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Would certainly help balance the disparity between Newgate Australia performance and current total company MCap. Newgate Australia increased revenue by 11% in H1; sensible to bring on the stars and continue to help escalate growth. Its an obvious platform that's growing strongly in a receptive market and could be the engine that drives the rerate all the way back to the UK.

Directors MUST be locked out for some reason. I suspect that two specific lines in the interims are relevant viz - Australia once again has turned in excellent results and plans are being implemented to significantly increase the size of the business. Growth has been strong across all parts of their business, in particular research and public affairs, for both state and federal Governments. For what its worth I think a dual listing on ASX would certainly help given the business growth and desire to increase it. I am sure that the BoD must be looking at a way round any dilution at this low level as previously stated and a dual listing would be sensible. It would also prevent directors buying at present.

£1.3m in cash and all parts of the business doing well post-Brexit yet the response is currently negative - bizarre. http://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/166670/porta-says-the-outlook-is-improving-post-brexit-166670.html I would have expected this kind of reaction to a dire outlook not a bright one - heyho.

In the interim accounts work in progress has risen by 60% from £724k to £1.15m [H1 2015 to H1 2016]..... that's a 60% increase and hopefully continuing now we are in clear water.

The recent appointments of Steffan, Gavin and Charles were successively made to specifically address just that. Indications are that rapid progress is being made in integrating the 'pod' units into a cohesive and unique platform. This is most evident in Newgate PPS but appears to be accelerating across the businesses as Marketing is now benefiting from running alongside Communications to provide a comprehensive Marcom offering. It is encouraging to see that this aggressive approach appears to be gaining ground as several recent contracts have opted to take multiple rather than single options. Porta is positioning itself as a one-stop-shop for all aspects of communications and marketing and it does appear to be gaining traction. If, as you point out, this cohesive strategy is being successfully steered by these senior engagements, then the upside could be substantial given all the factors that I've highlighted below. A lot of revenue is recurring in nature giving scope for strong growth for a truly integrated group growing organically. Even static revenue at 3.5 times current MCap is making Porta look cheap if management can streamline operational cohesion. The RNS is one of the most confident I have seen for a while on outlook given Brexit uncertainties. Market concensus is that the pent-up demand for IPO's will now start to increase markedly in Q4 2016 and accelerate into 2017. This provides plenty more opportunities for continued growth. Looks promising - now management ave to show their mettle and turn the positive outlook into results. At least they now have a tailwind rather than a headwind.

Year end cash £1.7m - an extra 15% of Redleaf bought leaving £1.5m cash. Revenue of £18m in the first half with post-Brexit business now noticeably improving across the Board. Strong earnings up 11% in Australia and growing...................and a current MCap of just £10m with quality hires generating fee income "from day one of their appointments". Surely this merits a little interest from growth funds at this level.

Hi GT. Currency effects from Newgate Aus will enhance H2 as exchange benefits only kicked in from June 23rd at close of H1. Good to see that cash resources at end H1 held up at £1.7m thats 17% of our current MCap. Just under £500k has been spent post year end on acquiring the extra 15% Redleaf but all the indications of increasing traction across the businesses look good. Porta has a prudent and seasoned Board with an increasing number of quality management hires. The note that each has been fee generating 'from day one' of appointment is testament to the networks that they bring with them. Nadir passed.......onward and upward.

Not unexpected hit from the Brexit effect but contained at 1% due to strengthening overseas exposure, especially in Australia as predicted. Newgate Australia alone now commands a price in excess of whole company current MCap IMO given its client base and contracts. The fact that business was strong before the vote, hiccoughed, and the dip is now past is promising with outlook in all component businesses improving. It is that outlook that we were all waiting for as there are several pivotal factors occurring in H2 as a result of debt roll up and senior appointments. The ones that stand out for me are: All of our senior hires thus far have generated fees from day one The UK business was subject to some degree of slowdown in the run up to and immediate aftermath of the referendum on Brexit - However, business has picked up noticeably since. The profile of Newgate and PPS has grown in recent months - the pipeline of new client prospects and high profile hires for both Newgate and PPS has strengthened significantly in the last couple of months.   Publicasity, which focuses on B2C and B2B markets, has been very solid throughout the first six months with an encouraging level of new business coming through towards the end of the first half, such as BSH Group (which includes brands such as Bosch, Siemens and Neff), and also won a large confidential piece of business from a major UK retailer. The outlook is undoubtedly strengthening all the time now that the Brexit vote is behind us, but we cannot relax our resolve in growing the business. We can say with confidence that the platform is there to continue driving the business forward............ All in all we need to see cashflow increase as bigger clients engage with Porta. Disappointed that Gene has still not not sorted the onerous loan debt and that work is needed to keep margins higher, but it does look like new hires are hitting their briefs and aggressively building the client base. We have the key people and now have scale of operations in the UK and in Australia. Given an acquisition free H2 lets make these assets sweat and drive the business forward. Key factor will now be seeing new directors buy shares as a sign of belief in their own strategies; assuming they are not excluded from buying due to pending expansion. The £10m MCap really does not reflect a multi-platform company with predicted annual revenue of over £35m.

Hi Toad. I doubt Emma Kane would have been privy to any information other than through her role at Redleaf. Whilst she heads the Redleaf team she is NOT on the board at Porta so would not be privy to tomorrows interim RNS. That's what makes this more intriguing since the other operations and their performances will only be known to operations directors individually and the Board collectively. As GT points out, this could be part of a partnership sale where tax liabilities and HMG gains payments are being paid off this tax year. It could also be driven by a move to bring in a new institution whilst allowing her to retain her holding at a previous level I'd circa 5m shares. Frankly I don't know, but I do know that the last trading update in June stated that revenue was ahead of the first 5 months in 2015. Despite caution over Brexit, there has been no indication of any significant downturn (10% would merit an RNS in most companies). There will be more than a few raised eyebrows if this sale appears to have been 'opportune' so I sincerely doubt that Emma Kane has any prior knowledge of the contents of the interims save for her own watch. It could also be that the enhanced Newgate public communications team and operating officer is repositioning Redleaf in the integrated services platform with a possible difference of direction??? We'll soon know. A nice clean set of interims with a manageable loss and accelerating outlook would be acceptable. If the loan debt has indeed been replaced by FD Gene then I'll be impressed on two counts. I don't do sleepless nights in companies that are not one-trick ponies. Porta has a variety of complementary businesses with a high level of recurring revenue so should weather any hiccough like the current post-Brexit uncertainty.

So many contradictions which will hopefully be clarified in tomorrow's interims. New appointments of Steffan Williams, Gavin Devine and Charles Chichester in the past 12 months should be ramping up growth. Emma Kane of Redleaf held 4.5m shares, collected another 5m from sale of a further 15% of Redleaf and then sold 4.25m to leave her holding an increased 5.25m but less control in Redleaf. So.......did Ms Kane need the cash to cover costs or I what. We know that Steffan and Gavi were brought in to streamline Newgate management etc but has this overlapped now to Redleaf. Redleaf appears to be weathering the Brexit changes well, but we should get a clearer picture come tomorrow. Could we be flying a Newgate flag rather than Porta? I suspect a big shake-up in the business helping increase productivity but new appointments may hold back the bottom line. As long as cashflow is still positive and rising and the outlook good, then we should start to see more interest from institutions which is the lifeblood to get Porta's MCap rising. Whatever the outcome, the timing of this transaction and today's RNS certainly doesn't help, whatever the reasoning.

Looks spot-on micksnags - smart move IMHO.

Current price is discounting any 'special' finds as a result of mining virgin K4 block. That could produce an RNS at any time given the previous history of lace.

The fact that we should see H1 revenue of around £18m should certainly draw a line under the recent sell-off. Despite the Brexit hiccup affecting UK IPO's, that only affects a small percentage of business and pent up demand is now coming through and should accelerate in Q4 into 2017. A lot of Porta's income is recurring in nature which gives visible revenue and whilst Q3 may have flat-lined or judderred, it should more than be made up in Q4. Translational effects on currency have dampened the huge progress at Newgate Australia in the past, but that should now have reversed given the weakness of Sterling. This will be even more apparent in H2. Management costs will have risen as Steffan, Gavin and Charles have come on board, but they SHOULD be bringing in the networking contacts that are the lifeblood of a thriving communications business. The fact that no head-hunters were needed to pursuance these individuals to join is interesting. All three commented on the unique integrated communications format as their prime decision to get on board. I can't believe that this quality of management is not actively working flat out to redress reasons for the disparity between our current £10m MCap and our circa £35m annual revenue. I am expecting such a seasoned set of guys to really nail it at the interims and state that despite any Brexit effect, business is stronger than ever running into Q3 and 2017. If not, then why on earth did they all jump at the opportunity to join the company? Just hope they've all got chunky buy orders in when the interims reveal progress.

Hi Riverman - you made a fair call last October; suspect we may well get a replay of last year but this time with substance. The shareprice took a dive in September only to rise to highs in October as directors bought in post interims. I noticed that you've only a couple of posts under your belt all for Porta over last year. Did you just pop back to check or are you still considering getting back in at this level. Incidentally, where did you put the £11k you took out? I trust it certainly made more than leaving it here. Just need the sentiment to change ....... Long story!

Hi GT - FYI - On 14 April 2016, the Company agreed the terms of a replacement secured discounted bond facility with Hawk (the "Bond"). The Bond has a redemption date of 14 April 2019 and the amount to be redeemed on that date will be £4,110,000, with an equivalent gross redemption yield of 12 per cent. per annum, and includes an arrangement fee of £28,600. At its request, Porta will be able to redeem the Bond early at a discount calculated on the date of redemption. As well as having the opportunity to repay the Bond at a discount, the Bond will help reduce the Company's monthly interest payments, as the redemption premium is only payable on the date of redemption. In the event that the Bond is not redeemed in full on or before the redemption date, interest shall accrue thereon at a rate of five per cent. above the base rate of National Westminster Bank plc for such time as it is inforce. ******* Note that this can be repaid 'at any time' at a discount which could form basis of good news. With regard to the public affairs hires I take a different view that PPS business across all regions of the UK is buzzing looking at regional input on website. PPS is now under Newgate umbrella and these hires fit nicely if there is indeed increased activity. I also like the recent concentration on the insurance sector which is looking like an increasing niche for Porta. Hopefully we'll get flesh on the bones on Thursday. Nice to see tentative buyers starting to pick up stock perhaps as a result of their initial research. We are, after all, well below the radar of most II's and any interest could magnify the upside quickly with a gap jump.

Thursdays interims should certainly provide a lot of information to digest. Like you, I am expecting a small loss around £250k as a result of a 'now-passed' Brexit slowdown with indications that project work and IPO activity is picking up nicely. I expect revenue of £18m with significantly lower exceptional costs than last years interims. Operating and admin costs should track around £14m and then come the unknowns which could easily tip the balance into profit or 'predicted' small loss. The 'significant' reduction in exceptionals could easily be balanced by the recruitment of senior execs but I was encouraged by the fact that these guys came on board voluntarily thus eliminating costly head-hunter costs. Translational gains from Newgate Australia and the far-east should bounce the figures quite nicely and BoD interest and visit to our antipodean operations in the summer should help to cement organisational cohesion. Newgate Aus [research] in particular looks to be having a strong six months looking at its website. Optimistically then, we may actually be running a £250k profit with increasing cash-flow. Rolling up the loan debt to 2019 will also have helped finances going forward....but IF......and I say IF...management have have targeted the loan debt and can replace it at 6% or LIBOR plus 2% then there could be a sea-change in sentiment. If either or both of these scenarios play out then I would expect all the BoD to have buy orders in place on release and the 4m sale be replaced by similar sized buys with new instos following suit. Dreaming? ... possibly, but the argued logic is there.

I gathered that when we met. I actually passed on your accurate assessments to the BoD [with appropriate acknowledgement] and suggested that if you can do it then perhaps our brokers and Nomad should be equally engaged. Since part of their remit is to encourage institutional investors to look at prospects and consider investing, this 4m blip 'could/should' have been watched and absorbed by having an interested party on the sidelines. I'm equally convinced that the BoD have been precluded from buying for some time due to developments that will be highlighted on Thursday - hopefully, loan debt replacement or conversion. Keep scratching the numbers.

Very impressed by your research and predictions on Porta since we met at the AGM. Time was, I was the only poster here when the share price was a lot higher but the business was a lot smaller yet higher risk. The company is now a lot more stable and growing yet several factors are dragging the price back - all well discussed here. You have called both investor sentiment and background trading correctly on several pivotal occasions - well done. Your running diary of trading patterns impressed me in June as did your attention to detail. We both share similar views on institutional irrationality which seems perverse given the outlook especially for Newgate, Redleaf and PPS. Will be an interesting week with the 4 mill hopefully being the final sale and good news pending Thursday. I expect reduced number of post-Brexit IPO's to have dented a little progress but pent-up demand should increase flow this quarter. Get the loan debt down and sentiment should change quickly if it whets the appetite of new institutional players.

Hi Gt - it was temporary email for AGM. Lots of horse trading going on here pre-interims and BoD are as tight-lipped as ever. I suspect the recent surge in big buys is being fed by action across the Board. Any sniff of renegotiated loan debt will leverage the bottom line immensely and even level progress post-Brexit will be viewed positively. Continued upswing in Redleaf or Newgate divisions will be unexpected and the volume of Redleaf company Twitter and PPS chatter does look promising in the background. Management costs are the Achilles Heel. Porta have to be squeezing contract wins from the last three appointments who should have brought numerous contacts as baggage. The big plus point is the fact that they were eager to join Porta thus making any considerable head-hunter costs unnecessary. All we need is a nice clean (and simple) set of interims and a solid outlook. The IPO market in particular should have a huge pent-up demand given the Brexit famine now replaced by very encouraging UK forecasts. The lack of acquisitions should now allow the cleanest set of accounts from which to draw conclusions on progress and hopefully show that the mature bought and built strategy has worked. Organic growth and outlook are paramount; I can ignore any increased management cost blip as long as the effect is being seen going into H2.

The tight ship here is in now in full lockdown mode. I suspect multiple discussions are under way to repair the current bombed-out shareprice. It was clear at the AGM that the management viewed the price as totally unrepresentative with the probable value of Newgate Australia alone worth this MCap. I think the lack of any pre-interim news is probably linked to intense renegotiation of the crazy legacy 12% loan debt. If I were the BoD I would be asking Bob which is better, a rapidly rising price in his shed load of shares or forsaking half the 12%. If there is no quick fix in place at the interims then it will certainly focus all eyes on performance and remuneration of the Board in which case I would expect interest from Tosca etc. I suspect we are actually being held down by negative sentiment in the IPO market and the effect is far less than is being imagined. The FD has always made much of profits from Newgate Oz being constrained by bad exchange rates........this time he has no excuses. Clean accounts and a KISS approach would repair a huge amount of negativity and actually stimulate the long, long awaited rating that reflects prospects. And believe me......I have been one of the patient ones!!! Bring on a wedge of decent news. We have a shed load of management talent and, reading between the lines, are targeting the big insurers as a newly found forte. All IMO as usual.