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.
The Supreme Court judges must be filling out their STB coupons for Saturdays game. I hope one of them wins!!
Tote Ireland (18 tracks) renews long standing contract with Spo Racing & Digital division. R&D was the highest revenue earner for Spo last year some £34m so a vote of confidence in SPo's Quantum technology (the most widely used) by race tracks. Adds on to the contract will include maintenance etc..
If we get lucky can we expect a rerate of the sp? I guess there will be a relief rally to 77 ish that this has finally been laid to rest. Doubt much more as it might already been priced in. The pools sale would have taken us towards 90 ish but that's a goner now, our last hope of being taken over resting with either Betfred or over the pond. Don't hold your breath!
Gut feeling it's this week or next or...jeez I've no idea. What is "shortly" as per trading update? Dictionary definition.....'of little duration'....'in the early future'...Thanx for that!
Will the Supreme Court overturn the unanimous decision of the Court of Appeal? Methinks not, for to do so would make a mockery of the judicial system and prolong this farce past 10 years! Common sense says the SC will rule in favour of Spo for surely every argument for and against has been debated in court over the years. Unless HMRC has new evidence to support their appeal (& why was it not presented to the court at the last appeal?) their chances look slim. If you put your faith in the law even as arcane as the interpretation of vat (game or not?...skill or chance? etc....) your a braver man than me! This should be the end of it and while i don't think the SC will take that into consideration (length of case) their decision will.....fingers crossed!
Net cash equivalent to 18p leaving ebita of c £25m for 54p or 9x non cash earnings. Niiiiiice.
Trading update reads ok...in line with etc...states vat decision expected shortly. Cash near £40m with vat monies.
The Dow recovers from an early 800 pts fall on the Dow futures to trade 148 UP such is the caprciousness of markets. The ftse led the Dow recovery closing 69 to the good. I think most investors were stunned by Trumps victory & expected the markets to exact a painful reminder to the electorate of how silly they had been in electing a rank amateur to be leader of the free world Lo & behold Western bourses view Trump as a breath of fresh air and after a measured acceptance speech which caught the right mood, he has been granted his 100 days of grace. He has promised much and with both houses under Republican control executive orders & bills will be easier to enact. HC might have offered a steady as she goes administration but Trump offers a whole new ball game or perhaps a new new deal! Like Brexit the American electorate will expect change and fast, lower taxes, more jobs, tighter security,improved relations with Russia and a stronger Defence force. I wish him well, perhaps he will drop the obnoxious reality TV star persona and act in a more statesman like manner. He will need to.
More big sells go in (c1m) at 70.50. Tied to the disappointing Pools news I suspect as opposed to any vat rumour.
A big jump in share vols mostly on the buy side. Perhaps sparked by the NED buying £200k worth......OR......maybe somebody has leaked vat news? Just speccing on my part u understand. Whatever a near 10 rise since last Wed is welcome atm.
Non exec Director buys 300.000 @ 67p (£201k).
Directors awarding themselves c 1m nil cost options on Sphere stock. Penrose filling his overflowing saddlebags with 600k+!! Jeez nice work if you can get it! While the sp has done little this year (+10) shareholders see zero value if you go back 5 years while the board enrich themselves for what? Outrageous!
I'm guessing that those two 300k sells (67) was HG reducing? No doubt an rns on Mon/Tues will confirm. They sold a chunk pre pools failure to conclude.... wonder if they know/suspect of the vat decision? I can't see how they would but being a very sceptical investor.....!! ( you fill in the blanks).
Yesterday's court ruling allowing MP's to vote on Brexit is seen by many as an abuse of legal process and should have been dismissed by the High Court. It now seems that Parliament will have the opportunity to prevent invoking Article 50 leaving many to wonder if democracy means democracy. Will we suffer the same fate, for if Parliament can overrule the will of the people what chance our case?
We are creeping back up and we still have the vat monies in our bank! As the pools sale turned out a no show (ankewrs!) the SC decision now takes on even more importance for our future. While a £100m from the Pools would have been a saviour should the vat go agin us.... we will be back in the low 50's in a jiffy should events favour the useless HMRC. Will it happen? I have bet heavily against it. But the pools fracas has certainly lowered the odds mostly by punters superstition..the going is against us etc...( illogical i know) so I'm very twitchy atm... believing in good momentum giving my bets a head start!
C'mon Penrose you can't have it both ways! In a reported interview with the LECHO he said... "We are confident of the pools future, it's business as usual " Hmmm? I know he has to put out a positive viewpoint to the markets but which would he rather have, £100m in the kitty or soldier on with the pools? I know and so do most shareholders!
Couple of reasons for the no sale, well two and a half...a) market conditions, i don't buy that, b) BC could not raise the cash and c) they tried to get Spo to sell out at £90m. Do i take it that BC would have bought at £90m? If so it cannot have been mrkt conditions and other IPO's being pulled...can it! Jeez they were being offered £17m pre tax for £100m at less than 6x! What more do they want? No.... Penrose whose tenure is now in the hands of Hemmings did the right thing. It just makes Spo a lot more attractive to the right bidder who will most likely come from the States. One avenue is for the two big private betting cos to have a look and consider reversing into Spo to get a quote. It's a long shot but who knows?
Well, certainly not us! Cont Gaming were nothing but chancers whom Penrose should have told them to get lost from the off! Netplay could not come up with the money. BC despite having pools expierenced management couldn't put it together. Either raising the cash was proving costly or a luke warm reception for the Pools IPO from iis? No doubt the real reason will leak in the coming days.
Yer usual markdown on nothing vol. £600 knocks £14m off co value. Pathetic!
They say busses come along in threes well they didn't reckon on Spo! CG, Netplay & now BC all failed to make the altar. Conspiratorialists might be reading the tea leaves atm but I'm not the slightest bit worried. I reckon it's their loss. We stand to gain. We must find a bright spark to start scoring goals for us. We have passed sideways and backwards for too long! For chrissakes Penrose if you can't do it....find someone who can.
That's a surprise! BC not able to conclude the purchase of the pools. As to why we know not. Not overly disappointed as this makes Spo as a whole that more attractive to an interested party. I'm afraid WH with their ability to put their foot in it are probably loathe to make an offer. We need a result on the vat if to progress stateside next year.
At the interim stage the Pools recorded ebita of £7M with £15m likely for the full year. B'wood Capital will have no problems raising the finance given the healthy returns and stellar margins on offer. An IPO should be a shoe-in. Expect a raise of c £75m (100m @75) supporting £15m profits (pe c 12 x)(debt £30m) should not be too onerous an option. Let's hope we have this & the vat done and dusted before Xmas! We need to start the New Year with a clean sheet.
Expect news of Pools IPO before year end. Originally slated for end Oct these tend to slip as the shysters check commas and full stops which prolong an already over scrutinised operation that has been trading for nigh on 100 years! Jeez.......can you believe the bloody red tape strangling British businesses. No effn wonder stocks suffer from the dead hand of HR and all the other "give me the money" jobsworths. Hope that answers your question bobbysuper? In a roundabout way!
Does anyone know the current situation with regards to The Football Pools IPO? Seems to me because of the lack of news flow regarding raising sufficient funds for this deal, Sportech shares have suffered. any update would be much appreciated. thanks
Autumn months extend through to Nov so another month or so minimum to wait.