Richard takes a look at three slow growers, a financial data distribution platform, an emerging markets fund manager, and a world leading vehicle distributor. Arcontech, Ashmore, and Inchcape feature.
5 Strikes
Since my last update, 5 companies have passed my minimum quality filter:
| Name | TIDM | Prev AR | Strikes | # Strikes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARC | Arcontech | 23/9/26 | – Growth | 1 |
| FDEV | Frontier Developments | 23/9/26 | – CROCI – Growth – ROCE | 3 |
| HAS | Hays | 22/9/26 | – Holdings ? CROCI ? Debt – Growth – ROCE | 4 |
| ASHM | Ashmore | 16/9/26 | ? CROCI – Growth | 1 |
| PAF | Pan African Resources | 16/9/26 | – Holdings – CROCI – Growth | 3 |
| Click here for our 5 Strikes explainer | 29/09/2026 | |||
Two scored less than three strikes, which earns them a place on my research list.
Arcontech [- Growth]
I took a closer look at Arcontech last year when it passed 5 Strikes. Its software platform distributes price data to financial institutions.
I have not taken that research any further this year, because Arcontech has not been a reliable grower. It is a tiny business quite possibly stuck in a tiny niche.
The year to April 2026 reinforced that verdict. Turnover fell 11% to £2.8 million.
Ashmore [? CROCI – Growth]
Ashmore is an emerging markets fund manager. One of its equity themes, EM (Emerging Markets) Frontier, claims to be a “portfolio of everything you do not already own”.
The company devotes page five of the 2026 annual report to a defence of active investing. Owning what the indices don’t own is one of the reasons given for the outperformance of its funds in aggregate over one, three and five years.
However the outperformance of the funds has not resulted in a strong performance from the business.
Turnover has more than halved from its £338m peak in 2020.
For much of the decade emerging markets have been out of fashion as investors ploughed money into US big tech. For now, sentiment has turned, as traders recognise that many of the companies supplying the infrastructure for the AI boom are in countries like Taiwan and South Korea.
Active managers are losing ground to low cost passive funds too, which may be another headwind, and why Ashmore makes it case so loudly.
Cash Return on Capital Invested has fallen close to zero in 2025 and 2026. This may be because the company has used substantial capital to seed new funds. This will require investigation if I am to get more interested in Ashmore. I am unlikely to.
I am unfamiliar with debt investment, which is the bulk of Ashmore’s assets under management.
Generally, volatile performance puts me off. Fund Managers do well when the assets they invest in do well (or traders think they will). Predicting that feels a bit too much like speculation to me.
In any case, two strikes puts it quite far down my watch list.
Inchcape [? Holdings – Growth]
I awarded car distributor Inchcape one strike for growth after it published its annual report in March. It is the next share I need to evaluate on my research list, the list of all the shares that I have awarded less than three strikes so far this year.
Before I talk about growth I think it’s also worth questioning whether the directors shareholdings show sufficient commitment to the business.
| Director | Role | Shares (‘000) | Value (£’000) | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duncan Andrew Tait | CEO | 531 | 4,190 | 0.15 |
| Adrian John Lewis | CFO | 191 | 1,507 | 0.06 |
| Byron Elmer Grote | Director | 88 | 690 | 0.03 |
| Jerry Buhlmann | Chairman | 67 | 527 | 0.02 |
| Alison Elizabeth Platt | Director | 19 | 152 | 0.01 |
| Stuart Rowley | Director | 19 | 150 | 0.01 |
| Nayantara Bali | Director | 10 | 77 | 0.00 |
| Alexandra Naomi Jensen | Non-ex | 9 | 74 | 0.00 |
| Tracy Jayne Clarke | Director | 3 | 24 | 0.00 |
| Total | 937 | 7,391 | 0.27 | |
| Source: ShareScope export (Financials > DD). Value is the number of shares multiplied by the share price on 23/926 (789p) | ||||
Most of the shares are concentrated in the hands of chief executive Duncan Tait who has a £4m holding and chief financial officer Adrian Lewis. His holding is worth £1.5m. Together, all the directors own shares worth more than £7 million.
Tait has been chief executive since 2020, and in six years he has accumulated shares worth approximately one year’s total pay. Lewis joined Inchcape in 2015, but was promoted to the board in 2023. Their holdings may not be insignificant to them, but I’d like to see them have more at stake.
Inchcape earns a strike for growth because it contracted in the years to December 2024 and December 2025, although analysts anticipate growth this year (forgivably it contracted more dramatically in 2020, the first year of the pandemic):
Inchcape’s ambitions show it is a slow grower, but it hopes to achieve decent returns for shareholders by augmenting pedestrian growth by paying some of its profit back to shareholders in dividends share buybacks:
Source: Annual report 2025
In 2025, Inchcape’s share count fell by nearly 9% in 2025 growing reported EPS 9% and adjusted EPS by 13%. The dividend yield was 4% so by its own ambition, it had a good year. This summer it increased the value of shares it plans to buy back in 2026, due to strong cash generation.
Rather like Colefax, which I wrote about in August, Inchape is eating itself.
Its a boring but maybe quite predictable way to generate returns but before we get too excited I have decided to give Inchcape an additional strike for debt, even though net debt including leases is 24% of operating capital, fractionally below the arbitrary 25% level I award a strike.
While it can be perfectly sustainable for cash generative companies like Inchcape to operate with more leverage, Inchcape uses inventory financing to buy the cars it ships around the World. This is classified in the accounts as trade payables, but it looks a lot like debt to me.
Inchcape’s financial obligations, are higher than the Net Debt to Capital ratio shows.
Now it scores two strikes, so it has moved down my watchlist.
All the 0’s, 1’s and 2’s
So far this year I have given 13 shares zero strikes, 28 shares one strike, and 45 shares two strikes. In total, 86 shares have achieved less than three strikes.
| Name | TIDM | Prev AR | Strikes | # Strikes | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CER | Cerillion | 12/1/26 | 0 | > | |
| HWDN | Howden Joinery | 25/2/26 | ? Holdings | 0 | > |
| PRV | Porvair | 11/3/26 | ? Holdings | 0 | > |
| NICL | Nichols | 23/3/26 | 0 | > | |
| MGNS | Morgan Sindall | 24/3/26 | 0 | > | |
| QTX | Quartix | 25/3/26 | ? ROCE | 0 | > |
| CCC | Computacenter | 8/4/26 | 0 | > | |
| FOUR | 4imprint | 14/4/26 | ? Holdings | 0 | > |
| KEYS | Keystone Law | 13/5/26 | 0 | > | |
| AUTO | Autotrader | 8/6/26 | 0 | > | |
| TAM | Tatton Asset Management | 16/6/26 | 0 | > | |
| CWK | Cranswick | 30/6/26 | ? Growth | 0 | > |
| KNOS | Kainos | 24/7/26 | ? Growth | 0 | > |
| BOWL | Hollywood Bowl | 5/1/26 | – Debt | 1 | > |
| MEGP | Me Group | 23/3/26 | – Growth ? ROCE | 1 | > |
| ALFA | Alfa Financial Software | 24/3/26 | – Growth | 1 | > |
| GAMA | Gamma Communications | 24/3/26 | ? Acquisitions – Holdings | 1 | > |
| ROR | Rotork | 27/3/26 | – Holdings ? Growth | 1 | |
| CKN | Clarkson | 30/3/26 | ? Growth – ROCE | 1 | |
| RMV | Rightmove | 30/3/26 | – Holdings | 1 | |
| IMI | IMI | 31/3/26 | ? Holdings – Debt ? Growth | 1 | |
| FDM | FDM | 10/4/26 | – Growth | 1 | > |
| HILS | Hill & Smith | 10/4/26 | – Holdings ? Acquisitions | 1 | |
| NXT | Next | 16/4/26 | – Debt | 1 | |
| BAG | Barr (AG) | 21/4/26 | ? Acquisitions ? Growth | 1 | |
| SAG | Science | 21/4/26 | ? Growth | 1 | |
| ELCO | Eleco | 9/5/26 | – Holdings ? Growth | 1 | |
| LSC | London Security | 15/5/26 | – Holdings | 1 | |
| W7L | Warpaint London | 22/5/26 | – Shares ? Growth | 1 | |
| PETS | Pets at Home | 9/6/26 | – Holdings ? Growth | 1 | |
| BMY | Bloomsbury Publishing | 19/6/26 | – Growth | 1 | > |
| HLMA | Halma | 24/6/26 | ? Holdings ? Acquisitions | 1 | |
| XPS | XPS Pensions | 13/7/26 | ? Holdings ? Debt | 1 | |
| LTHM | Latham (James) | 23/7/26 | – CROCI ? Growth | 1 | > |
| GAW | Games Workshop | 28/7/26 | ? Holdings | 1 | |
| JET2 | Jet2 | 3/8/26 | ? Holdings ? CROCI ? Growth ? ROCE | 1 | |
| CBOX | Cake Box | 5/8/26 | ? Acquisitions – Debt | 1 | > |
| CFX | Colefax | 12/8/26 | ? Growth | 1 | > |
| DNLM | Dunelm | 8/9/26 | – Debt | 1 | > |
| ASHM | Ashmore | 16/9/26 | ? CROCI – Growth | 1 | |
| ARC | Arcontech | 23/9/26 | – Growth | 1 | |
| RWS | RWS | 8/1/26 | ? Acquisitions – Growth – ROCE | 2 | > |
| IHP | IntegraFin | 9/1/26 | – CROCI | 2 | |
| RFX | Ramsdens | 15/1/26 | – CROCI ? Growth ? ROCE | 2 | > |
| REL | RELX | 19/2/26 | ? Holdings – Debt ? Growth | 2 | > |
| IHG | InterContinental Hotels | 26/2/26 | ? Holdings – Debt | 2 | |
| DATA | GlobalData | 2/3/26 | ? Acquisitions – Debt ? ROCE | 2 | > |
| GSK | GSK | 6/3/26 | ? Holdings – Debt ? Growth | 2 | |
| MONY | Mony | 9/3/26 | – Holdings ? Growth | 2 | |
| STEM | SThree | 9/3/26 | – Holdings – Growth | 2 | |
| CTEC | ConvaTec | 10/3/26 | ? holdings – Debt ? Growth ? ROCE | 2 | > |
| BNZL | Bunzl | 17/3/26 | ? Holdings – Debt – Growth | 2 | > |
| HIK | Hikma Pharmaceuticals | 18/3/26 | ? Acquisitions – Debt | 2 | |
| YU. | Yu | 18/3/26 | – CROCI ? ROCE | 2 | |
| JSG | Johnson Service | 19/3/26 | – Holdings – Debt | 2 | |
| ITRK | Intertek | 20/3/26 | ? Holdings – Debt ? Growth | 2 | |
| BA. | BAE Systems | 24/3/26 | ? Holdings ? Acquisitions – Debt ? Growth | 2 | > |
| DOM | Domino’s Pizza | 24/3/26 | – Holdings – Debt ? Growth | 2 | |
| INCH | Inchcape | 24/3/26 | ? Holdings ? Debt – Growth | 2 | |
| LUCE | Luceco | 25/3/26 | ? Acquisitions – Debt ? Growth ? ROCE | 2 | |
| BBY | Balfour Beatty | 2/4/26 | – Holdings ? CROCI ? Growth – ROCE | 2 | |
| APTD | Aptitude Software | 8/4/26 | – Holdings ? Acquisitions – Growth | 2 | |
| IGG | IG | 8/4/26 | – Holdings – Growth | 2 | |
| SPX | Spirax | 8/4/26 | – Holdings – Debt ? Growth | 2 | |
| SVS | Savills | 9/4/26 | – Holdings – CROCI ? Growth ? ROCE | 2 | |
| MACF | Macfarlane | 10/4/26 | – Holdings – Debt ? Growth | 2 | > |
| PAGE | Michael Page | 13/4/26 | – Holdings? CROCI – Debt – Growth – ROCE | 2 | |
| CAML | Central Asia Metals | 15/4/26 | – Growth ? ROCE | 2 | |
| FEVR | Fevertree Drinks | 20/4/26 | – CROCI – Growth | 2 | |
| JDG | Judges Scientific | 22/4/26 | ? Acquisitions – Debt – Growth | 2 | > |
| WINK | M Winkworth | 24/4/26 | – Holdings – Growth | 2 | |
| EKF | EKF Diagnostics | 27/4/26 | ? CROCI – Growth ? ROCE | 2 | |
| IOF | Iofina | 1/5/26 | ? CROCI – ROCE ? Shares | 2 | |
| AEO | Aeorema Communications | 18/5/26 | – CROCI ? Growth ? ROCE | 2 | |
| ASY | Andrews Sykes | 18/5/26 | – Holdings – Growth | 2 | |
| CARD | Card Factory | 21/5/26 | – Holdings – Debt | 2 | |
| ANP | Anpario | 1/6/26 | ? CROCI – Growth ? ROCE | 2 | > |
| QQ. | QinetiQ | 10/6/26 | ? Holdings ? Acquisitions ? Growth – ROCE | 2 | |
| OXIG | Oxford Instruments | 23/6/26 | – Holdings – Growth | 2 | > |
| REC | Record | 23/6/26 | – Holdings – Growth | 2 | |
| POLR | Polar Capital | 3/7/26 | ? Holdings – Growth | 2 | |
| ULVR | Unilever | 28/7/26 | – Debt – Growth | 2 | |
| BKG | Berkeley Group (The) | 11/8/26 | ? CROCI – Growth ? ROCE | 2 | |
| NTBR | Northern Bear | 12/8/26 | – CROCI ? Growth ? ROCE | 2 | |
| MSI | MS International | 17/8/26 | – CROCI ? Growth ? ROCE | 2 | |
| GDWN | Goodwin | 28/8/26 | – CROCI – Growth ? ROCE | 2 | > |
| Click here for our 5 Strikes explainer | 17/09/2026 | ||||
Richard Beddard
Contact Richard Beddard by email: richard@beddard.net, web: beddard.net
This article is for educational purposes only. It is not a recommendation to buy or sell shares or other investments. Do your own research before buying or selling any investment or seek professional financial advice.
