Chris Heminway, Exec-Chair at Time To ACT, explains why now is the right time for the Group to IPO. Watch the video here.
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Hogg Robinson Group (HRG) has signed a major new agreement with Chinese GDS, TravelSky. The five-year deal grants HRG access to the full version of BlueSky, software platform developed by TravelSky specifically for corporate travellers, consisting of a CRS and online booking tool. The partnership also designates TravelSky as HRG China’s sole GDS provider for the next five years and grants HRG access to the full version of the BlueSky platform. “We are very privileged to be able to fully utilise BlueSky’s CRS and online booking tool. Its ability to provide accurate real-time information makes it the most advanced travel booking system in the Chinese travel market,” said Tony Hopwood, HRG’s Director Business Technology for Asia Pacific. “BlueSky’s system enhancements will yield a number of benefits for our clients. Features such as best buy, lowest fare search and itinerary generator will provide a wider, more detailed range of travel options. While traveller profiles, company profiles and waiting lists will increase our travel consultant’s productivity by up to 20%, resulting in significant cost savings for clients,” he added. HRG said the integration between BlueSky’s online booking tool and the CRS will shorten the booking process, offering “increased convenience and a more efficient and quicker travel approval”. Peng Bo, the General Manager of TravelSky’s GDS Business Department commented; “We take great pleasure in supporting HRG’s operations in China and we look forward to this progressive partnership with HRG. With its local and international expertise and its global network, we believe this relationship is a prime opportunity to exchange knowledge and experiences to further develop our technology to provide our users with more extensive services.”
With HRG making a new mark by establishing a new office in Great Yarmouth all is well, and with a well established position in Marine, offshore and energy makes it mark in an area that will see new jobs created by this major travel Company.HRG chief executive David Radcliffe said: “I am delighted that HRG is opening a new office in the UK. We continue to thrive in a competitive industry and that is testament to our staff who maintain our renowned high standards of service." I know some of the people of Great Yarmouth and surrounding areas, and they are so delighted that new jobs in he service industry has come to their door. The local council are over the moon, and are so pleased.
I have my doubts if you have all the insider knowledge you claim. yes, the travel industry is always full of rumours, for the last 5 years I heard that Chambers was being sold and at the end they did. you just never know. But logic says that HRG with 2 other agencies owning over 20% each , with a chairman getting closer to retirement and with a business not understood or valued by the market could very well be sold at any time. You say DNATA is not interested in buying a corporate business and the rumours have been around for 10years. Well about 4 years ago they bought 20% of HRG shares and they already run the biggest corporate Travel business in the fast growing middle East. With the dominance of the new ME airlines such as Emirates, Etihad, Qatar etc it is logical that they would want a bigger hand on the distributors as well and HRG would be the easiest to buy. The factthey say they are not interested is neither here nor there. Nobody would say they was as the price just would shoot up andmake it more expensive Equally Amex has just sold of it's travel division to a company with a lot of money to invest so that is why they are in play Of course there is always BCD whose owner used to dislike DR when they were together at BTI. Did BCD buy 23% of the shares just to tease HRG or to have a base where whne the time was right they could pounce for the company. remember it only takes 29% to make a formal bid. BCD would in my eye be a logical partner, very good company but not quite in the league of Amex and CWT sizewise and jointly with HRG they would be and we would have 3 giants in the industry. Ihave no idea if one of these scenarios will happen tomorrow or next year or never, just wanted to show that they all make sense and that is why I would never dare to sell any of my HRG shares. I still think they are substantially undervalued simp0ly on day to day operation and dividends but if a bid comes in I will be laughing all the way to the bank.
Thank you....but I am after the white plain labels which don't have anything on the record labels these are known as demo records. I recently bought a Beatles demo Love me do for $12,000 which is very rare. Lucky for me I still have my home back in the UK so have all my contacts. Thank you. Sold a couple of my Disney artworks to pay for that one.....
Thank you for the offer on the Vinyl..When you say white vinyl I trust you mean the actual record and not the actual label...If you have any on a white label then you are talking.... buller like all your comments especially on DNTA. I have known DNTA since 1985 and they have more money than HRG and CWT put together. So they don't need the money nor do they want to go into a full scale corporate business travel business. They have made their plans very clear in private and in public, and their interest in HRG is purely that an interest and nothing more. This rumour has been running for over ten years, and it just keeps on running so neither party will bother to state their case anymore as they have heard it all before. I am interested to know where you got the Amex option, as I had thought that one died in 1991. Again Amex really have no sole interest in taking on board HRG. Well...you say if I know so much then what the hell am I doing on this share chat....I guess I now see some of the rumours seem to keep going round and round for all the years I have known HRG. The funny thing is and yes I do mean funny..."people" say watch this space and you will see when the shares go right down there will be a buy out...What total nonsense. If there are people who have bought shares thinking that HRG is likely to be bought out then they need to think again.. It is nice to see people talk about HRG and so long as its factual it sits well with me, but there are no plans now or in the future of HRG being sold off to DNTA or alike even the Amex of this world. How do I know...?? I can only say I do...I could use all kinds of facts and figures from the past to the current day, and for a sell off notion could only mean one thing...a straight jacket and a padded cell. There is no hidden agendas, and no dark secrets hidden behind a wall in Egypt. You see since HRG sold all its retail shops off back in 1991/92 for a cut down price for 256 shops, and built a stronger business it made up its mind it was in it for the long haul. Unless the bottom falls out of corporate travel then and only then will you see HRG go. But to someone else forget it.....DR won't be around for ever, but even when he decides to retire the Company will not change hands. Some rumours are hurtful and even though not damaging get people thinking for the wrong reasons. I don't have any HRG shares and I don't have any travel industry shares as its too volatile for my likings, and I don't have spare cash to put on the markets. I put my money on my very rare vinyl which I may put under auction at Christies in the near future so I can buy my house in The Hamptons (NY).
I think you are both right and wrong. Chambers is indeed a very good company with a healthy reputation but of course this is a takeover. The CEO who is very clever and smart has to stay 3 years to get the full payout and he is the face and strength of the company. BUt they have definitely had problems, big cash issues a few years back, a major management split between the owners, frequent changes to COO and CFO roles and the previous CFO has just been convicted in a major million pound fraud. However they offer good service and for a certain segment of clients which are the good mid-sized section they do very well and they understand the international side of the business. Not sure their retention rate is as good as HRG but good enough. They will now be part of a very progressive and successful company and time will show if they retain their unique style or have to adapt to the Australian way of doing business. I congratulate them but have to admit I am flabbergasted over the price. 23 million potentially going up to 39 million for a company which I estimate and I stress estimate at best would be 2 million today so a multiple of more than 10 at the lower end of the price range, unheard of in recent times. Reed and Mackay sold for more but their client mix is unique and by far the most profitable TMC in the UK. HRG is in a different league, probably 10 times larger than Chambers just in the UK and with vast asetts globally, some of them very successful. They would not often compete with Chambers. They compete mainly with CWT as you say and Amex and to a lesser extent BCD and FCM and maybe Portman. I think they have moved with the times and been reasonably good in adjusting to new times and new technology which shows in the cost reduction scheme. I agree sometimes they insist too much on developing their own technology which is costly and stupid when better technology and sometimes better services which could be outsourced are available. They need to look at that area. You say that talks about takeover is rubbish. I don't think they are. 2 very good and capital rich companies already are big holders and only a few percent away from having to make a bid, The Chairman and big prfile of the company is getting closer to retirement age, the company is in a field with no comparison in the Stock market so it must be very tempting to take the company private as they have done in the past. So many options and with their size and despite what you say excellent reputation exactly what is required for further consolidation and believe you me, size means everything to make corporate travel profitable, CTM has realised it and I am pretty sure one of the obvious candidates, BCD, DNATA or maybe Amex who has new money wlll soon realise they can get HRG at a very advantageous price.
Chambers Travel is not a take over its a new lease of life injected by an angel. Its pure existence led by a team of experts working with a team of experts working like a well oiled machine. These changes mean that the whole team stay together, and in a stronger network on all levels. This is magic with no smoke or mirrors, and be assured The Chambers portfolio is well in tact, and nothing is at risk. CWT, HRG will always be at each others throats, and who cares...Not me..Why they hussle and stab each other in the back the independents will not wear any masks and will show only their true colors. I am not in the travel game anymore, and therefore hold no grudge or have any dark story to tell. I got out when the time was right for me, and I am enjoying a wonderful life with the US Government in Washington DC. I don't have no shares in travel anymore, as I put my cash on my very rare record collection which is worth a fortune thats my retirement deal what is yours....????
Chambers Travel is a superb Company and having tempted for them in my past life I found them to be one of the best independant travel firms around. Their portfolio is superb, and they have many accounts that some would fight over 'till the end. That is why the price is high, and their track record has no faults...They may have been small but being small certainly came in the best packaging. I sure hope that CTM handles Chambers with lots of loving care. As for HRG (who I have had the pleasure of handling for 45 years) is in a different ball park or maybe even in a different State completely. Unlike Chambers HRG are stubborn, and tend to hang onto prehistoric tech until it packs up or they find something cheaper...Harsh you may say but they are facts, and the smoke and mirrors are showing some cracks. The old story they say on the board is " What goes around comes around" still rings in the ears of tenders lost. Some of those lost say "Will not go back to HRG"...So the old sayings have no gravitas. No names it would not be right here,,,so don't expect me say..I have to many people close to me, and many ace cards close to my chest. There are of course many other superb independant travel firms like Reed & Mackay. They also have a fantastic portfolio, and like Chambers have accounts the "big boys" want or even want back. The volatile nature of the HRG shares is really not surprising, and all the talk of take overs or buy outs or just rubbish, and you should not waste your breathe in thinking such nonsense. JK Rowling would not even attempt such a story. This Firms in it for the long haul, and they will not take any prisoners that get in their way. They have changed and I am not sure that this is for the better. The problems they have is done to the Board, and the list on the board is out of Forbes. So what they say goes, and that can easily be proved. To sum up HRG is on rocky ground as it just misses out on the real mustard while some of independents will proper and most important of all look after its personnel like true professionals should in today.s service industry. So should you buy or sell or hang onto what you have....?? I guess the only thing I can say is the day you go to the bank and ask for a loan to open up your own travel agency will be the day when the bank manager says..."You are kidding right..." Travel is so risky...and I think you all know that....Its a question of you in it to see a slip on the banana skin by the board at HRG and its all over, and hope to make a mint..That will never happen so you can all forget it... Or shall I stick with the cards I have and wait for the good times....In travel that will never happen again either. How do I know...??? Well I do so there.....Maybe the hard facts hurt, but as I wear a bullet proof vest day and night I don't feel a thing.
Just seen the price Chambers got, around $36 million dollars which is a huge amount for a TMC of that size. if that was replicated for HRG we would be well over 100 in SP
http://www.edisoninvestmentresearch.com/research/company/Hogg-Robinson-Group . Still very much upbeat. Chambers Travel got sold today to CTM in Australia, following Griffin Travel being sold to ATPI a few weeks ago. certainly shows that some companies are absolutely believing in the future of this industry and willing to put money into it. Chambers would not have sold cheaply, my guesstimate would be around 7-8 times EBITDA
I think many of these share option shemes require Directors to exercise options within certain time windows and tax periods and they dont have much choice about when they do it? Reading the RNS again it says the Directors have retained shares - and the CEO himself has chosen to increase (fairly significantly) his overall holding in the company - so a very positive sign methinks.
I'm sure the options exercised by the directors moving in and out of less favourable positions will distill equally disfavourably to all other stakeholders and have little impact.
I'm out and sold all my shares...........Good luck
Well its nearly time for smash and grab for the Black Friday Shopping deals of the century....Oh yeah I feel something good is gonna happen....or is the rum speaking...Wait a minute I haven't had any rum............Sorry I meant the root beer....Hell I'm in trouble aren't I....?...Hey that's ok no one can see me...Phew...
Well I think I need to borrow that straight jacket now, and crack open that last bottle of fine rum from Jamaica which I was saving for the The New Year Celebrations. More like New Tears Aggravation. Half Yearly figures......Oh dear what can the matter be are those three wise monkeys locked in the lavatory...????
Sold some held some. Which I had same strategy!!
Should fly now!!!
Come on HRG.....are you man or mouse.............................Now where did I put those crackers....
All I gotta say now is Harriet Green where the devil are you.........?? Now where did I put that bottle of Rum....
Nice Reduction ... Making attractive to find a suitor. A courting we shall go.
Todays results are as expected, and as such the SP looks overdone to me - SP down some 50% this year versus a 20% decline in profits. In the absence of a massive uptick of business travel then industry consolidation cannot be too far off IMHO. Increased consolidation will allow for greater leverage of the technology and people improving profitability - less competition will also aid margins, I wonder when one of the big airlines will perhaps see this as a "natural" fit to creating sticky business clients. We have seen the recent tie-up of Ryan-air with bookings.com, someone like a HRG with a Global Airline guaranteeing best business fares could be a market leader.
Profit down 20% probably in line with expectation after the profit warning, dividend held and the best news debt down 25%. For anyone looking to possibly buy this is a very important point. I would think a lot of the bad news with redundency payments has been included now. The forecast sounds good and DR normally is pretty conservative in those forecasts. All in all looking at where the SP is now thpo where it was before the profit warning looks like thevfall has been exaggerated and we should see a slow build up over the next 6 months. Certainly no reason for the price to drop any further
Well after all that...I,m off to have a beer and a fine Chinese meal with the wife..Hey not a bad way to end a day.............
It is never best to just buy off the shelf software as in most cases it never really does what you totally want it to do. Therefore of course there are cost implementations which in the long run does you no justice in running the programme out across the company on time and in budget. You are far better to build your own software and self test and therefore levels of security can be fully maintained. Having said that of course security in key, and that is where the money lies, and many corporations spend millions on updating and improving their closed user networks. The only people out there who really invest in high end tech are independent agencies. They feel its a nice show off thing to their clients and to impress, but really in the end it just does what it says on the tin like most other software. What you all should know is that the travel industry gone through so many changes that its hard to see what is going to happen over the next few months let alone over a twelve month period. With Airlines dictating to agents, and clients dictating to agents in or out of policy is mind blowing. It would force many out of business before they even try to cover the next years overheads. HRG are trying to hold on to as much as they can in the bank, as this will help them overcome turbulent times which are still here for sometime to come. I don't want to preach about the good old days of retail travel days when it was booming...Those days are gone forever, and Corporate Travel is all that remains. Agencies will fight to end to win accounts, and let it be known it has nothing to with what fancy software you may have on your portfolio. Most major boards would not be impressed at all if that is all you have to offer. Overall it is travel in general that has a big question mark over it not HRG, and only the players in it can only do their very best to supply the best possible service. Let us all hope that 2015 is a good year. A less war and more happiness that would be a good start.
although I am a fan in general and a holder of shares (have never worked for the company by theway) I do think that some of their strategy on technology has been misplaced. Similar to other TMCs they think reinventing the wheel has value. There are loads of software in the market palce whih can do more or less everthing hRG needs. Why have all these people employed to develop what you could buy much cheaper and I most cases better off the shelf. You can then make adjsutments, put your own brand on it as many people do and not only would it be more reliable but it would be cheaper and it would appear in every way as if it was your own software but already tried and tested.