Today’s H1 trading update is a mixed bag. There are good pointers around strategic momentum (excellent US LFL’s and new site progress), but this is somewhat overshadowed by a disappointing UK performance with Q2 not being sufficiently strong to offset a weak Q1. This has prompted meaningful EPS downgrades of 6-11% over FY15-17. Given this year had been billed as the start of a recovery phase, the downgrades will clearly hurt investor sentiment. However, owing to a couple of adverse dynamics at p ....
