At 11 I went to Highgate Wood School in north London which had a delicate balance between enough middle-class
At 11 I went to Highgate Wood School in north London, which had a delicate balance between enough middle-class kids for you to pursue an academic career, and quite rough kids so you didn't end up with a silver spoon in your mouth; you had a streetwise view of London It worked for me. Although readers would do well to avoid the group's sofas on taste grounds, this should not deter them from owning its shares Buy.. "Judge" Jules, aka Julius O'Riordan, is the Radio 1 DJ whose show goes out on Saturday evenings. His "Judgement Sundays" are held at the Eden club in Ibiza from 11 June until mid-September. However, the retailer's expansion and an expected improvement in its margins should keep profits at the group moving higher.At 249.25p, Land of Leather shares trade at 10 times forward earnings and yield 4.3 per cent.
The next few months should see the rate of new store openings increase.In the near term, the World Cup might hold back trading as consumers opt to stay at home to watch the football as opposed to going to a Land of Leather shop to buy a cheap sofa. This has meant a 20 per cent increase in the group's floorspace and has been the key factor behind sales growth. It was accompanied by a final dividend of 4p a share.The year that has just finished saw Land of Leather open 12 stores, taking its estate to 72. This figure, unveiled by the retailer yesterday, was slightly better than City expectations and was driven by a 24 per cent rise in sales and improving profit margins. Trading at 16 times earnings, with plenty of scope for management to improve profit margins by relocating production to low-cost countries such as China and Russia, the stock is worth holding on to.Land of LeatherOur view: BuyShare price: 249.25p (-3.75p)Despite the difficult conditions on the high street, Land of Leather managed to notch up an 18 per cent rise in profits last year to £14.3m. Nevertheless, they are still up by 153 per cent since April 2003.
Over the past year it has also been busy making cash for its shareholders.De La Rue posted a 17 per cent jump in annual pre-tax profits yesterday and highlighted the return of more than £103m to shareholders during the 12 months to 25 March 2006 through share buy-backs. The company also signalled the buy-back programme will continue this year, which should be of no surprise given its balance sheet boasts £91m of cash.The sell-off in the stock market has wiped away all the gains achieved by De La Rue shares since the start of the year. It supplies 150 central banks around the world with paper money. Its stock yields nearly 7 per cent.De La RueOur view: HoldShare price: 469.5p (-17.5p)As the world's biggest commercial printer of bank notes, De La Rue certainly knows how to make money. Investors looking for a high dividend - and let's be honest, that is the main reason for holding water shares - would do better switching to United Utilities.