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I gather Graham Neary posted some notes on Stocko on Friday. If anyone has access,could they post here please. VLE is his biggest holding so any comments by him are of interest.
Good point Yamaha
Also to note the last buyback Volvere did was at 1290p, since then we've had Shire have a significantly improved H1 performance, and the acquisition Friday. Plus should be a little extra cash in the business from Shire's activities
Worth noting the NAV of Shire includes only cost price of acquisition, the revalued FH building and the current value of capex expenditure. The business will be worth much more than its NAV.
NAV of 1356p at June 2019 almost all in cash, Shire seemingly making good progress,and the new acquisition looking like a bargain,what is not to like at 1240p to buy? If the Landers don't find suitable uses for the cash,it will be returned at a price higher than 1240p.
Good to see from IPL's accounts that they were moving into "free from" recipes. These are not only very popular but command high margins (those with coeliac disease particularly are forced to pay whatever is charged).
With scope to rationalise the freeholds (and maybe sell some or all of them) plus other synergies this purchase could be terrific value for £1.25m given a prior £7.6m turnover (currently £5m annualised).
Finally some movement. But there is still a lot of cash. It’s a bit of a widespread for a bank account.
New acquisition just announced - looks good. Nice and cheap at £1.25m for £5m annualised turnover, plus complementary to Shire in terms of clients.
I wonder if any of the one leasehold and three freehold properties can be closed/sold?
Hopefully some nice cakes at the next AGM too :o))
A tweet from VLE's CEO:
hTtps://twitter.com/JonathanELander/status/1222544584607256577
"Don't miss Shire Foods making @IcelandFoods vegan sausage rolls on TV: https://bit.ly/2U72ctq (Episode 3). Next week Xmas pies. Sundays at 8pm on @channel5_tv."
Per the comments, the vegan sausage rolls have had terrific reviews online, and the Iceland No Cheese & Onion pasties are also Shire's.
Interesting to see £34,500 of buys this morning yet once again no price movement - very unusual for VLE. Presumably there's been a line of stock available.
Almost £31,000's worth, so quite material in terms of VLE's usual trading.
Well Simon, I am keeping the faith and holding.
But I was surprised they did nothing before the election. I didn't plan this to be a cash ISA! With a spread of nearly 10% that's quite an interest rate.
Good to see a tick up after a £58,000 sale of 5k shares. Perhaps an overhang has been cleared.
Good news this morning - Lidl are to accelerate their expansion, opening another 230 stores in the next 3 years:
Https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/lidl-to-open-230-stores-in-challenge-to-big-four-supermarkets-h9gqggwkv
The article also notes that Aldi are opening another 50 stores a year for the next two years.
Simon Thompson of the IC commented on VLE the other day and concluded thus:
"I also note that the recent trading performance of Volvere’s one remaining investment, an 80 per cent stake in Leamington Spa-based food manufacturing business, Shire Foods, fully justifies its £7m (371p) carrying value. Revenue of £10m in the first half was a record and the business improved its operating profit by £410,000 year on year.
The Landers are really smart investors and I would continue to hold Volvere’s shares ahead of news on their next acquisition. The general UK economic and political uncertainty is likely to provide rich pickings for them to take advantage of. Hold."
Sorry, meant to say “add £4 to the asset value “
Thanks Rivaldo. Excellent news, not all plain sailing for Shire but they seem to heading in the right direction. A very conservative valuation would add another £4m to the asset value..
Excellent and pleasantly surprising performance by Shire in H1 - a £240k profit in H1 is an impressive £400k turnaround on last year in such a seasonally weaker half.
The full year should now make impressive reading following the big demand-led investment and roll-out of Aldi, Lidl and Morrisons stores.
Net assets per share have soared to 1356p per share - with no goodwill - including £19.7m cash.
Very happy with that, and the comment about new acquisition opportunities increasing. VLE are in prime position to take advantage of the current climate.
H1 results could be any day soon judging by prior years. Not expecting a lot from Shire given the heavy H2 seasonality, weak pound, rising labour costs etc, but with the £21m m/cap (1.834m shares in issue) likely almost entirely covered by cash Shire is effectively in for free at present.
Aldi have announced a £1 billion investment programme, opening another 100 stores across the UK.
They've also been increasing their percentage of UK-sourced food.
All of which should be very good news for VLE:
Https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2019/09/aldi-double-stores-sales-smash-11bn/
Another article on Shire's new vegan sausage rolls:
Https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/whats-on/shopping/aldi-launches-new-vegan-range-16307917?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharebar
Note the further expansion of the range over the "coming months":
"Julie Ashfield, Managing Director of Buying at Aldi, says: "The launch of our new vegan range is in response to our growing, ethically inspired customer base, looking for delicious alternatives to meat and another example of our ongoing commitment to cater for all diets, at everyday low prices. We look forward to expanding our vegan offering even further over the coming months.”
Great news for Shire Foods - hopefully the Greggs effect will have a follow-on effect for Aldi's vegan pastries:
Https://www.leamingtoncourier.co.uk/news/people/leamington-food-producer-is-rolling-out-vegan-pastry-snack-for-aldi-1-8974996
"Leamington food producer is rolling out vegan pastry snack for Aldi
Tuesday 25 June 2019
A Leamington food producer has developed a new vegan sausage roll which is being sold in Aldi stores across the country.
Shire Foods, in Tachbrook Road, has launched the No Sausage Rolls with Aldi as part of its ongoing relationship with the retailer.
It will supply more than 100,000 of the tasty vegan snacks to Aldi stores each week - helping to provide even more choice for the estimated 3.5million people in the UK who favour a plant-based diet.
While the new product is not the first vegan offering that Shire Foods has developed, it is the first that will be readily available on supermarket shelves, joining Shire’s existing range of pies and pasties in Aldi’s 830 stores across the UK.
Kevin Newey, Commercial Manager at Shire Foods, said: “We’ve worked closely with Aldi to create a delicious vegan-friendly product for shoppers to enjoy, and we’re confident that the No Sausage Rolls will be incredibly popular with vegans and non-vegans alike.
“Our long-standing partnership with Aldi has helped us to grow significantly in recent years, as well as providing us with the stability to develop new products and expand our range. We look forward to continuing to work with them in the future.”
Shire Foods uses only the finest ingredients in all its products and maintains the highest standards of welfare in everything it does, earning a Brand Reputational Compliance AA* accreditation, as well as a membership of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil.
The business, which employs approximately 130 people, has worked with Aldi since 2008. During that time, it has experienced rapid growth, creating an additional thirty jobs in its production site to meet the growing demand.
Julie Ashfield, Managing Director of Buying at Aldi, said: “Collaborating with British suppliers has been key to our growth, so we’re pleased to be able to support Shire Foods with the launch of their No Sausage Rolls.
"Their fantastic range of pies and pasties have already proven popular with our shoppers and we’re already seeing fantastic feedback for the new vegan offering too.”
Nice £25,000 buy at 1250p just now. Quite a profitable exercise if you can continue buying at 1250p or so having tendered at 1290p.
I too kept hold of all my shares. (Not a huge quantity - would probably been an "all or nothing" decision), as I am pleased with the progress so far. The latest post from rivaldo helps reassure me that I may have taken the right inaction!
Good news flow for all of Shire Foods' main customers is piling up.
Yesterday Lidl announced they're investing £500m in 40 new stores across London:
Https://news.sky.com/story/lidl-to-open-first-central-london-store-as-part-of-500m-expansion-11740537
Aldi (also supplied by Shire) are rolling out a new Local sub-brand for smaller London sites too, with the first store opening in Balham in March.
And today we have news of Iceland opening a further 50 new stores this year:
Https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/business/iceland-plans-expansion-as-sales-heat-up-vsrfmqj2d
Plus Morrisons have expanded their partnership with Amazon across Britain, with online groceries from Morrisons being available for delivery by Amazon within hours of being ordered:
Https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/business/morrisons-adds-five-more-cities-to-fast-delivery-basket-with-amazon-bk6dmz0wm
Thanks Rivaldo. I decided not to tender any and am happy to continue with the Landers. If they can’t find a suitable acquisition no doubt the rest of the cash will be returned , probably after Shire has been sold. No downside!