Member Info for bobbyaxelrod

I think so. I think the West African trio (Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali) have continually increasing risk of seizure of assets, leading to a bigger West Africa discount.

Have been doing more reading and found this interesting:

https://theconversation.com/free-movement-in-west-africa-three-countries-leaving-ecowas-could-face-migration-hurdles-222826

That said, I hold a smaller amount (relative to Endeavour) of Thor Explorations Ltd, which has also seen its share price hit. It has two projects in W Africa, but Senegal and Nigeria, not in the aforementioned trio.

Https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-68322230

Seems likely to only worsen

Https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/South-Africas-Platinum-Group-Miners-Are-In-Jeopardy.html

Current shareholder sitting in the red. Have been recasting an eye over Distil (been ignoring them since all the shenanigans around Ardgowan) and would like to ask whether other investors consider this move shrewd?

If I understand correctly, they are receiving 5% interest on a £3m loan which they can convert into a 10% stake in Ardgowan at any time up until 2032. Distil has no debt and seems to have low risk of default - and so, if Ardgowan is a success it would make sense to convert into equity. After 10 years they would have received half the loan back in interest.

https://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2023/11/ardgowan-begins-work-on-20m-whisky-distillery/

It does appear the distillery continues to move forward with lots of local and governmental support. I am now pivoting to think of Distil not in terms of its brands (I was particularly focused on RedLeg which I feel they could have done more with), but in terms of Ardgowan.

Distil is worth less than the loan it currently carries as an asset.

Sorry to bump this. There's been no further release from the company. I note the mechanics of the acquisition were discussed in detail on the Sunday Roast podcast at the time, but it would appear nothing further has transpired or been confirmed. This would not look good for the management's integrity...

How could he do this? At 47.6% he is still classed as a "minority" shareholder (less than 50%) , so the most he could do is block special resolutions

Would it be as simple as proposing an offer of 2p to the board and then voting with his 47.6% holding in favour, and how many other shareholders would need to agree? Or he could just block any AGM resolutions until the board agrees?

What happened to the planned acquisition of the remainder of Recyclus? This was announced way back in October 2022, but as far as I can deduce, has not been completed nor has there been any update?

https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/995793/technology-minerals-says-to-take-full-ownership-of-battery-recycling-associate-recyclus-995793.html

Anyone know how Ondo compares to the competition?

Is Water Intelligence plc a competitor? Seem to have a strong presence in leak detection

https://www.thearmchairtrader.com/endeavour-mining-share-price-forecast-november/

I am a holder of Capital Ltd and have been pleased with the continued progress. I have noticed this with other listed companies, but I was wondering if anyone has a good explanation of the Ltd has been retained rather than adopting a PLC within the business name?

Wish we had more clarity on future plans, safety of the business, and reasons for the board changes. If Chaker Hanna starts to sell down his stake this may create downward pressure (may have already happened) but possibility improve liquidity and the tight float.

https://www.camdennewjournal.co.uk/article/taki-knifed-to-death-in-moment-of-madness
Must have a difficult year for Mr Kitous.

They have pressed ahead with the Stanstead opening being the first since the board changes. Hopefully more expansion to follow.

Can you share/copy and paste the article? Thank you.

Given all the profit warnings being made and disappointing updates, I think SCS continues to look strong. Their earnings over the long term should be relatively stable and predictable. They have a good fundamental business model (negative working capital). They will be offering a total 13.5p dividend this year (if interim 4.5pm and they are planning a 1:2 split), in addition to an ongoing £7m buyback (when announced this equivalent to a 10% yield, but now the market cap is lower and less than half the buyback has been completed, so this yield is further enhanced).

The drama continues.

I wonder is Chaker Hanna will start selling down his stake now

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Worlds-Top-Oilfield-Service-Provider-Raises-Earnings-Outlook.html

The Northern American rig count has continued and my overall thesis for Hunting has not changed despite the recent share price weakness (watched a <100% gain turn to around a 20-25% gain). I've retained my holding and if it drops below my original purchase price I will consider adding.

My only concern is whether inflation is eroding their margins on contracts (i.e. they agree a contract 1 year ago with a 10% margin and the 10% cost inflation over that time makes the contract unprofitable). That said, they must have some capacity to pass on costs or other form of direct/indirect inflation protection.

Interesting analysis of the online sofa industry re SCS:

SCS ranks 2nd in visibility (up 7% yoy but down 4% against wider market)
SCS ranks 2nd in authority
High visibility and authority is a good combination to have (obviously)

There has been a 26% increase in search volume for SCS. This compares to a 16% decrease for DFS.

SCS ranks 1st for reviews with an average of 4.7 across 340,807 reviews. This compares to DFS in 2nd (average of 4.7 across 202,705 online reviews) and Sofology in 3rd (average of 4.5 across 173,720 reviews).

SCS scores 3rd for brand reach (behind DFS and Sofology), but is not in the top 5 for social scores (related to social media). DFS has 673,000 branch searches per month compared to Sofology (246,000) and SCS (201,000)

I like this company a lot - small holder. The wider macro-influences on price of gold make me wary short term. I think the idea about changing the name and some publicity would be good. I wonder if Endeavour Mining would be interesting in acquiring the company.

I haven't received anything from HL related to voting. I didn't expect to vote. What makes you think they won't get re-elected? If Kitous holds 47.6% then that leaves over 50% who may vote against his motions, which was I thought stagnation was more likely? The RNS paints Kitous in quite a bad light and I personally think the management have been doing a good job. I wish there was more clarity on exactly what is being voted for, what percentage is needed and what is the roadmap thereafter - in the meantime I am still holding but thinking it may be wiser to sell ahead of the AGM.

For an RNS of this nature to reach the market then relationships, in my view, must have deteriorated beyond repair.

I opened a small position in Tasty. It offers a similar picture to Comptoir (big revenues relevant to small market cap with net cash higher than market cap).

Anyone have any idea of what happens next?

Assuming at least 75%(?) needed to pass resolutions, does this mean, assuming Kitous cannot gather at least 75% support, the company simply stagnates until an agreement is reached?

As Kitous has 47.6%, surely he can block any resolution?

If anyone has any insight in this it would be greatly appreciated!

Overall, a very good set of results. However, the company is right to emphasise the potential/likely negative implications of the tapering of government support as well as rising costs and the squeeze on discretionary budgets. The cash pile appears earmarked for expansion, which I hope they do wisely. Although I don't think it would be prudent to pay a dividend, I wish the report had more language suggestive of an intention to eventually pay one in the near future (as buybacks would make no sense given the small free float). Even if they are intending to sell the business to another restaurant group or private equity one day then it may still increase the perceived value of the business to include some dividend-positive language ("we intend to consider paying a dividend once we have reached point X in our expansion plans".

Stanstead airport opening was mentioned as being anticipated soon. They did say that they wanted to continue franchise openings (as a low capex way to expand, especially abroad), which seems a prudent way to grow the brand. It is difficult to understand why this remains so undervalued (relative to it's "fundamentals" as well as other restaurant peers), but the fact the shares are so tightly held must be a factor.

Very positive. Do you hold the LSE listed shares? If so, is there a still a withholding tax applied on dividends?