The latest Investing Matters Podcast with Jean Roche, Co-Manager of Schroder UK Mid Cap Investment Trust has just been released. Listen here.
London South East prides itself on its community spirit, and in order to keep the chat section problem free, we ask all members to follow these simple rules. In these rules, we refer to ourselves as "we", "us", "our". The user of the website is referred to as "you" and "your".
By posting on our share chat boards you are agreeing to the following:
The IP address of all posts is recorded to aid in enforcing these conditions. As a user you agree to any information you have entered being stored in a database. You agree that we have the right to remove, edit, move or close any topic or board at any time should we see fit. You agree that we have the right to remove any post without notice. You agree that we have the right to suspend your account without notice.
Please note some users may not behave properly and may post content that is misleading, untrue or offensive.
It is not possible for us to fully monitor all content all of the time but where we have actually received notice of any content that is potentially misleading, untrue, offensive, unlawful, infringes third party rights or is potentially in breach of these terms and conditions, then we will review such content, decide whether to remove it from this website and act accordingly.
Premium Members are members that have a premium subscription with London South East. You can subscribe here.
London South East does not endorse such members, and posts should not be construed as advice and represent the opinions of the authors, not those of London South East Ltd, or its affiliates.
Nicola Foulson apparently used the " n" word in the presence of a black head of PR named Deans at a dinner they attended , she was immediately pulled up on it by Ian Rosenblatt in front of 20 staff who were present
Ian Rosenblatt later picked up Deans for the use of anti Semitic comments and raised a grievance against him ..plus other things beside. ...all of this is currently being pursued legally in the courts .
Not a favourable backdrop to the share price or winning future business you might think .
Where you wish you " had " ** been bolder ..sorry about that ..
What I would add though , is that on any metric you care to use , then 38p is cheap , when you consider that on a cash basis at least , they have managed to remain profitable throughout , even despite the recent losses on Lionfish litigation cases, and they are still managing to maintain their repayments on the loan taken out to fund the acquisition of memery chrystal .
You just feel that it could reach a 50 pence share price on the blink of an eye , and a quick 25% return on the current share price , and that excludes dividends ..it also seems to have bottomed at this price , although having said that, I thought it had bottomed at 48p
I feel this is the kind of share though , where you wish you hadn't been bolder on your level of investment , when the share price re-sets to a more fundamental value ..at least that is what I think but as always DYOR..
This share looks remarkably cheap , however , I am concerned about their liquidity situation ..they have a £15 million roll over lending facility ..at 31 March 2022, they had only used up less than £5 million of this leaving a near £10 million headroom ..and invoking the comment , that they had significant headroom available , which they did
My understanding is that they have now used up £14 million of this roll over facility , meaning they only have £1 million left ..and thus only marginal headroom .. furthermore if you read the earlier pre close trading update it only comments about " CURRENTLY " operating within the funding facilities , no mention of the future
I think they might need the sale of Lionfish to boost their liquidity , albeit it is probably the right decision to dispose of this high risk part of the business .
I already hold a position in this at 41p and am considering upping this , but the liquidity situation is preventing me at the moment , until I get more clarity on it ..
What do other people think please ?
Where do yoy see the RSI? Thanks
I can't imagine they'll find a better yield elsewhere. Pretty sure NF said millions of shares had passed thier lock-in period and that non had been sold, that there wasn't an appetite to sell from employees. DYOR
IMO so much wrong with this share - and much worse coming down the line... Significant staff turnover and key partner losses since the acquisition of MC will undoubtedly reduce billings - further all the consideration shares (9.7 million) will shortly be coming out of their lock-in period and I can't imagine there will be much enthusiasm to hold. Law firms don't work as listed entities!
Hi David thanks, is that just a guess or would you have found info from somewhere please ?
It's just Foulston selling her stock in drabs in a vain, twisted attempt to embarrass Ian. It'll bounce back. DYOR
way way oversold now imo and rsi on the floor, I'm back in
Thanks ThreeP but that is old news. I was hoping for something new. Just have to wait
another couple of weeks or so.
Previous ceo was booted out with some vague reasoning (see rns), still no clearer and the market hates uncertainty = continues to fall, I suppose it's equally possible the previous ceo is selling her huge quantity of shares she holds - we have no idea
from the rns 31st Jan:
"The Board has lost confidence in its Chief Executive, Nicola Foulston, as a result of cultural concerns and the execution of the Group's strategy; her employment contract has been terminated with immediate effect."
Has anyone any info why this is so unloved?
Fundamentals look ok so whats the problem?
Unfair dismissal after she plundered the company for the vast bonuses, salary and consultancy fees that crashed its share price?
Should say There are lawyers who like to litigate not These are lawyers who like to litigate Ooops. All IMO and DYOR
The only fly in the ointment (she should have used this phrase me thinks) is that she may make a claim for unfair or constructive dismissal which would cost the company a wedge and stunt recovery of the SP. Maybe not while she’s unlocking her 12% shareholding though, unless she can claim her decline in the SP as a loss as part of a legal claim. These are lawyers who like to litigate…..
I agree, the fundamentals look sound. I've topped-up based on the pre-close trading update last month that seemed to indicate no further surprises. I'm less concerned about the overhang (it doesn't change the fundamentals) but I'm keen to see them exit LionFish on favourable terms.
If this drops further on no news I shall top-up again.
DYOR
p/e ratio good, revenue looks good - and from the media, employees seem happy with the CEO going - I only see this growing from here.
No lock up on the CEOs shares (12%) so there is now a big overhang in play here if she is selling into the market or her trust is. Please DYOR as we do not have the full facts but beware, this could be a pretty treacherous situation for small shareholders.
no vague profit warnings? I assume the shares CEO bought will be held till it recovers - why would you sell at a loss unless the other board are offering to buy off you. Strategy hasnt worked but this is a good profit making business determined to pay out as a large portion of the fee earners are shareholders- see more upside in this than downside.
I think the cultural problem is that she is a rather bombastic entrepreneur trying to manage a lot of very clever lawyers, who don’t take kindly be told what to do. She has piled up a lot of debt acquiring Memery Crystal and her prize people assets can walk out having filled their pockets with shareholders cash. The balance sheet is the risk now. The other issue: Rosenblatt was and is all about one exceptional lawyer and marketer: Mr Rosenblatt. A lot of work to be done here to recover this in what will be a very difficult market for lawyers and their M&A business. DYOR.
The term cultural in a working environment usually means not fitting in. CEO was at odds with the rest of the board, is how I interpret. I expect CFO and CEO were given ultimatum, one jumped & one was pushed. I bought some more this morning, if nothing else to keep my average near to the exit, though I do think all the dirty laundry is out now. Could recover back to about 64p for a starter. At least here the company is profitable and will be paying dividend, and arguable has more upside than downside currently.
Cultural concerns? Perhaps investment with Lionfish is seen as a form of gambling. Particularly if difficult tight judgements come down to not letting the greedy shareholders win.
Glad to have got out, the company is heading in the right direction now, though Lionfish might not be so easy to dispose of cleanly.