It’s another week and another break-up of a FTSE 100 business. This time it’s the turn of Associated British Foods, which has announced plans to spin off Primark into a separate entity. Erin Withey discusses the demerger and explains why management of both businesses will also have their hands full dealing with a range of issues arising from the Iran War and elsewhere.

After that, we delve into investment ideas in robotics, our Big Read of the week. The word robot has been around for a century, and the tech has been present in factories for over 60 years, but could the current age herald a step change in uses of the technology, and more widespread adoption than ever before? Mark Robinson reports.

To finish, we consider US equity funds. With the Magnificent Seven – or certain members of the group – struggling this year, is it time to look at a different set of active managers to gain exposure to US shares? Val Cipriani outlines some potential options.

Timestamps

• 00:00 Intro
• 01:12 Primark spin-off
• 12:14 Robotics
• 27:33 US equity funds

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Investors' Chronicle has supported private investors in the UK for over 160 years by highlighting rewarding investment opportunities.

Investors' Chronicle is a service by the Financial Times.

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Primary Health Properties (PHP) is one of the UK market’s best-known income stocks.

With a record of 30 consecutive annual dividend increases and the strongest tenant base in the real estate sector, it has long been a favourite of investors looking for a secure, growing yield.

Since chief executive Mark Davies took over from founder and chair Harry Hyman in 2024, the story has been more dramatic. Last year, in a high-profile contest, Davies saw off KKR in its bid for Assura and combined with its major listed peer to form a Reit with £6bn of assets.

We discuss the logic of the deal, the landlord’s relationship with the NHS, debt, politics, why John believes PHP is a “no brainer” investment and the appropriate yield he, Davies and Hyman believe the stock warrants.

Let us know your thoughts, or if you have any questions or any suggestions for future guests, by emailing [email protected]

Listen to more podcasts from Investors’ Chronicle by clicking here or heading to Apple, Spotify and YouTube.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

02:42 What is PHP?

05:29 Becoming a growth stock

08:20 Being a REIT

14:49 Maintaining dividend growth

18:60 How new opportunities arise

22:37 How lease negotiation works

26:33 Assura acquisition

34:54 Move to unsecured loans

37:15 The challenge of the political landscape

40:41 Potential for a buyout

45:23 Goodwins update

49:55 Small cap stock update

Investors' Chronicle has supported private investors in the UK for over 160 years by highlighting rewarding investment opportunities.

Investors' Chronicle is a service by the Financial Times.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode we delve into FTSE 100 testing and assurance company Intertek (ITRK), which has had an action-packed few days: board changes, a strategic review, and a rejected bid offer from a private equity investor. Valeria Martinez explains everything you need to know.

Then we look to renewable energy investment trusts, which have enjoyed increased interest over the past month amid the US/Iran war and resultant rise in power prices. Holly McKechnie tells us which trusts stand to benefit the most, and we consider whether greater urgency over the energy transition means better times ahead.

Finally, we discuss microfinance lender ASA International (ASAI.L), which has been on a tear over the past year. Julian Hofmann reports on what’s been driving the business forward and whether it can continue.

Read more here:

Intertek rejects EQT takeover approach

The complete guide to buying investment trusts

ASA International’s microfinance push pays off

Timestamps

00:00 Intro

01:01 Intertek

9:45 Renewables trusts

19:19 ASA

Listen to more podcasts from Investors’ Chronicle on Apple, Spotify and YouTube

Investors' Chronicle has supported private investors in the UK for over 160 years by highlighting rewarding investment opportunities.

Investors' Chronicle is a service by the Financial Times.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s show we discuss the temporary ceasefire in the Middle East – if it is really appropriate to call it that – and consider whether the announcement has done anything to lighten a global economic outlook that has looked increasingly gloomy for the past few weeks. 

Investors have certainly priced in a fair amount of relief. We discuss if they are right to do so, and what happens next. Julian Hofmann has the details.

Our big read this week, meanwhile, is about a continent that could be particularly affected by the energy shock – Africa – albeit, as Chris Akers explains, it’s far from a monolithic bloc and there’s the potential for both winners and losers. Chris tells us about the UK companies that have set up in Africa and why the investment opportunities take in everything from resources to telecoms.

To finish, we delve into specialist engineer Senior, which feeds into many of the hot sectors of the moment, but it’s had a topsy turvy time of it in recent months. That has now culminated in a takeover approach – Mark Robinson discusses whether that represents good value for holders and whether a rival approach could emerge.

Read more here

Ceasefire updates, Shell & Close Brothers: Markets live

How investors can make the most of the Africa opportunity

Senior backs £1.3bn private equity buyout

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

01:15 US/Iran ceasefire

12:46 Africa

26:20 Senior

Listen to more podcasts from Investors’ Chronicle on Apple, Spotify and YouTube or by clicking here

Investors' Chronicle has supported private investors in the UK for over 160 years by highlighting rewarding investment opportunities.

Investors' Chronicle is a service by the Financial Times.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We begin the show with consumer goods giant Unilever (ULVR) – soon to be somewhat smaller, given the $45bn spin-off of its foods business to US spice and sauce maker McCormick (MKC). The reaction to the news, though, has been distinctly underwhelming. Erin Withey examines what it means for Unilever’s future.

Then we turn to Berkeley (BKG), the housebuilder, which, this week, published an unscheduled negative update, less than three weeks after it told investors everything was fine. Hugh Moorhead explores what the company’s retrenchment says about the UK’s wider housebuilding goals.

Lastly, we discuss what is perhaps the UK’s very own meme stock – microcomputer maker Raspberry Pi (RPI). Its shares rose almost 50 per cent in one day following its full-year results. Arthur Sants explains how the company ended up part of the AI boom and whether there’s a decent business underneath it all.

Read more here:

Why the market is turning against Unilever’s $45bn food deal

Raspberry Pi ups sales volumes but margins tighten

Episode timestamps:

00:00 Intro

01:21 Unilever

09:54 Berkeley Group

18:30 Raspberry Pi

Listen to more podcasts from Investors’ Chronicle Apple, Spotify and YouTube or by clicking here

Investors' Chronicle has supported private investors in the UK for over 160 years by highlighting rewarding investment opportunities.

Investors' Chronicle is a service by the Financial Times.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At £5.7bn, Artemis Global Income is one of the largest global income funds available to UK investors. It posted enthusiastic returns in 2025, well above what you would normally expect from this kind of strategy. But has this made the portfolio holdings expensive, and where does it go from here?

Manager Jacob de Tusch-Lec talks to Val Cipriani about being nervous about what comes next, whether the war in Iran means 2022 all over again for stock markets, and how he feels about AI. 

Timestamps

00:00 Intro

01:07 What is Artemis Global Income?

02:26 Three buckets

04:21 Importance of valuation

05:40 Recent performance

10:49 Are we going back to 2022?

16:20 AI investments

19:19 Financial industry

24:05 Is there value in the UK?

27:26 Recent changes

32:50 When to sell

34:21 Emerging markets

Investors' Chronicle has supported private investors in the UK for over 160 years by highlighting rewarding investment opportunities.

Investors' Chronicle is a service by the Financial Times.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s been another seesaw week as the world weighs up the chances of an end, or at least a cessation, to hostilities in the US-Israeli war with Iran. President Donald Trump is taking a more conciliatory tone, but in this case, a U-turn is not in his gift alone and with Iran talking tough, the optimism of earlier in the week has started to ebb as we record today’s show.

The episode starts by looking in more detail at some of the implications of the continued pressure on the Strait of Hormuz, the key global shipping route that has in effect been put out of action by the war. Alex Hamer is here to discuss the implications for everything from energy (and UK energy policy) and fertiliser to helium. The broad conclusion is of course that prices are going up, but we dig into the detail during the show.

We move on to look at one early victim of the uncertainty in the shape of UK engineer and private investor favourite Goodwin (GDWN), whose shares halved this week on a disappointing trading update. Alex Newman will consider the extent to which some of these problems were of its own making – or at least down to poor communications.

Finally, amid all the uncertainty – and rising bond yields – the stability of an annuity may look more attractive to some of those in or approaching retirement. Holly McKechnie is with us to talk about the pros and cons of the products.

Episode time stamps:

00:00 Intro

01:33 Strait of Hormuz

17:38 Goodwin

33:52 Annuities

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Investors' Chronicle has supported private investors in the UK for over 160 years by highlighting rewarding investment opportunities.

Investors' Chronicle is a service by the Financial Times.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Val Cipriani and Holly McKechnie are back with a new episode of Women & Wealth, and unpack the UK’s student loan system and growing debt burden facing graduates.

The funds editor and personal finance editor for Investors’ Chronicle explore why women often end up paying more, how repayment rules really work, and what the system means for your finances.

Student loans have undergone several reinventions over recent years, but the current focus is largely on Plan 2 loans, taken out by undergraduates between 2012 and 2022. These have become particularly onerous following changes made by the Conservative government in 2022.

Val and Holly look at the three key repayment terms to be aware of, and the other factors that affect how much you pay back.

Maternity, salary gap and employment opportunities in fields studied more by women mean that the student loans issue disproportionately affects them. Val and Holly discuss this, as well as how to minimise your exposure and pay less over the long term.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

00:58 The state of student loans

01:50 Plan 1, Plan 2, Plan 5 student loans

04:40 Why Plan 2 is so bad

08:20 Loan or tax

10:15 Why it impacts women more

13:45 Is Plan 5 better?

15:11 What you can do about it

17:22 When you should overpay

Read more on the student loan issue on Investors' Chronicle:

How to survive the student loan system

Women and Wealth is the monthly podcast series from Investors’ Chronicle. You can listen to and watch the episodes, alongside our other podcasts, on Apple, Spotify and YouTube.

Investors' Chronicle has supported private investors in the UK for over 160 years by highlighting rewarding investment opportunities.

Investors' Chronicle is a service by the Financial Times.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s show, we begin with industrials. It was only a month or so ago that the sector was being touted by many as a potential safe haven from AI disruption. Then the US/Israel war with Iran began, and the merits of energy-intensive physical assets were hastily reconsidered.

But of course not all industrials are alike. Today we take a look at top-performing Diploma (DPLM) – crucially more of a distributor than a manufacturer – whose shares rose by a fifth after its latest trading update. We’ll also examine Essentra, which has had a far worse time of it for many years but is now starting to see improvements. Valeria Martinez is here to ask whether both companies can maintain their operational progress in the face of a variety of external threats.

Our big read this week is all about the price investors pay for buying and selling shares. Most DIY investors will know whether or not they’re charged a trading fee when they buy or sell investments, but what actually happens behind the scenes when those trades are executed? Hugh Moorhead is here to explain more and ask whether the system could be improved.

Lastly, we look at another sector that’s likely to feel a significant second-order impact from the war: real estate. And yet, as we’ll discuss, the mood at a recent industry conference was relatively upbeat. Hugh will touch on everything from housebuilders to the London office market and more.

Timestamps

00:00 Intro

01:35 Diploma

06:02 Essentra

11:54 Mechanics of trading

22:39 Real estate

Investors' Chronicle has supported private investors in the UK for over 160 years by highlighting rewarding investment opportunities.

Investors' Chronicle is a service by the Financial Times.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Town Centre Securities (TOWN) is one of the UK market’s oldest names. Founded, managed and largely controlled by the Ziffs of Leeds since its listing in 1960, it is a typical John Lee stock: a cash-generative, dividend-paying, and storied family business with roots in the North.

Another factor explains John’s recent decision to start building a stake in the group. At £1.15p, Town Centre’s share price trades well below half of the company’s net asset value.

In this latest CEO interview, John and IC associate editor Alex Newman speak with Town Centre’s chief executive and chairman, Edward Ziff, about the business’s past and present, and the prospects for closing that enormous valuation gap.

Let us know your thoughts, or if you have any questions or any suggestions for future guests, by emailing [email protected].

Listen to more podcasts from Investors’ Chronicle by clicking here or heading to Apple, Spotify and YouTube.

Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction

00:30 - How developments in Iran are affecting Lord Lee's investing plans

03:25 - Dr. Edward Ziff explains Town Centre Securities business

07:13 - How Town Centre Securities real estate assets are spread

11:44 - Recent performance of Town Centre Securities

15:40 - Lord Lee's previous dealings with Town Centre Securities

19:07 - How important leverage and loan-to-value ratio is to the business

23:36 - Town Centre Securities' Debenture

28:49 - Moving out of REIT status

34:01 - Succession plans and family-run businesses

39:29 - Lord Lee discusses his portfolio

Investors' Chronicle has supported private investors in the UK for over 160 years by highlighting rewarding investment opportunities.

Investors' Chronicle is a service by the Financial Times.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a busy week where events in Iran continue to dominate the news cycle, companies editor Mark Robinson stands in for Dan Jones to discuss the impact of the conflict on maritime activities, focusing on supply chain disruption, rerouting and cost implications, along with the challenge faced by global shipping lines such as Maersk & MSC. He is joined by Michael Fahy and Julian Hofmann.

Mark is also joined by Valeria Martinez to focus on full-year figures from shipping broker Clarkson (CKN). 

Read more on Investors' Chronicle around this week's podcast:

Clarkson order book builds despite ship slowdown

Shares keep falling on oil volatility

Energy shocks force investors to rethink rate cuts

Timestamps

00:00 How the Iran conflct has affected markets this week

03:41 A closer look at Clarkson results

10:57 Shipping companies & supply chain disruption

17:39 Energy prices

18:23 The danger from an equities perspective

19:43: What retail investors should do when a black swan event happens

Investors' Chronicle has supported private investors in the UK for over 160 years by highlighting rewarding investment opportunities.

Investors' Chronicle is a service by the Financial Times.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.