Ann: Half Yearly Report and Accounts, page-4

Your comments prompted me to return and read the Chairman's address at the last AGM which included the following with respect to Strategy:

"The acquisition appetite hasn't changed and remains strong as has the funding availability and consolidation opportunities. We remain committed to attractive automotive acquisitions: however, we will choose to secure new businesses with a clear integration and margin uplift pathway."

I take that to mean that your Point 1 is in play, however, I suspect so too is your Point 2. The rest of the AGM presentation suggests, as have you, that business growth will be slow in the absence of such acquisitions. But I think that, in this world of low interest rates and disruption, this business has and will continue to perform well enough to provide a level of comfort for its holders.