John Phelps’s portfolio

WATER treatment group Pennon led a clutch of previously disappointing share tips to break into profit last week as buyers stepped up their search for bargains in a buoyant stock market.

The group, which has had troubles in building a major new plant in Glasgow, saw its share price jump a clear 5.0 per cent in heavy dealings following a reassuring trading statement that underlined its abilities to continue with its generous dividend policy.

Shares in Clydesdale Bank owner CYBG were not far behind with a 3.0 per cent improvement on hopes that it will pick up extra business from problems at the rival Co-op while Lloyds Banking shares also managed a useful rise.

Supermarket group Morrisons was our fourth recommendation to eliminate previous losses on news that food prices edged higher in January after a 0.5 per cent fall over the previous 12 months.

Only rubber products group Avon missed out on the better trend with its share price taking a fresh knock on Wednesday morning following news of the abrupt departure of chief executive Rob Rennie.

Remaining directors tried to repair the damage to confidence with the appointment of Paul McDonald as successor and said trading is in line with expectations but we are prepared to dispose of our notional holding if the price falls further to our published stop-loss level.

Unfortunately, we are not always able to use this system to limit losses and we missed out last week when shares in British Polythene Industries owner RPC tumbled well below our target price in immediate reaction to a fund-raising issue of fresh shares to pay for a US acquisition. We were able to repair some of the damage by subscribing almost £200 out of reserves for the cutprice new shares but were still hefty losers.

The performance left the 2016 recording a fractional loss while the 2014 selections suffered a similar 0.5 per cent slippage as a result of the Avon setback.

In contrast, the 2017 list hit another peak valuation on Wednesday with a further 1.6 per cent rise and the 2015 portfolio gained 1.4 per cent.