Aug 7, 2026 · 27 min
Paul Scott opens a delayed small-cap market discussion
Paul's Podcast - Fri 7 Aug 2026
The episode offers a brief window into the format and participants behind a UK small- and mid-cap investing podcast.
- 1Paul Scott opens with an apology for the late start and jokes about recording several episodes in one day.
- 2Michael B is welcomed as the guest, alongside the podcast’s listening audience.
- 3The available outline captures the introduction but provides no substantive investment argument or company analysis.
Don't miss
Paul Scott jokes about recording multiple episodes in one day after apologizing for the late start.
The brief
Paul Scott opens by apologizing for the late start, then jokes about recording multiple episodes in one day before turning to the discussion.
The introduction welcomes Michael B and the audience, establishing the episode’s participants without yet presenting a substantive market argument.
The available outline ends with the welcome, so the episode’s core investment discussion and any standout analysis are not documented here.
What was said on this episode
39 statements · 26 positive · 11 negative · 1 mixed · 1 neutral
Shein offers clothing at roughly one-quarter retailers’ prices with similar quality.
“I think when more and more people discover that you can basically buy things for about a quarter of the price and very similar quality on Shein, why go to retailers?”
Listen at 2:33
Shein poses a substantial threat to conventional clothing retailers.
“I think this is far more of a threat to conventional retailers than I thought.”
Listen at 2:47
Chinese direct-to-consumer companies will remain in fashion and reduce its investability.
“So, I think the Chinese are here to stay in the fashion world, and it's not an area that I consider investable anymore.”
Listen at 3:42
Chinese fashion companies will remain established, making the sector unattractive for investment.
“I think the Chinese are here to stay in the fashion world, and it's not an area that I consider investable anymore.”
Listen at 3:43
ASOS and Boohoo will not regain their previous profitability.
“I don't think they're going to get back, ever get back to the sort of profitability that they made in the past.”
Listen at 3:59
ASOS has not generated sustainable profits.
“ASOS has never really made sustainable profits.”
Listen at 4:05
Business models are changing faster because of competition and technology.
“And I think business models change so much more quickly now as well.”
Listen at 4:54
AI and other technologies are accelerating changes to business models.
“AI and other technological changes are changing everything faster than we might imagine.”
Listen at 5:07
Falling profit margins warrant closer investigation of competitive threats.
“if we see businesses and sectors where profit margins are just relentlessly going down, you have to really look more closely into the competitive landscape”
Listen at 5:18
The Bargain Basement stock list gained 21% across 40 stocks since March 20.
“my Bargain Basement Bonkers Bargain Basement Bin list being now up 21% for 40 stocks since the 20th of March”
Listen at 6:53
Goodwin’s strategic-review announcement triggered buying and a 10% share-price rise.
“I thought, well, this will probably trigger a little bit of buying, which it did anyway. And then it ended the day up 10%.”
Listen at 11:55
Paul Scott is bullish on Goodwin shares.
“I'm a bull of the stock”
Listen at 12:33
Goodwin is difficult to value because its outlook and contracts are uncertain.
“I personally haven't got a foggiest what it's worth though”
Listen at 12:38
Their pre-market good-or-bad share calls have approximately 90% success rate.
“We've got about a 90% success rate on that.”
Listen at 13:28
Oxford Biomedica is loss-making and consuming cash, complicating valuation.
“It's loss-making and cash-burning, so it's quite a leap of faith here to actually value it.”
Listen at 14:59
Oxford Biomedica is currently far below its revenue target.
“it's nowhere near that level at the moment.”
Listen at 15:32
Paul would not personally invest in Oxford Biomedica.
“So it's not the sort of thing I would personally invest in.”
Listen at 15:44
Paul Scott would not personally invest in Oxford Biomedica.
“It's not the sort of thing I would personally invest in.”
Listen at 15:45
Sanderson Design’s strategy appears to be working.
“what I like here is that the strategy does seem to be working.”
Listen at 16:44
Paul Scott rates Sanderson Design positively.
“So I'm green on Sanderson Design.”
Listen at 16:47
Sanderson Design appears likely to perform well for shareholders.
“So yeah, well done to the holders of Santos InDesign this year. You've done well. I think you're on to a winner there, actually.”
Listen at 19:05
Sanderson Design appears likely to be a successful investment.
“I think you're on to a winner there, actually.”
Listen at 19:09
Stellrad should be considered a cyclical recovery investment.
“So I think Stellrad should definitely be on our list of cyclical recovery type stocks.”
Listen at 20:12
The building and building-supply sector will eventually recover.
“this, you know, the whole building and building supply sector, it will recover at some point.”
Listen at 20:20
Building-supply shares may rise ahead of an imminent sector recovery.
“I think we might be about to see green shoots soon, which means obviously shares in this sector could be poised to anticipate that.”
Listen at 20:49
Green shoots may soon emerge in the building-supply sector.
“I think we might be about to see green shoots soon”
Listen at 20:49
Investors should enter cyclical sectors roughly six months before recovery signals.
“you've got to get in before the green shoots come through, about 6 months before ideally.”
Listen at 21:20
Brickability is Paul’s top value pick among building-related shares.
“Brickability is my number one choice for value”
Listen at 23:30
Paul Scott considers Alimak a very good investment.
“I think that is very good.”
Listen at 23:45
DFS Furniture appears attractive.
“DFS Furniture I think is looking good.”
Listen at 24:01
Dunelm is a strong business with a low valuation and high dividend yield.
“Dunelm I think is very very great business, very, very cheap, amazing dividend yield.”
Listen at 24:08
Eurocell Building Products appears extremely cheap.
“Eurocell Building Products, again, that one's dirt cheap, I think.”
Listen at 24:16
Hollywood Bowl offers very good value.
“Hollywood Bowl, I think is very good value.”
Listen at 24:31
James Halstead has high margins and high dividends.
“James Halstead, cyclical floor coverings, high margin, high divvies.”
Listen at 24:37
Kingfisher could become a takeover target.
“Kingfisher, I think, is a potential takeover target.”
Listen at 24:46
Topps Tiles has substantial potential upside.
“Topps Tiles. Again, I think there's really good potential upside on that.”
Listen at 25:15
The UK market currently offers many money-making opportunities.
“there's so much positive energy in the UK market at the moment, so many opportunities to make money.”
Listen at 25:43
Volex may benefit strongly from American data-center construction.
“I'm thinking about going back into Volex because the scale of the data center buildouts in America in particular, I mean, they must be trading their socks off”
Listen at 26:15
Volex merits investor consideration because data-center demand may be strong.
“I think Volex is worth a look.”
Listen at 26:27
Statements are attributed to the speaker as said on the episode and reflect their view at the time, not PodLume's. They are not advice.
Featuring
Michael MartinezListen to the full episode and explore every guest, topic, and moment on PodLume.