The latest Investing Matters Podcast episode featuring financial educator and author Jared Dillian has 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.
P.E. et al...lol...having being in the flooring trade many years I have repeatedly heard that their reputation in the carpet industry is that they are all 'a little bit whoo a little bit whay!!!' ...if you know what I mean....and certainly I have met many tradesman that have been on the wrong end of their business ethics. Not surprised they failed to file "accounts" on time...I'm sure they needed more time to do some tinkering to them and to decide if they should continue or jack it all in again at others expense!! I'm sure there will be plenty of people out there that know only too painfully what I mean! GLA in here....with these guys you always need it!
this share is like a dirty carpet , it takes some beating, its asif some one has pulled the rug from under neath it ,sure it will bounce back tomorow if its got plenty of underlay.think a few people tripped up here,but i guess you just have to get back up and dust your self down.sorry for anyone who lost money here, but should recover soon enough good health to all and good night.
A number of United Carpets franchises were terminated over the past year due to harsh trading conditions, which the group attempted to mitigate by investing in new technology to measure footfall and marketing effectiveness. Chief executive officer Paul Eyre said the year of re-evaluation of the group's business model had been a necessary step. The company is now re-aligning central costs with a reduced operating base. "While we are not anticipating an uplift in the market conditions in the near term, the group is now better placed to benefit from an improvement in future market conditions," said Eyre.
United Carpets issued a pained final results statement for the year to October 5th, stating that the period had been "extremely challenging". The group suffered a 2.6m loss for the period, as exceptional costs of 3m followed on from impairment costs and expenses associated with store closures. Like-for-like sales across the group were down by 1 per cent. Revenues came in at 41.5m for the period, with pre-tax profits ahead of exceptionals at 0.4m. Shares in the carpeting specialist were suspended from trading on Aim last August, as the company was unable to issue financial results within the timeframe specified by Aim rules. Following this statement, the board now expects trading to be resumed.
Happy new year pj. Cloning the way to go.
Landlords still waiting for new leases and two more franchises have gone down.
http://www.sharesoc.org/blog.html United Carpets has put its main trading subsidiary (United Carpets Northern Ltd - UCN) through a pre-pack administration. The parent company’s shares are listed but are currently suspended. After the Administrator was appointed, the business and the majority of assets were immediately sold to United Carpets (Franchisor) Ltd, another wholly owned subsidiary of the public company. The justification given for this sleight of hand was that without doing this deal (and effectively enabling the company to either exit from its lease liabilities or force the store landlords to reduce them), the company could not continue trading. Needless to say, the landlords are going to be furious about this move. It has enabled the company to break their contracts, but otherwise continue trading as before, with the same management and the same shareholders. In other words a typical “phoenix” company situation. ShareSoc has consistently opposed pre-pack administrations which permit companies to default on their obligations and undermine normal business practices. There is more information about this in past ShareSoc Newsletters and on our Members Network.
http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201208241230027606K
I hear that they have closed another couple of stores in the Blackpool and Lancashire area at very short notice this week, wonder if this is the same picture round the country but been kept low key !!!!
Floor coverings seller United Carpets has had to terminate a number of struggling franchises this year, which is likely to have a detrimental effect on the performance of the group, as it is proving increasingly challenging in the current environment to turn around failing stores.
Lol. ...and on that note, time for the weekend to begin.....!
Are there any underlaying reasons for the drop. The sp needs to take some stairods to pump itself back up.
ECHO Echo echo!!!! Any one fancy jumping in here?? I'll do the chairs, sandwiches and refreshments again :PP
With wool costs still rising, the top end hard wearing 80% 20% wool/nylon mix is suffering and consumer spend still stuck unsure about the future, will take a while to recover. Margins on the synthetic mix is pruned to the bone so gross and bottom line profits squeezed. With cost savings initiated 2 years ago these are now showing how shrewd management was. With a streamlined business model and the recent announcement by the Coalition of affordable housing market investment in UCG's heartland should stimulate the home furnishings market. In my opinion the shares are good for a medium to long term investment having held their own over the past two years of unprecedented market freefall and now primed to exploit the forthcoming economic turnaround.
Carpets still flying 30/09/2011 Ben Jaglom Carpets and beds outfit United Carpets Group (UCG) has issued a trading update in which it bemoans the 'ongoing austerity measures'. The AIM-quoted group opined that over the 25 weeks to 22 September trading had been 'challenging' with like-for-like sales falling 0.6 per cent against the same period last. United argued that with the ongoing austerity measures its consumers have 'continued to spend their money cautiously'. The Yorkshire-headquartered company maintained that while it was looking to reduce its store count, it had in fact increased from 14 to 18 over the period. It added that as these new stores are loss making they will have a 'greater adverse impact on group profitability' than if they had continued as franchised stores. Sales of its flooring products were up against last year with United arguing its customers recognise 'The value for money we offer and the opportunity to choose from our extensive ranges.' It argues that its performance 'continues to compare favourably with our nearest retail peers' however its bed division was said to be 'struggling'. Analysts at house broker Seymour Pierce are forecasting profits of £1.1 million (EPS: 0.92p) for the year to March 2012. Shares in United are certainly not volatile, having traded over the last year between a range of 7.25p-9p. Currently trading at 7.38p, valuing the company at £6 million the shares have insufficient volatility and potential upside to warrant a speculative buy rating. A relative minnow in the sector compared to giants such as Carpetright the shares look fairly valued at the current price. Hold.
http://www.growthcompany.co.uk/news/1658558/carpets-still-flying.thtml
The achievement of United Carpets, which has 86 stores, to deliver a 4% rise in pre-tax profits to £1.2m for the year to 31 March should not be under-estimated. Although it trades on a modest forward earnings multiple of 8.3 times, we think it's best to err on the side of caution and avoid this well-run carpet retailer until the wider economy, and the housing market, strengthens, says the Independent, which has a “hold” recommendation on the stock.
why has the shares i brought not registered as a buy but as a sell
Holding its own in a difficult environment. A medium to long term upsider as economy recovers and measures to boost the housing sector kick in next year. Highlights. Significant progress in successfully franchising corporate stores with the average number of corporate stores reducing to 11 from 20 and total stores up from 82 to 83 · Network sales broadly maintained at £34.2m (2009: £34.5m) · Revenue decreased by 5.0% to £13.36m (2009: £14.06m) principally as a result of the successful franchising of corporate stores · Like for like sales decreased 5.3% · Adjusted operating profit* decreased by 18.0% to £534,000 (2009: £651,000) · Profit before tax decreased by 14.0% to £604,000 (2009: £702,000) · Cash and cash equivalents of £1.85m (2009: £1.38m) · Interim dividend maintained at 0.25p per share (2009: 0.25p) * Adjusted operating profit excludes impairment of property, plant and equipment and movements in the provision against onerous leases
Allied Carpet demise effect. Announced today this interesting interim report Highlites. Network sales grew by 11.8% to £34.51m (2008: £30.88m) Revenue increased by 11.4% to £14.06m (2008: £12.62m) Like for like sales up 2.5% Adjusted operating profit* increased by 12.2% to £651,000 (2008: £580,000) Profit before tax increased by 10.2% to £702,000 (2008: £637,000) Total store numbers constant at 80 stores Interim dividend re-instated at 0.25p per share (2008: Nil). With a continued confident housing market and mortgage funding becoming available. looks like UCG cannot go wrong. Appears to be in a growth sector and with CarpetRight set to improve, there could well be a tussle between the two major flooring retailers for improved market share.
Carpetrite have produced brilliant numbers for the last reporting period. This is good news for UCG as it too picked up additional sales post Allied Carpet demise. The upbeat housing market will filter down to UCG eventualy
onwards and upwards here
The Group has made good progress in increasing the number of franchised stores, with the number of corporate stores reducing from 23 to 17 over the period. We have in place an excellent pipeline of potential franchisees many of whom have already made a significant financial commitment to join the Group. During the period, store numbers remained unchanged at 80 and, while the immediate focus continues to be the successful conversion of corporate stores to franchised stores, new store openings will continue but at a lower rate to the previous year. Building on the momentum begun in the previous year, bed sales have continued to increase, up by 11.2% on a like for like basis during the period. Sales of beds still only represent approximately 10% of total sales and we believe there is significant scope for this to increase. Over the last twelve months, the Group has introduced new ranges, simplified the sales and delivery process and improved customer service and the benefit of these actions is now becoming apparent. With the majority of stores operating under the Group's franchise model, the business continues to benefit from the entrepreneurial drive and motivation of the individual store owners. This, together with our focus on the value sector of the market, means the Group remains well positioned to combat the current market environment. Trading since 30 September 2009, has continued positively. The Group has robust cash balances and looks forward to furth
Plenty more upside forthcoming. There are only two major listed players now that Allied went belly up. Allied assets and sites up for grabs. Carpetright will try to snuff out UCG even if it meens buying them out. GL
Thank you. I suspected that but just wanted to be sure. I note that LSE also has 2008, but I'd guess that it's information from the same news feed and not an error on there part.