform well. The slight uplift in valued income reflects continued progress in the re-letting of space vacated by retailer administrations in the first half of the year. The pipeline of demand for space continues to provide a cushion against further retailer failures. I expect that there will be opportunities to release more capital from non-core activities in the next three to six months."

Interim Management Statement For the period from 30 June 2012 to 8 November 2012 Capital & Regional plc, the specialist retail property company today announces its interim management statement for the period from 30 June 2012 to 8 November 2012. Highlights The key events during the period were: · Acceleration of strategic focus on UK Shopping Centres through the sale of The Junction realising £14.1million. · Occupancy improving over the quarter with valuations and passing rent broadly stable · Group debt position strengthened by the signing of a new £25m central facility to 2016 and extension of the Great Northern facility by one year to October 2014 · Net debt to value in The Mall now 55% following £80.1 million debt repayment from sale of Norwich · Debenhams extending and refitting their store in Blackburn · Mall footfall has outperformed the national index by 3.8% year to date demonstrating the well positioned nature of the portfolio.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/capital--regional/rns/interim-management-statement/201211090700077167Q/

New Product Launches In September we launched a pilot scheme for our new settlement services offering, Netsett. Modelled on a service already provided to the London insurance market, Netsett is designed to provide net settlement services to the global insurance market using Accord messaging standards, in partnership with Deutsche Bank as settlement bank. In October we launched our redeveloped suite of insurance software products under the business name "Xuber". Xuber addresses all segments of the Property & Casualty insurance market and forms the core of the insurance offering we are taking to the US market. Strategic Development Yesterday, Thursday 8 November, we announced that Xchanging's Italian subsidiary, Kedrios S.p.A. ("Kedrios"), acquired 100% of AR Enterprise S.r.l. ("AR"). The acquisition has enabled us to address Kedrios' long term weak strategic position in its market and accelerate financial improvement, creating a profitable company with a significant market position and greatly improved growth potential based on leading technology. As well as resolving a strategic issue, the acquisition now means Xchanging no longer has any loss-making businesses.

New Business During the period we won a £65.5 million five year follow-on contract to continue providing the Insurers' Market Repository. Previously an annual contract, the new arrangement provides greater earnings visibility and confirms the strength of our relationship with the London insurance market as we invest in new technology to continue developing this key piece of London market infrastructure. Yesterday, we announced further that Xchanging has been awarded a contract by Lloyd's to build the platform for the Lloyd's Claims Reporting Suite ("CRS"). The CRS will provide Lloyd's and managing agents with a set of online dashboards carrying claims management information. In September we won a further technology contract with Gatwick airport. Building on this strong customer relationship the additional contract is for four years and covers the provision of telephony services. In Procurement we have won a three year contract with Grupo Panrico S.A., one of Spain's leading bakery companies. This builds on our Spanish procurement presence, following our entry into this market with the 2011 L'Oréal contract win.

Commenting on today's announcement, Ken Lever, Chief Executive, said: "The period since our half year results has seen further positive developments. We have won a number of contracts and launched two new products. We have also achieved a satisfactory strategic resolution for our formerly loss-making business Kedrios. We still have much to achieve, but this evidence of progress is very encouraging."