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i know what you are saying but the market is mental. It is akin to me telling you what revenue and profits would be and you acknowledge it but don't react. And then when the numbers are told to you again in exactly the same way a month later you then react! 25m market cap minus cash here is too cheap.
Markets are not entirely rational neither are human beings that provides opportunities to sometimes buy shares at a discount ..
But it doesnt make much sense when these numbers were already announced to the market .....
Mmm I am long ULS and in for the long term, but not really surprised at the pull back today.
The market is short term in nature, thus fall in profit lots of speculators head for the market.
Ridiculous share price action from some unclued shareholders this morning. We knew what revenues were down in the first half. We knew what profitability would be. The outlook statement is exactly as expected, a big recovery in activity in the second half of the year from instructions already made in the first half. There is next to nothing new in this announcement and the stock is down over 10% because some investors are panic selling.
Crazy, but a buying opportunity.
not a surprise to anybody who knows ULS. these numbers were already told to the market on october 28th!! we already knew what revenues and profit would be
buying opportunity. £50m market cap, £25m in cash for econveyancer that does 5m ebitda and very interesting proptech with digitalmove.
a lot of ''falls'' , ''declines'', ''reduced''.
really positive. uls could have a really good future ahead of it now
This changes things :) breakout on the chart, target 90
Exciting times for Uls.
£27m Disposal of Conveyancing Alliance
Funded to build transformative digital platform to revolutionise home moving and ownership
ULS Technology plc (AIM: ULS), the provider of online platforms to support UK consumers moving home, announces that it has sold its wholly owned subsidiaries Conveyancing Alliance (Holdings) Limited and Conveyancing Alliance Limited ("CAL") for a cash consideration of £27.3m (the "Disposal") to Project Ophelia Bidco Limited, a company which also controls O'Neill Patient Solicitors LLP which is the largest conveyancer on the CAL panel.
Highlights
· Cash consideration of £27.3m for CAL which made £2.5m EBITDA in the year to 31 March 2020.
· Proceeds from the Disposal will be used to repay all of the Group's existing debt facilities, leaving c.£25m of pro forma cash on its balance sheet.
· The Group's main operating brand post the disposal, eConveyancer, delivered c.£5m of EBITDA in the year to 31 March 2020.
· Following the sale of CAL, and taking into account the current level of investment in Digital Move, the Group remains profitable at the EBITDA level.
Rationale
Over the last six months, the Board has broadened its ambitions to disrupt and transform the home moving and home owning experience for consumers. The Board's vision is to create a platform that will provide consumers with a seamless digital journey for moving house, remortgaging and managing their home.
It has become increasingly clear to the Board that CAL, which provides an effective but simple conveyancing comparison site to individual mortgage brokers, does not support the Group's vision. In contrast, eConveyancer's technology and B2B relationships provide a more comprehensive conveyancing panel management service to large mortgage broker networks, and to mainstream and specialist lenders. This creates a number of touch points with homebuyers and home owners which is a core part of the Group's strategy and its DigitalMove proposition.
Following the disposal of CAL, the Group has one cash generating unit, its main operating brand eConveyancer which delivered c.£5m of EBITDA in the year to 31 March 2020, based on unaudited management estimates. The Group invested a total of c.£1.5m in Digital Move in the same period, of which c.£0.5m was capitalised. This investment, combined with the Group's other ongoing activities as well as central and head office costs, reduced EBITDA in the year to 31 March 2020 by c. £2m. After the sale of CAL, but prior to any increased investment, the Group expects to continue to be EBITDA positive.
Has this been tipped ?
Housing booming and a hidden technology play. Cheap until 85p.
On a day like today seems a long time since Kestrel were buying these in the 60p although I acknowledge there are uncertain days ahead.
Martin Rowland, Non-Executive Chairman, commented:
"As the Business moves into its next phase, now is an appropriate time for Steve to hand over the reins to someone with strong digital experience. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Steve for his hard work, personal commitment and dedication to ULS."
I wonder if Kestrel have steered them to their new CEO.
Tipped by Investors Champion :-
hxxps://www.investorschampion.com/channel/blog/a-software-company-going-cheap
I must admit not sure how long the housing market recovery will last, but Kestrel are still buying ULS shares :-
RNS Number : 1352V
ULS Technology PLC
04 August 2020
ULS Technology Plc
Directors' Dealings & Holdings in Company
ULS Technology plc (LSE:ULS, "Company" or "ULS") received notification on 04 August 2020 from Kestrel Partners LLP ("Kestrel") that on the 31 July 2020, 03 August 2020 and 04 August 2020 it purchased for its discretionary clients, 72,900 ordinary shares of 0.4p each ("Shares") in the Company at an average price of £0.63656 per share. The notification also included the matters set out below.
Recent July comment from Artemis VCT fund on ULS :-
hxxps://www.artemisfunds.com/en/gbr/investor/funds/explorer/artemis-vct-plc/ordinary-shares
"ULS Technology has had a similarly challenging start to the year. As the UK went into lockdown, it suffered a 90% fall in instructions for conveyancing. Management sensibly undertook a number of forecasts looking at possible impacts on the housing market as a result of the pandemic. These were then stress-tested further to determine what it would take to run out of cash and when bank covenants would be breached. Extra facilities and temporary adjustments to the bank covenants were negotiated based on this work but have thankfully proven unnecessary: the housing market and ULS’ pipeline of work is recovering more quickly than expected."
Note, Artemis VCT fund is talking about winding up as cannot find good value Aim IPOs to invest in. Thus at some time towards the end of this year or beginning of next year they will be offloading their ULS Tech stake.
I guess the news of the stamp duty holiday and Lloyds contract extension are boosting us today. Was hoping for a lower buying opportunity. Maybe I won't get one.
Anyone got a link to yesterdays presentation ?
Financials appear as trading statement to me.
The tech advantage and increased sales team should boost sales in a declining sales market so in the short term it is a bit of a gamble.
However, on a 2-3 year basis the time advantage Digitalmove and related products offer should see ULS as a winner.
It looks like there may be cheaper entry points before then so your decision to wait appears wise.
Red
FY Results out today and they're in line with what they had already advised so no surprised in there really, with revenue and profit down yoy as a result of political uncertainty slowing down the housing market during 2019 and the final few weeks being affected by covid.
The money they have decided to invest in the DigitalMove system etc are already looking v smart in today's world.
If I expected the housing market to grow I would invest in the company today because I do like what they're doing and the shares are fairly good value based on the results coming out now (PE of approx 12 and EV/EBIT ratio of 10). But, as already said, I believe the housing market will fall and so I expect ULS's revenues and profits to fall further in the current financial year ending March 2021.
I could be proven wrong because it is possible for a company like this (small and innovative) to grow whilst the sector contracts but the safer option is to continue sitting on the sidelines for now. Will instead invest in DLG for the time being.
Good luck all.
Very sensible Libero. I've invested here for the first time on Friday, but quite modestly. Depending on what I hear tomorrow, I will probably gradually add to my position over the next year.
Having now used the DigitalMove system, after choosing O'Neill Patient as my conveyancer, I'm quite impressed with its ease of use and I think it can become a standard platform. The key issue, for me, is does ULS have the cash resources to get through a down cycle in the housing market?
dyor
RedNinja, thanks for your response.
You're right, things are easing up, and that will help the economy etc. And you're 100% right about the money that ULS could make out of all the people remortgaging to take advantage of historically low interest rates etc. My concern is that the money made from remortgaging will not be nearly enough to make up for the reductions elsewhere.
I haven't done tons of research into this company though so I could be completely wrong.
Let's see what they say in tomorrow's RNS. Best of luck to you.