The demise of King Coal has not been kind to Fenner, the East Yorkshire maker of conveyor belts.
The fuel that powered the Industrial Revolution — and helped Fenner grow from its humble beginnings in Hull in 1861 — is going out of fashion fast. Governments from Westminster to Beijing are attempting to clean up their power generation with curbs on coal.
The commodity price crash of 2014 left the engineer on the ropes, as plunging demand for minerals and oil and gas slashed demand for its belts, spare parts and hydraulic seals. Fenner hit its lowest ebb in early 2016, after a string of profit warnings that left its shares trading at just 98.5p and forced deep cost-cutting.
Investors who had the guts to