Plenty of top retail executives have had a go at improving M&S’s fortunes over the past two decades, but all have failed to set the company on a path to sustained long-term growth. Brief periods of revival have always fizzled out.

Has the time come to dump the stock? And should you invest instead in another iconic British asset, which is almost as old as the venerable M&S — namely, the country’s most popular attraction outside London?

Same old

M&S’s Food division has done remarkably well in recent years. The company has been cute in getting its Simply Food brand into lucrative high-footfall areas, such as transport hubs, and I see it’s also just signed a deal with British Airways to supply food on its flights.

Food store openings are continuing apace, which is just as well, because like-for-like food sales turned negative in the latest quarter — something of a concern. By far the biggest concern, though, is the long-persistent poor performance of the Clothing & Home division. The latest quarter saw yet more dire numbers, with sales down 8.3%.

On the face of it M&S’s shares at 317p are cheap, trading on 10.4 times current-year forecast earnings and with a prospective dividend yield of 6.6%. However, I’m not convinced that the latest incumbents of the boardroom can succeed, where their predecessors have failed. I think two decades of underperformance is sufficient to merit selling the shares and looking elsewhere for long-term returns.

View from the pier

Premium bars company Eclectic Bars did a reverse takeover of Brighton Pier (LSE: PIER) in April, the £18m acquisition being funded from an £8.5m equity placing and a £12m five-year term loan from Barclays Bank.

The enlarged AIM-listed group today released annual results for its financial year ended 26 June. At a share price of 134p (little changed on the day), the company is valued at £42m.

The premium bars division of 19 sites around the country targets “sophisticated students midweek and stylish over 21s and professionals at the weekend”. The business is back on track, following various management actions, after a difficult time the previous year.

Group net operating cash flow was up 27% to £1.9m, with Brighton Pier contributing only nine weeks. For the current year, the board expects the cash flow from the Pier business to be “transformative” for the group.

Analyst forecasts have earnings advancing around 75%, putting the company on a P/E of 18 and a highly attractive P/E-to-growth ratio of 0.25. Management has ambitions to expand in time with further strategic acquisitions of “experiential leisure and entertainment destinations”.

The post-acquisition balance sheet is decent with strong cash flows to come, and I like the look of the business. It could be a great long-term growth prospect and the shares appear very buyable to me at their current level.

The post Should you sell Marks and Spencer Group plc and buy into this other British icon instead? appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

Shares in bar owner Eclectic Bar (LSE: BAR) have risen by around 31% today after a resumption of trading following suspension. That was due to a pending announcement that the company has agreed to purchase The Brighton Marine Palace & Pier Company for £18m in cash, after which time it plans to rename itself The Brighton Pier Group.

Clearly, the deal seems to have been well-received by the market and comes not long after Eclectic Bar reported an upbeat set of first half results. They showed that it had made a profit of £300k after making a loss in the comparable period and with the acquisition of Brighton Pier set to substantially improve the company’s cash flow, further acquisitions cannot be ruled out.

While Eclectic Bar trades on a price to earnings (P/E) ratio of 35.8, the acquisition could prove to be a game changer for the business. As such, it could be worth a closer look for less risk averse investors – especially since its management team has a good track record with other successful businesses such as Pizza Express.

Ticking clock

Also moving higher today are shares in Xcite Energy (LSE: XEL). They have risen by around 6% at the time of writing, even though there has been no significant news flow released by the company. Of course, Xcite Energy has caused the market a degree of concern of late since it is due to make a major debt repayment in June.

With the company not yet having been able to find a suitable partner for its lucrative Bentley Field in the North Sea, the clock is ticking and it would be unsurprising for Xcite Energy’s share price to remain volatile in the near term.

Of course, Xcite Energy has been able to increase the net present value of the Bentley Field and has also reduced the costs of production. While this represents significant progress for the company, its future remains highly uncertain and although its shares are up today, it may be prudent to await further news on its long term outlook before buying a slice of the business.

Gold look up

Meanwhile, Trans-Siberian Gold (LSE: TSG) is up by around 17% today despite no news having been released by the company. The Russia-focused gold miner has benefitted from an upturn in the outlook for gold this year, with the price of the precious metal benefiting from slower than expected interest rate rises in the US. This has the effect of making non-interest producing assets such as gold more attractive and with the Federal Reserve being more doveish than expected, further price rises cannot be ruled out.

As a result, shares in Trans-Siberian Gold could continue to rise. However, it remains a relatively high risk play and therefore for risk averse investors, a number of the larger and better diversified gold miners may be more prudent purchases at the present time.

The post Are Today’s Movers Eclectic Bar Group PLC, Xcite Energy Limited And Trans-Siberian Gold plc Worth Buying? appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.