Member Info for barchid

Trent/Fairdealer
I do remember this RF communication very well and the pub's code adjudicator wasn't, if I recall correctly, mentioned.
But apparently they made this decision that Mars were to provide information which they failed to do.
So this time the complainant (tenant of 3 pubs so I guess it is the same man as we heard about) went to the High Court (using a proper firm of solicitors this time!) have given Mars 14 days to provide it. Just for clarity this was actually in the Monday edition of the Times, apparently, but we are still stranded in S Africa still with no airports open,
I trust you two are both keeping well ? so my news is not as timely as normal.
Having said that there are far worse places to be holed up in, (like being a tenant in a pub that can not open springs to mind !).
I trust you two are still keeping well ?

Trent
There is a prominent article in todays Times on pub rents but the last part of it is focussed on the number of pints per barrel argument which blew up last year. It appears that last years complainant had a ruling in his favour by the pub adjudication body and they requested Mars to provide further information which has not been forthcoming. The High Court have now given Mars 14 days to supply this information.
That apart the whole article is pretty negative for brewers who own pubs.

Ian
My apologies if you can not see the wood from the trees.....

Tenbear
Not wishing to discourage you but with a 5% buy/sell spread you need a bit more than a small uptick to make much difference.
A very odd company with management who seem not to care about the private investor.
Good little sinecure for the BoD though....

Jack & Ian
I wish I could share your confidence, considering these shares came to market at 79p, less than 2 years ago, supported largely by over enthusiastic small companies fund managers, like Amati VCT which waded in with both feet, their revenue last year was 4+mill & their loss was 4+ mill, so to have a net loss roughly equal to their revenue is quite a feat really isn't it ?
Added to that the fact no one actually seems to fully understand what they do, this seems like a good way to lose money, especially as the buy/sell spread is currently 33%, not to mention that they often go a month without a single trade.
Known as a lobster pot stock, easy to get into, hard to get out of !

Boards
Sorry one other thing, I am almost certain that a stock MUST be bought as an eis with HMRC certificate, you can not buy in the market then claim the rebates is my understanding.

Boards
EIS is 30% off on the way in, cgt deferrable too, unlike vct's ; eis are cgt free on a sale, if they go bust you can, as a higher rate tax payer, recover about 60% in total. Seis is even better, but obviously riskier.
A much smarter way of buying microcaps than direct in the market.

Boards
Indeed, although the fleet seem temporarily stuck in port, I was wondering if it was because of their belief in the MERC klondike that they had spent their diesel money on more of a stake in the "boom boom" which has been promised interminably.
Actually I know a bit about Oxford Genetics because I bought it as an EIS some years ago. It is a good company, but £1mill put in now is unlikely to change the Merc price much, especially as Oxgene gone up substantially in value already since being an EIS.

The encouraging trading update has reinforced those bulls who thought this looked glaringly undervalued, even discounting the large family interest and the fact it is an aim stock.
Given its p/e is a quarter of AJ Bell and yields 4 times more, I guess people think they are being well compensated by being in a lobster pot stock (easy to enter hard to exit). Given their good customer service, sound management and low establishment costs it is a stock I am very happy with at present.

Boards
Most shrewd observations on both points.
Yes I do like a good lobster....
Have a gteat weekend yourself

Wress & Sol
Boom time :)
Not exactly the Klondike yet though is it ?
Does your radio silence this week indicate you are now coming to realise that MERC is run for the benefit of the "groovy gang" controlling it and shareholders limp home last, if so you have learned something of use this week.
As I said earlier, this is like a lobster pot, easy to get into, tough to get out of. Mark you though, Klondike had a hole in the ground and a liar at the top, so maybe this is the new Klondike ?
Please advise.

Sol
You are probably too busy tweeting to notice but the CEO is interviewed today on Edison TV.
Before getting hyper enthusiastic do remember this is an advertorial, but you may find it of interest, my guess is they are trying hard to give the shares a puff, for their options which if you bother to read their accounts are rather significant, perhaps I am just a cynic.
But then I've been watching these people for quite a long time.....

Boards
You are spot on.
Also note that with no links to twitter or other sources the stock has risen for 2 days, modestly but risen. As I joked earlier, the shares went down the more the stock was posted, it seems that the inverse is also true.
Thermidor next week ?

Wress/Sol
What has happened to you two today, no posts by almost 3pm ?
No more "nuggets" found in MERC's portfolio of microcaps ?
Isn't the fact that the srock is actually up today worthy of a note?
My day is so much duller without your massive enthusiasm, or something....

mkman
I would much prefer still to be part of the Pru.
They are now regulated by HK regulator who does not try to tell companies if they should pay a dividend or not.
They are the lucky ones, not us !
We may receive the divi, I hope we do, but we now face the deadweight of the regulator around the boards decisions going forward...

Sol
Nothing other than the dates, which I happen to know, but I'm pretty sure that the Merc Nominees on holding lists will include both the company and its customers who invest in EIS funds with them, so splitting those figures out you need the Merc accounts, which is less than helpful as it only identifies the size of their larger holdings and the smaller ones are lumped together in "other investments" or something similar.

Sol
This link says exactly what I said re Merc being involved firstly in an SEIS in 15/16 tax year, March 2016 I believe, then as an EIS firstly in Dec 2016. I believe there were anothe 1 or 2 EIS funding rounds when I guess they first went in for themselves, and finally in this last round announced Oct 2019 & completed in 2020

Sol
That's why I asked the question because the details in companies house are about as clear as ditchwater unless you know precisely what to look at, I was hoping you did....
Because when MERC do a funding it is done under their name but is usually farmed out to EIS customers who then own it through MERC nominees. Merc typically buys in for the balance sheet when they see a company growing faster than previously expected.

Sol
Are you sure that 15% is pure MERC or is a large chunk of it in AUM ? A lot of their EIS holders have it as it started as an SEIS in tax year 15/16, and then progressed to an EIS in a further fund raise, not certain but I think Merc only took their own (not customers) stake in it a year or so ago.

Boards
Those lobsters are so packed in they must be canibalising each other by now.
It does always seem in this stock that the higher the number of posts, 61 so far today I think, the worse the share price performance is. There is definitely a negative correalation.