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(Pokerchips 12:39)

Company communications should remain consistent to avoid an inferred or implied statements.

The last time there was a significant price move (October) THG release an announcement the following day, on this basis I would have assumed similar especially given national news paper coverage.

Having been a holder of other companies in similar situations it's often the case no 'smoke without fire', that said the reporters rarely get it right out of the box, normally takes 3/4 attempts before its flushed out so to speak.

Lots of speculation, here my speculative contribution.

- The board would have been on notice from about 3.34pm giving ample time to issue a 'we know of no reason..' type notification.

- Parties mentioned make commercial sense (see dans post 596p 20:40). This adds weight to the story as it would require knowledge of both the industry and key players.

- The publication is also subscription based with some degree of accountability.

- Previous rumour had minimal impact of the share price, this time sustained near 20% into the close.

- The 28 January 2022 announcement pointed out "but which are beneficially owned by Steven Whitehead (who is neither a PDMR nor a person closely associated with such a PDMR)."

There is no evidence the shares were sold as part of a margin call, indeed Section 4 a) makes no mention (Description of the financial instrument, type of instrument) only that they are Ordinary shares.

..the game is afoot

The board could have easily released a statement similar to last year (Wednesday 13 October, 2021) denying any rumour but chose not to.

This is of interest as under listing regs you have to be consistent with market communications to avoid implied statements, of course if there is more to it then a proper release would have to be prepared taking much longer than a simple template.

It's interesting there has been no RNS either confirming or denying, this may have legs yet. Also keeps the press guessing until Monday.

It could also give time for other suitors to come forward and make their interest/s known.

Whatever happens the dynamic has changed, big scramble to exit by momentum shorts and entry by speculators may draw attention to the actual value of THG especially those looking to acquire.

The game is afoot, have a good weekend all.

Percentage move is enough to trigger company statement, this could make things interesting ..

https://www.sharecast.com/news/news-and-announcements/thg-surges-as-pe-firms-advent-leonard-green-and-apollo-said-to-be-circling--9159960.html

Apparently the bears have started a 'Go Fund Me' page ..

(lol)

That's the problem with these momentum driven shorts, as soon as they try to buy back the stock sold to drive it down the momentum reverses, and sharply too..

Recruiting at a fair pace, tends to support recent growth figures and data

https://www.thg.com/job-search/?gh_src=e1b72a62teu

Options are going to much more limited now in terms of spinning bits off, valuations are going to be difficult to justify making it hard to bookbuild.

Get the Premium listing done, then postpone the rest until dust has settled, may be get a new City PR company to get things ready for 2023

Its impossible to call the bottom on any stock but at these levels I feel the chance of an approach is very high

Still have some powder dry should that occur ..

I can't see how they will be able to split off various divisions given the overall share price, all of those lucrative city contracts for IPO's out the window, at least in the short term.

Increased my holding as nothing has really changed imo.

Small drop to 8.39% for Jan, down from Dec 8.72%

It's an average across the month, tends to echo what we are seeing reported generally.

It was one of the largest IPO's in London at the time but effectively off limits to UK funds. Perhaps this is where some of the current animosity stems from, snubbing the city not a good start.

Even the US or European funds need special mandates to invest overseas. The pool of available and interested parties is much more restrictive.

But this can be corrected, better to go this route than admit defeat by going private imo.

(Mando Today 13:35)

Just to be clear, THG are not on the AIM index but have a Standard listing. This however could be worse given how UK funds are setup in the first place, with risk assessed mandates.

Pretty sure few if any will include companies with a Standard listing.

THG may be waiting for their 2021 accounts to be audited and signed off as part of the submission process.

Here is a list of benefits derived from a Premium Listing (p8, of below link)
https://docs.londonstockexchange.com/sites/default/files/documents/guide-main-market-pdf.pdf
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A Premium Listing means that a company must meet standards that are over r and above (often described as ‘super-equivalent’) those set forth in the EU legislation, including the UK’s corporate governance code. Investors trust the superequivalent standards as they provide them with additional protections. By virtue of these higher standards, companies may have access to a broader range of investors and may enjoy a lower cost of capital owing to heightened shareholder
confidence. A Premium Listing is only available to equity shares issued by commercial trading companies.
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From p14 it appears THG were guided by their advisors which listing to select:

Eligibility
An issuer will generally select its preferred market and listing category in consultation with its advisers prior to engagement with the UKLA. For issuers requesting a Premium Listing of their equity shares, contact with the UKLA will be undertaken by the issuer’s appointed sponsor firm. The role of a sponsor is to guide the issuer on the application of the Listing Rules and the Prospectus
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There may be a list of forthcoming listings new or otherwise.

Looking at the subsequent placing in may 21, again its 'Global' with some rather exclusive names to boot . Softbank and Sofina being the main participants from what i can see.

"Barclays Bank PLC, Citigroup Global Markets Limited, Goldman Sachs International and Jefferies International Limited are acting as Joint Global Co-ordinators and Joint Bookrunners (together, the "Joint Bookrunners") in respect of the Placing. Rothschild & Co. advised the Company."

HTTPS://www.investegate.co.uk/thg-plc--thg-/rns/results-of-upsized-placing-and-total-voting-rights/202105110700041970Y/

Perhaps the UK fund managers felt a little excluded?

A brief analysis of the register shows very few UK funds or institutions present, even Jupiter are a special all purpose investment vehicle without usual limitations.

Odd for a UK float but perhaps explained by the restrictive Standard listing.

" a standard listing sets requirements that are based on the minimum standards set out in the United Kingdom provisions which implemented CARD and the TD. A listing that is described as a premium listing will include requirements that exceed those required under the United Kingdom provisions which implemented CARD and the TD."

https://www.handbook.fca.org.uk/handbook/LR/1/5.html

In some ways THG would have been better to list on AIM, at least there are funds with mandates specifically setup to take advantage of fledgling companies.

Hopefully this will change once the move is announced giving a much wider investor audience, not much point in listing in the UK if funds are restricted by their own mandates.

(Pokerchips 10:38)

Good post, totally agree, head down ignore the noise.

Most of the funds involved in THG are overseas or US based, in which case 5% rule applies for notifications. Lazard's have been active recently.