Keeping investors hooked used to be easier for Games Workshop. A surfeit of cash sloshing around the markets and a record of consistent earnings growth meant investors were as in thrall to the hobbyist retailer as the die-hard fans of its Warhammer franchise, long before the pandemic emerged.
But some of that zeal has been lost. Shares in the group, which had looked set to break into the FTSE 100, have fallen by a tenth from the peak reached last September when they were above £100. That still leaves them priced nearly 13 times higher than they were five years ago.
It’s natural that investors might pause for breath. Rising freight, raw material and staff costs meant the rate of growth in operating expenses was
