Deutsche Bank downgrades Marshalls to 'hold'

Deutsche Bank said its downgrade of Marshalls comes amid "a more uncertain economic backdrop", with the analysts now expecting core business volumes to fall in the current trading year and the next as pressure on discretionary spending intensifies.

Although the German bank acknowledged that the recent acquisition of pitched roofing systems supplier Marley likely diluted this exposure, it was still "far from immune" and noted that the acquisition also introduced leverage.

Deutsche Bank also reduced its target price on the stock by roughly 29% from 885.0p to 629.0p, largely reflecting a higher weighted average cost of capital.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com