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Extract... Ladbrokes Coral surged on news is it in advanced talks with GVC Holdings about a possible £3.9bn takeover of the bookmaker. GVC was also sharply higher on the deal. So no deal yet LCL had talks before with GVC which broke down.....was on the cards GVC would return GL with the rest of your PF
Mick - yes it could go either way, looking good at 1.80 now - a lot of M & A in this sector - the deal will prob be looked at by regulators - Also another sector where the Govt is getting too interested.
Gerry - I bought over 8 years ago as a repeated IC takeover tip. After years of waiting plus the Coral merger the rumoured speculation today finally allowed me to get my investment back. I never added to the original investment by averaging down. So just gained by the dividend payments....with hindsight a poor investment. The price could easily collapse tomorrow should no bid/merger result. ATB
... to those who have made a couple of quid on this, but the bookmaking industry must be the most dishonourable profession out there. I cannot think of any other that hide behind so many terms and conditions. If you can get a bet on with any of these clowns you must be a mug, a loser. And this: GVC said it expects the deal would results in "material synergies which will create value for both sets of shareholders" Material synergies? Ask the man/woman in the street what that means? Sorry, I don't understand cobblers. (results, not result is how it's written) http://www.lse.co.uk/share-sharecast-news.asp?shareprice=LCL&ArticleCode=26795913&ArticleHeadline=GVC_closes_in_on_Ladbrokes_Coral_takeover_at_third_attempt
it was a good price for me Mick - Does free up money for other opportunities on my watchlist. Over the last few months i have hesitated on a number price rises only to see the rise fall away over the following few days. I have done well out of this one - and would buy back, at a lower price. A profit is a profit, got too many other shares in my bottom drawer at the moment, waiting for turnarounds.. GLA
Like you sold too soon at 1.68. Annoyingly the price has now turned around and is 5% HIGHER
Have held these since may 2015. Got in at 1.14 and out this morning at 1.69. with the divs over the time period that's a nice little profit. It may go higher on the news so Gla. For me I am pleased to sell on the potential merger. Would definitely buy back in if the price drops back down to the mid 1.30's.
Opening Quote: Ladbrokes Coral shows how much is at stake - https://www.ft.com/content/3245ed76-3090-3c3b-b50d-ed1f420bc062 via @FT
The fine is an example of Government/political hypocrisy. Share price still gently rising, the business is easy to understand and pays a dividend. While I would like the debt to shrink its not a share I lose sleep over and remain invested.
Like it or not, it's how the sector is. It's the flip-side of the 2007 deregulation.
I'm not personally invested here, but this fine seems unfair. Have those that stole the money been prosecuted for theft? If not, why not? Is it Ladbrokes responsibility to ask every customer if they think they have bet too much? No. Where does it stop? Are pub staff to become the don't have too much to drink police? Supermarket checkout staff refusing to sell that bar of chocolate because it will make you obese? The list is almost endless. As adults we are all responsible for our actions, if we choose not to accept this, then we must face the consequences. We should not expect others to wipe our backsides for us.
The Gambling Commission has slapped Ladbrokes Coral with a �2.3m fine after its Gala Interactive business ADVERTISEMENT breached regulations which protect consumers. The Commission said the fine follows the discovery of "significant flaws" in Gala's dealings with two high-spending customers who gambled away around �1.3m of stolen money. An investigation found that Gala failed to effectively interact with the two customers who were displaying problem gambling behaviour. It also failed to have in place written policies and procedures that could have curbed the behaviour. The Commission also noted a previous case regarding similar failings, when Gala said customers of concern would be identified sooner and effectively handled. This assurance was made at the same time that these two customers were gambling. Coral said on Monday that it accepts that the failures identified fell short of the standards and procedures expected. As a result, it has agreed to pay back the money made in relation to the two customers and to make an additional �1.2m contribution to fund research into the causes and identification of problem gambling. Chief executive Jim Mullen said: "Running a gambling company carries a huge responsibility to ensure that it is done so in a safe and responsible manner. When any part of our business fails to meet the required standards, it is right that they are held to account. The sector has an obligation to look to help customers help themselves and to seek to protect the vulnerable where self-help is evidently not going to happen. "In the two cases reviewed with the Commission, it was clear that within our operations, we had not met our own standards or those demanded by the Commission. While we will always be exposed to risk of people failing to follow procedures, we accept that, in this case, the failings were evidence of a lack of priority being given to changes in approach identified in earlier engagements. "Being public with our failings is an uncomfortable experience for any business, but we believe it is right that others can see the extent of our mistakes and try to learn from them. The Ladbrokes Coral business has moved on since these cases occurred and the mind-set of the Board and the management is that there can be no short cuts on delivering our social responsibility and anti-money laundering obligations.
Online gambling group GVC sells Turkish business - https://www.ft.com/content/82b7b380-bfa2-11e7-b8a3-38a6e068f464 via @FT Suggests GVC are positioning themselves to bid. Maybe, been said before, personally see Ladbrokes as a reasonable bet in its own right. Any bid would be the icing on the cake.
Indeed - it's like it has been uncorked now the review has been announced, so let's see if the Analysts' valuations are in any way correct!
Not sure about a bid but the sector starting to recover. SP graph for Ladbrokes since August is encouraging, a bid from another business to consolidate would be a bonus but not necessarily rocket the price.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/4790495/ministers-crackdown-gamblers-addicts/ If this story is close to correct (leaked by gov.) then the �20 limit is not the end of the world for LCL. Wait and see, answers from the gov. due this week.
Talk is cheap while bidding costs money? I remain optimistic on future developments but want to see the Government Paper published on what they intend to do re fixed odds betting terminals. Investors do not like uncertainty.
How come the sp hasn't rocketed more because of this, an i missing something?
http://www.igamingbusiness.com/news/gvc-ladbrokes-coral-deal-could-be-done-month-report
GVC being reported as back at the table with the future Board composition already agreed.
No bids but a modest recovery in sp. Government review on its way re fixed odds terminals. Good news on synergies from the merger.
Remain invested and feel any fallout from the gov. review already priced into sp. It is also a sad fact of life that people gamble more in recessions. Whille investing here is also a gamble of sorts the odds are better than those from a gaming machine.
😎 Just missed out on buying a few of these before closing bell.....was busy buying elsewhere and missed this one....see what Monday brings 😎
Aug 31 (Reuters) – British betting company Ladbrokes Coral Group reported a 7 percent rise in first-half operating profits on Thursday which it said was due to strong trading online. The company said operating profit for the six months to June 30 rose to 158.8 million pounds ($205.1 million) from 147.9 million pounds, a year ago. Revenue for the period rose 1 percent to 1.19 billion pounds, while digital revenue surged 17 percent to 374.5 million pounds. The company was formed last year when Ladbrokes joined forces with Coral in a $3.4 billion merger. Sources said last week that online gambling company GVC had recently discussed a takeover of the group but talks ended without a deal. ($1 = 0.7743 pounds)
Commenting on the H1 results, Ladbrokes Coral CEO Jim Mullen said: "Ladbrokes Coral continues to make good operational and financial progress. We entered the year with ambitious targets for the first half to substantially complete the integration of our teams and migrate UK Digital to a single platform. We delivered on both fronts and at the same time kept the business moving forward. It is pleasing to report strong Digital growth, ongoing momentum in Australia, and in spite of adverse sporting results, market share gains in Italy. UK Retail performance is in line with our expectations given the planned commercial decisions on UK racing media rights and Ladbrokes' horse racing margin, both of which will protect the profitability of our shop estate well into the future. The business is now looking to the second half with confidence. The sensible and sustainable agreement on picture rights will underpin an improvement in retail footfall. Following the Digital platform migration, the product pipeline is flowing again with some exciting enhancements arriving in time for the new football season. A new model aimed at optimising our online customer acquisition marketing mix is already driving improved effectiveness, supporting enhanced returns on investment through a focus on higher value customers. Finally, the synergies from our recent merger step-up substantially in the second half to deliver a full year saving of £45m. The business is in good shape and we have come a long way in a short time. The increase in the dividend reflects both the progress made, the opportunities offered by the merger and our confidence in the future."