It’s encouraging to see the first green shoots of recovery in Marks and Spencer shares.
I rejoiced to see an Ocado van making a delivery in Margravine Gardens yesterday. They had been as absent as swifts and swallows all winter. Because of a shortfall in warehouse capacity Ocado stopped delivering and would not sign up new customers round here. Now they have plenty of slots not least because they have an 18 1/2 hour day, from 5.30 am to midnight. Most slots cost £5 or £6 but there are a few free ones if you are an owl; larks don’t seem to qualify. As you know, Ocado is in a joint venture with Marks and Spencer. It will help the latter’s share price recover.
Another positive development is a focus on unlocking value in M&S’s property bank. The redevelopment of their flagship store on Marble Arch was in the news but there will be other less eye-catching deals to boost the share price.
Now I’m going to count my M&S chicken and stuffing sandwiches before the eggs have hatched, undoubtedly an act of hubris. If the shares, currently £1.58 get up to about £2.20 the company will be a candidate for re-admission to the FTSE 100, from which it was relegated in September 2019.
See how the price plunged when tracker funds fled. If re-admitted the trackers, closet trackers, Uncle Tom Cobley and all will be buyers. When they come to Barons Court with camels bearing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks, I will refuse the ivory on conservation grounds. The other gifts I’d prefer not to be delivered in specie but I will accept about £3 a share.
Another unhatched egg is Azina’s. Here it is, a world exclusive from Nathalie Mahieu.
