Peel Hunt upgrades McColl's to 'buy' following Morrisons fascias trials

Analysts at Peel Hunt upgraded convenience shop and newsagent operator McColl's to 'buy' on Friday as it highlighted some of the benefits of the group's move to trial Morrisons Daily fascias in ten of its stores.

Peel Hunt believe the move marks a "highly significant and highly positive development", noting that while the McColl’s fascia is popular and evolving, the switch to the Morrisons Daily fascia could "really help densities".

"This could just be the fillip McColl's shares need after a quarter or two in the doldrums: we are confident the trial will work and that the fascia will be rolled out to more stores," its analysts said.

Peel Hunt stated the rebrand might also gave McColl's a "real chance" to see its like-for-like revenues make progress again.

"For a highly operationally and financially geared business, that could be gold dust."

Although Peel Hunt noted results of the trials wouldn't be known for a while, the broker still felt the potential of the Morrisons Daily fascia could be significant and was capable of really moving the dial over the medium-term.

"This is a good opportunity to get behind the shares again, and one that we hadn’t seen emerging in the short term," concluded analysts Jonathan Pritchard and John Stevenson.