Member Info for Bonz1957

Bet you're pleased with Murray, after a hard first set it was a 6.2 6.0 stroll. ATB.

Couldn't agree more. I tend to be very wary of offering anyone advice, but i would recommend these to everyone. Nice to have at least one safe bet tucked away in the p/f. ATB.

Sorry to see you go, you will be missed. Who can i talk to now that you and wag7 have both gone - was it something i said lol?? Hopefully i was not included in the bunch of wind-up merchants!! I have learn't to ignore those that post with little knowledge and maximum bile, just a bunch of saddo's with no life of their own. Pleased to hear you're back in profit on HMV, hope you achieve the same here before too long. Things generally looking quite good at pesent, BT holding over £2 and Lloy up 25% in last week or so. Sure Tesco will recover over time along with BP so think 2012 will be a good year for me, hope the same applies to you. Would love to talk new cars with you, what did you choose?? We have decided to treat ourselves to one each with some of the proceeds from the London house when we eventually move to Devon for good. That may be as soon as the end of this summer when wifey and No1 son have completed their Olympic duties - volunteering in transport and media depts not competing lol!! Enjoy the rest of your life and, if ever you are at a loose end, pop in and say hello. You'll receive a very warm welcome from me. ATVB. Px

Where are you today? Unusual to see so many posts on here without a comment from you countering my negativity. Have two 'New Friends' - yes i do watch the inbetweeners - on here, are you jealous lol?? Nice day over on Lloyds today. ATB.

Is it smaller than mine? My total div last time out amounted to a whole £1. Needless to say it is now the smallest holding in £'s in my portfolio, and not worth selling so just holding for the money off vouchers. ATB.

Getting closer. Now which one out of Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, Spain or even France is going to cock it up!! ATB.

With the sp at 666, maybe this is an Omen for you to come back lol!! ATB.

Mine arrived in the post yesterday dated 18/1. Also NG website states 18/1, as does the 'Financial Diary' page on this site. It was 19/1 last year, maybe your system needs updating lol!! ATB.

Don't think Virgin make it to my part of the world, but there is a Stagecoach bus which runs past the end of my road. ATB.

Not sure where i got the figure of 187 from, maybe QE will have better info. From their strategy review 28/6/11 RNS 2181J: We have performed a detailed store by store review of our portfolio which has concluded that Thorntons: can run a sustainable and profitable Own Store channel of between 180 and 200 stores, will close a minimum of 120 stores over three years, taking advantage of the lease expiry profile, at a total cost of £4.2 - £4.8 million, will explore opportunities to close up to a further 60 stores over the same period, and may re-site or open stores in the UK's top 100 retail locations if opportunities arise and if the potential is confirmed. As at 25/6/11 they had 364 own stores, so by admitting to running only 180-200 stores they are effectively cutting their retail operations in half. They will need to sell a shed load from their remaining stores to make up for lost sales. ATB.

Not sure all of the 187 are necessarily loss making, think some of them just had convenient end dates to their leases that fitted in with their re-structuring plan. You are however correct in saying that there are a lot of 'ifs' in your post, and we would need to see a dramatic increase in the sp to warrant a 2p div. IMHO divs will not be around for a good while and THT along with a lot of other retailers will continue to struggle in the current market. Hopefully QueenElvis will soon be here to counter some of my negativity and post a rosier picture for you. ATB.

Would guess from your choice of music that you have a couple of years on me. My DOB can be guessed from my 'handle' - that's me all over, not very subtle. Grew up in a house with only classical music on offer so had to wait until my first 'tranny' circa 1970 listening to radio Luxemburg to find out there was an alternative to dad's Bach and Beethoven. Happy days indeed. ATB.

Anyone who didn't sell before the deadline will have received nothing. Nothing has been offered per share because it was not a take-over or buy out. They have just gone private. So anyone who did not get out before they were de-listed now owns shares in a private company that can only be bought or sold by going through a specific broker. They can still them through that broker if there is a buyer, or hold onto them in the hope that they increase in value. But as with all private companies getting information from them is difficult at best, and getting an up to date sp almost impossible. If you had kept your shares you would have been entitled to attend the next AGM where you could have vented your frustration at the board. ATB.

Thanks for the explanation - nosey, aren't i? Ah, 45's and 78's - halcyon days. Still have all of my original vinyl from the 70-90's. In fact, my 19 year old son asked the other day if a still had a record player. When i asked why he said it would be nice to buy an album or two from some of todays artists who have started recording on vinyl so that he actually had a hard copy to hold and look at, sleeve pic, etc. All of his music to date has been downloaded and as such just exists in the ether and on a hard drive somewhere. At last he realises how i can become nostalgic when i look back at some of my album covers. Fantastic artwork on Yes albums, gate-fold sleeves with lyrics and photos, coloured vinyl, etc, etc. Can feel a reminisce coming on. Off to a darkened room to listen to some Hawkwind. ATB.

I was referring to the closure of - i think - 187 stores, not a complete withdrawal from the high street. The fewer own stores they have the smaller the profit they will be able to generate from their own sales and the more relient they will become on the sqeezed margins from other outlets. IMHO they will need more than "a little more focus (so) they can get back to their core market and return to profitability". But nice to see a rise today. ATB.

Come back M8 all is forgiven. The sp needs you!! ATB.

You may have missed out on the div but the sp is showing a nice rise today. ATB.

Agreed. An increase in the paltry sub 1% div would certainly help. Nice to see it touch £15 again. ATB.

Everybody else on here seems to have a local THT, maybe i will have to move so i can enjoy them more often. Re your last post on Growth. The thing that worries me is that although JH says they sold more than ever before, the sales growth was virtually flat. This i think is down to the sales through other outlets - Tesco etc - where these will only stock a product if they can get the price they want. We are always hearing from N Foods, Prem Foods, McBride, etc, about how the big multiples are bleeding them dry on margins. Had a conversation with the manager of a national chain recently who wanted to get a local wine supplier stocked in his branch, but talks had stalled as head office were only prepared to pay £2 a bottle and the vineyard wanted £2.10!! If THT are forced down the supplier rather than retailer route - due to cost cutting and store closures - then margins will be severely dented. Wonder how many boxes of chocs they will need to sell thru Tesco or Sains for the same profit they would have seen from the sale of one box in one of their own stores? QueenElvis and i are the Yin and Yang of the THT board, with - at times - diametrically opposed views. No doubt she will soon post a contrarian article to nulify my gloom and doom scenario. Only time will tell who is correct. And just for the record i would be devastated if THT went to the wall, where would i get my Viennese Truffles from? Wonder if they would freeze? Then i could stockpile in advance of just such an event. Finally, just out of curiosity does NKOTB stand for anything? ATB.

Welcome aboard, perhaps your purchase will spur this sp upwards. ATB.