RE: Oops Not live after all7 Jun 2018 10:08
Fund Manager Who ‘Got Lucky’ With Ocado Eyes Boohoo, Shuns M&S
Lisa Pham5 June 2018, 10:49 BST
Fund manager holds Boohoo.com shares, bought Ocado in October
Sometimes timing is everything, as Gavin Launder discovered when he bought shares in Ocado Group Plc before a flurry of international deals that spurred a 270 percent rally since late November. Now he’s waiting for another U.K. online shop to hit the accelerator.
Boohoo.com Plc has the capacity to surpass British high-street icon Marks & Spencer Group Plc in terms of market value, said Launder, a fund manager at Legal & General Investment Management Ltd. in London. The web retailer is among the most active holdings in the company’s 210 million-pound ($281 million) Growth Trust, which has beaten 98 percent of peers so far this year.
Online upstarts such as Asos Plc and Ocado have long left M&S in the shade, symptomatic of the sea change that has overcome the industry in recent years as customers increasingly shop from the comfort of their homes. Although Boohoo.com’s market valuation is still only about half that of M&S, Launder is confident of its growth potential.
“They see sales trends quickly, so they respond rapidly,” Launder said in a phone interview. “If they carry on doing that right, I don’t see why they couldn’t overtake Marks & Spencer.”
Shares of Boohoo have risen more than 300 percent since first listing in London in March 2014. Of 13 analysts tracked by Bloomberg, nine rate the stock a buy or equivalent and two a hold while two more recommend selling.
One of the skeptics is RBC analyst Sherri Malek. Boohoo’s valuation suggests investors expect its superior growth levels to continue, but this can’t occur without additional margin investment, she said in an April 26 note.