H&t Group Plc Share Chat (HAT)

After spending nearly an hour hassling iWeb on Live Chat this morning, they finally credited the funds for me & my family this lunchtime.

So probably worth checking if you're with them, Halifax or Lloyds (all part of the same group).

Grezzz - you're welcome! I'm glad yours has arrived safely.

iWeb has just updated as follows:

"I can confirm that the cash is expected to be received on or around 28th August.... The funds will be received as a lump sum, which will require reconciliation. We will credit customers' accounts as soon as possible following receipt and reconciliation of the payment."

No doubt they'll drag their feet as long as possible - anything to hang onto OUR cash! It takes them 3 business days to credit a linked bank account if you ever withdraw funds. Still, they are cheap - particularly for higher value ISA pots (zero annual fees & £5/deal) - so mustn't grumble TOO much I guess......

Lordloadsoflolly - Thanks for your update. Meanwhile, I'm pleased to confirm that II have just credited my account! Trust yours will arrive shorty! :)

Grezzz - not yet.

I contacted my provider (iWeb) about it on 21 Aug and was told "I can confirm the cash is expected on or around 28th August and will be credited to customers accounts as soon as possible."

I've recontacted them today asking them when funds will hit, given that under the Scheme terms "settlement will be effected by the crediting of CREST accounts not later than 14 days after the Effective Date, being 28 August 2025".

Will update here as soon as they reply.

Anyone in funds yet?

Been here a long time, topping up 5 times along the way..

Now just need to work out what to invest the proceeds into.

Whilst the significant gains more than compensate, I'm genuinely sorry not to be able to invest longer term in H&T.

It first came onto my radar in 2017 and I made my initial purchase that November. I built the bulk of my holding between then & 2023, at prices ranging from £1.96 to £4.49. The average (excluding my recent short term purchases a few pence below £6.50 once the deal looked done) was £3.29. So a great outcome, particularly after adding in the c. 5% annual yield.

H&T was one of those few AIM companies which consistently made a profit, generally delivered on its outlook forecasts & constantly grew - excluding the Covid period when all its shops had to close.

Earlier this year, conscious of how large a part of my portfolio it had become, I started engaging with CEO Chris Gillespie to reassure myself I'd done whatever due diligence I could.

I found him both approachable & responsive, providing straight answers in a timely manner. He welcomed my request to visit a local store and to quiz the staff, arranging for both the Regional Director & Area Manager to attend. I came away reassured, deciding not to reduce my holding despite its disproportionate size relative to my total portfolio.

My only hope now is that the new owners adopt a similar way of running the business and that all customers & staff who wish to continue engaging with H&T are treated respectfully & fairly with the same excellent comms.

Farewell H&T. It's been a great ride.

Laughton - assuming the timetable's accurate, LATEST date for despatch of cheques in respect of the Cash Consideration and settlement through CREST is 28th August.

I'm expecting it to be concluded sooner than that. Even if it isn't, it's a more than decent return for tying up cash over such a short period.

I note the spread has widened today and was quoted 648p on a dummy buy based on very small volume (a c. £13 trade!). Would presumably have been more expensive still on a higher value trade, but I've maxed out the free cash in my family's various ISAs. Looks like I got in at the right time.....

Bit less than that - effective date might be only 2 weeks away but "latest" date for settlement through CREST is not until August 28th.

I can't see any way this deal won't go through now, so have used all my family's available ISA cash to top up our holdings at c. 647p per share incl. dealing costs & PTM levies.

At an exit price of 650p, that gives a 3p gain per share or 0.46% "interest" (3/647). Now the expected effective date is just two weeks away on 14th August, that's an annualised "interest" rate of around 12% (0.46% x 26).

Sure, there's a minimal risk something could still get in the way. But I'm prepared to take that risk in return for the likely short term gain.

Lsughton - thanks for that. You win today’s prize for being the most eagle-eyed!

Not always easy to see the RNSs that we are interested in amidst all those Form 8.3 announcements so thought I'd post this here. FCA approval now granted and updated timetable of events issued by H&T as follows:

Event

Time and/or date(1) (2)

Court Sanction Hearing

12 August 2025

Last day of dealings in, and for registration of transfers of, H&T Shares

13 August 2025

Scheme Record Time

6.00 p.m. on 13 August 2025

Disablement in CREST of H&T Shares

6.00 p.m. on 13 August 2025

Dealings in H&T Shares suspended

7.30 a.m. on 14 August 2025

Effective Date of Scheme

14 August 2025 (3)

Cancellation of admission of H&T Shares to trading on AIM

7.00 a.m. on 15 August 2025

Latest date for despatch of cheques in respect of the Cash Consideration and settlement through CREST

By 28 August 2025

Long-Stop Date

11.59 p.m. on 31 December 2025(4)

Event

Time and/or date(1) (2)

Court Sanction Hearing

12 August 2025

Last day of dealings in, and for registration of transfers of, H&T Shares

13 August 2025

Scheme Record Time

6.00 p.m. on 13 August 2025

Disablement in CREST of H&T Shares

6.00 p.m. on 13 August 2025

Dealings in H&T Shares suspended

7.30 a.m. on 14 August 2025

Effective Date of Scheme

14 August 2025 (3)

Cancellation of admission of H&T Shares to trading on AIM

7.00 a.m. on 15 August 2025

Latest date for despatch of cheques in respect of the Cash Consideration and settlement through CREST

By 28 August 2025

Long-Stop Date

11.59 p.m. on 31 December 2025(4)

Positive RNS this morning with an update on the deal timetable:

"In light of the anticipated timeline for satisfaction of the FCA Change in Control Condition, the parties now expect that the Scheme will become Effective during the third quarter of 2025."

TheBlueShadow - you’re welcome. These sort of takeovers always take time to clear all the regulatory hurdles. But hopefully we’ll get there within the next couple of months or so.

When I received the letter about it, I assumed it was already a done deal - thanks for the clarifucation

I contacted Chris Gillespie today, asking if he could provide any clarification on the likely bid timetable.

Below is his prompt response, which he kindly authorised me to post here:

"The timetable is dependent upon the remaining bid condition - FCA approval - being received and we are in their hands on this matter. The applications were submitted to the FCA shortly after the announcement of the potential transaction in May. As there is no firm timetable for the FCA response, we are unable at this stage to publish a transaction timetable. We will continue to update shareholders at each stage of the process. The intention is to move to the court approval stage, and completion, as soon as practicable once FCA approval is received."

Vendric - never any harm in banking a profit.

A firm timetable would have helped. But with various milestones having to be hit along the way, I guess it’s harder to pin down precisely.

Only thing we currently know is 31 12 25 being a “hard stop” date.

I don’t see the economic situation changing significantly between now & year end (least, not in the UK). So I don’t think that’ll be a deal buster. And if Trump introduced executive orders that could harm the US economy longer term, all the more reason for FirstCash to want to diversify abroad.

I’ll be hanging onto my shares. The market’s only pricing in a c. 1.5% chance of the deal falling through (650p deal price v. around 640p currently). So the general consensus is that this is a done deal, but you can never be certain until it’s official!

I sold my shares today. Probably unnecessary but I was worried by the lack of a firm timetable. If it is delayed into autumn, economic situation might have changed and deal might fall through.

Hardboy - best of luck with RFX.

I’m expecting their current FY to be pretty strong.

Assuming no H&T deal hiccoughs, I might put some of the proceeds their way. But I’d want to get in sub 300p, as even after its recent retrace, I feel it’s still a bit toppy currently. Could be wrong though, but my gut feel as to when H&T was oversold or overbought generally served me well.

No thoughts of adding. I had set myself a target of 640 to sell before the deal goes through. I'd revisit that if I had an idea of when. It's tantalisingly close, but never quite made it.

I have bought into Ramsdens after their recent dip. Looking at sales, profit, dividend, and NAV progress over the last 4 years it looks to be heading in the right direction for sure.

Good luck.

Hardboy - as you probably know, it HAS to complete in the second half of this year or the deal fails altogether, as 31 Dec 2025 is a hard stop date, written into the takeover agreement.

So yes, not very helpful of them to re-state this as the timetable. But at least it’s got shareholder approval now.

I’m still toying with adding, but with only a c1.6% discount to the deal price, not sure it’s worth it. Particularly if things could drag on into autumn or even winter 2025. I could then get a better % return in cash savings - and without the risk.

Everything got approved, but I'm not very impressed with the timetable briefing: "Likely to complete in the send half of this year."

Whilst it may be less relevant to H&T holders now (unless they're thinking of transferring to RFX), I found the following analysis of gold fascinating.

You may be about to change your understanding of gold & its long term performance!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpL7I8MuUGU

Did anyone else tune into today's RFX presentation?

I found it interesting how - proportionately - their pawnbroking division forms a much smaller part of the whole business.

Interestingly, they referred to the current gold price multiple times, saying their current budgeting assumed it would eventually drop. Though Peter Kenyon (CEO) did also admit he'd got gold price assumptions wrong multiple times before! It backed up my view that a premium-priced takeover-induced exit from H&T when gold is at/near historical highs might prove to be quite timely for shareholders. There again, gold could just carry on rising.....

The presentation also suggested Ramsdens SP had been boosted by H&T's takeover bid, in which case I suspect it may prove to be temporary. But again, who knows?

I found Peter's style confident (almost to the point of slight arrogance/complacency at times). Certainly a very different character from Chris G. He didn't feel FirstCash's takeover deal would have any great impact on Ramsdens. I'm not so sure. FirstCash is well funded and US companies have a tendency to be far more aggressive, expansionary & impatient in their growth strategies.

Overall, it reinforced my view that there will likely be better entry points for RFX some time in the future. It just feels a bit frothy to me right now, buoyed both by the high gold price & (to me, unlikely) takeover speculation.

No problem.

The scheme timetable is frustrating, but what is expected. Until the court hearing and EGM are done there is still uncertainty. We will have to wait at least another month to know the timetable.

If, in that time it goes about 640, I will probably sell and go.

Ramsdens up & down a bit today. but not shot off too high. I shall keep watch.