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The UK is fairly good at innovating, with thousands of great tech companies living there. Frustratingly, we are not that good at providing the right environment for these companies to expand into technology champions that inspire the world.
But not all technology companies slip through our fingers and thriving subsectors with strong terms of listed companies, data and analytics. Currently the fifth largest company in the UK market, Relx uses over 13.8 billion legal and news documents, research papers and databases built on ILK to provide highly-rated information to legal, medical, risk and scientific experts around the world.
The stock exchange itself falls under the Data Specialist category. It retracted a clever strategic move when I bought financial data provider Refinitiv in 2021, which has grown the intelligence side of the business into a major revenue generator and has become a very successful data company with a small side job in the open market.
Although GlobalData is small, its unique dataset, intelligence, and insights cover over 20 industries, ranging from travel and tourism to pharmaceuticals and sports. Experian, a consumer credit expert, transforms data into information that gives businesses and consumers financial strength as a “essential partner.” It has expanded beyond financial markets, increasing its ability to prevent fraud.
The essence of what all these businesses do is for customers to make informed decisions, manage risks and threats, understand market trends, and develop successful strategies. AI is a threat in some ways, but its power is also exploited, and they all hold their trump card. Their data is unique, high quality, trustworthy and vast.
Purchase: London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG)
Arthur Sants said a partnership between Data and Analytics Provider and Microsoft will begin offering this year.
The London Stock Exchange Group has established itself as the future beneficiaries of data-driven artificial intelligence that the leading tech companies want to build.
In 2022, Microsoft acquired a 4% stake in LSEG and signed a 10-year partnership agreement. As part of the transaction, LSEG has moved data and analytics to Microsoft Azure Cloud, allowing direct access to Microsoft users. For example, embed financial data in a Microsoft team.
LSEG is traded at a costly forward P/E ratio of 27. But there is very little business of this quality. LSEG is enough for Microsoft and enough for us.
Sold by: RCH
The cost-cutting push helped move Reach’s operating profit to black at the six-month mark, but the topline is still catching up, Valeria Martinez writes.
The strong final quarter resulted in digital revenue growth in 2024, offset by a similar 6% decline in print sales.
Publishers have been working to reduce their digital audiences and reduce page views since 2023. Digital pageviews were rebounded in the last quarter, but still fell 14% per year.
Management is hoping for more digital advancements in 2025, but the broader advertising market remains weak. A positive price/return rate of 3.8 may seem cheap, but we consider the discount to be justified because there is no clear catalyst for turnarounds.
Hold: bunzl (bnzl)
The FTSE 100 distributor hopes that the underlying trend will improve slightly this year, Valeria Martinez writes.
The company, which offers everything from food packaging to safety gear, won a record £883 million last year, £13 million. These transactions helped boost certain currency revenue growth, but in addition to an increase in self-brand push, operating profit margin rose by 30 basis, up 8.3% year-on-year.
Bunzl’s stock fell 8% in the result, wiping out profits earned over the past year, leaving stock trading 15.2 times forward revenues. The £700 million annual acquisition pledge through 2027 should support growth as capital rewards perseverance, but tricky end markets and integration risks shun us.
