Shares in Marshall Motor Holdings (LSE: MMH) have soared by around 26% today after it announced the acquisition of Ridgeway Garages for £106.9m in cash. The deal adds 30 franchised dealerships among 12 different brands to the Marshall network as well as numerous service centres, body shops and used car centres. Notably, the acquisition extends Marshall’s geographic footprint to 25 from 19 counties in England.
The deal will be funded entirely from Marshall’s existing resources and the company expects it to be significantly earnings enhancing from the 2016 financial year onwards. And with Marshall now set to become the seventh largest motor dealing company in the UK, it seems to be well-positioned to deliver further growth in the long run. This should be aided by a UK economy likely to benefit from a low interest rate in the coming years, with consumer confidence likely to be relatively high. As such, Marshall could be a sound buy at the present time.
More rises to come?
Also rising today are shares in Bonmarche (LSE: BON), with the  value-focused clothing and accessories retailer recording a rise of almost 10% despite there being no significant news flow released by the company. Clearly, 2016 has been a challenging year thus far for its investors and Bonmarche’s shares have fallen by around 27% since the turn of the year even after today’s rise.
However, with Bonmarche forecast to increase its earnings by 19% in the current financial year and then by a further 12% next year, investor sentiment could continue to improve as the market begins to price-in the improved financial performance that’s anticipated. And with Bonmarche trading on a price-to-earnings growth (PEG) ratio of only 0.5, it seems to offer a wide margin of safety that indicates capital gains are very much on the cards.
Certainly, the UK retail sector is changing at the present as consumers benefit from having wages rise at a faster pace than inflation. However, despite this uncertainty, Bonmarche seems to be well-placed to continue today’s rise over the medium term.
Meanwhile, shares in Lonmin (LSE: LMI) have jumped higher by over 5% today and this takes the mining company’s rise to 130% since the turn of the year. A key reason for this is improved sentiment towards the wider mining sector, but with Lonmin having raised funds last year it also seems to be well-placed to deliver on its sound strategy of reducing costs and making the business more efficient.
Evidence of the progress being made by Lonmin can be seen in its forecasts. It’s expected to return to profitability next year and this has the potential to significantly improve investor sentiment towards the stock. Clearly, Lonmin’s future share price performance is highly dependent on the price of commodities, but for less risk-averse investors it could prove to be a sound buy.