Member Info for Bonz1957

Unfortunatley with this being a paper offer linked to the the Investec sp and not a cash offer, this sp will continue to fall until the Investec price improves. The offer is 0.23124 Investec shares for each EVG share held. ATB.

If the size of your div is 10 times mine then it probably means you are sitting on a loss 10 times bigger than mine, as neither of us bought in at anywhere near this price!! And my total divs for the year will be a shade under £20k, is your total 10 times greater?? I hope for both of our sakes that this rises, but 0.25p here and there is not likely to get either of us anywhere near break-even anytime soon. ATB.

Wish i knew what that meant lol!! ATB.

Not half as sorry as i am. My point about the div was that the final has been reduced from 4.1p to a paltry 0.25p, no better than not declaring one at all. It will cost them more to print the cheques and send them out than they will be worth. I for one will not be making a special trip to the bank to pay in my £2 cheque when it arrives - it would cost more than that in petrol!! Will be very interesting to see if they cut next years interim. You must be very very young to think that 54 is close to death. You're probably from one of those horrid 'sink' council estates where your Granny is 33 and the life expectancy is only 35 before succumbing to a drugs or drink - or both - overdose. My Gran was 102 before departing, my mother is 86 and i have 10 Aunts and Uncles over 70, so i'm looking forward to at least another 20 years of retirement. I too have heard some bad things about iii and Olive which is one of the main reasons why i intend to stay on here, you get a much nicer type of poster. ATB.

Ch Still falling, maybe this will go sub 40p. Don't take any delight from this as you know i am a holder here. O Problem i will have when i next come to having a cull of my 'poorer' investments is do i let this one go - as there is now only one holding that is worth less in £'s - or keep it for the discount vouchers?? P ee. ATB.

What a difference a couple of hours makes!!!! A phrase containing the words 'Mouth' and 'Foot' comes to mind!! Perhaps i should pay more attention to your predictions!! ATB.

Nice rise here today. Hope you didn't follow your own advice and sell too soon!! Or influence any one elso to sell and miss an extra 20p!! Now up 40p from your 'strong sell' of 13/9!! Any other shares you'ld like to tip?? ATB.

If indeed you have read other of my posts then you will know that i am most definitely NOT a de-ramper. I just call it as i see it, and at the moment i do not see a lot of good news for THT. And if the share price is anything to go by then neither does the market. And, regardless of what happens to the sp i will not be buying any more, my buying days are long behind me - as i'm sure you are well aware - these days it is all about protecting what i have. You are wrong about the state of my teeth, but have never been a fan of toffee. You are also wrong about the agoraphobia and alfresco bits, being a country boy raised of good farming stock i love the great outdoors and am quite partial to a naked frolic on the lawn, and am off tonight to see my team play and be part of a 60,000 crowd!! You are however correct about my unwillingness to mix with the 'great unwashed' although i do make an exception and visit Lidl on a regular basis as i do love a bargain!! And i've never been a fan of chocolate fountains. It is odd that although i love chocolate so much i don't really like choccy flavoured things - drinks, mousses, cakes etc - yet i adore strawberry flavoured things but would never eat one!! Will take your comments about the ice cream and give it a try when next i pass a shop. And therein lies the problem, my normal shopping excursions do not at the moment take me near a Thorntons. They say "absence makes the heart grow fonder" but is it not also a case that "out of sight is out of mind"? Maybe you're not the re-incarnation of someone i thought i knew, as she would never make so many wrong assumptions about me :( However i am pleased for my 'friend' that HMV seems to have halted its slide and is coming up with some interesting initiatives:) ATVB.

All the posts are still here, unless one or two offensive ones in the last couple of days have been reported and removed by Admin. Despite all the predicted gloom in the retail sector and predictions of 300p CPR is holding at or just above 500p. I for one will not be selling any time soon. ATB.

Wouldn't hold your breath waiting for this to rise any time soon, IMHO this is as good as it's going to get for a very long time, infact the only way from here is potentially down. There are plans to close 180 stores - most of which have expiring leases so it shouldn't be too costly - they have reduced the dividend to a nomonal 0.25p and IMHO fully expect next years interim to be reduced to a similar level. As much as i love the choccy - and i'm sure you do as well - i'm afraid this is a failing retailer. Despite the record level of sales the only way this will survive is to build relationships with the major supermarkets. However, although this may increase sales the profits will not increase by the same amount as the majors will want to take their cut as well. And as stores are closed the people who pop in for a little indulgence, or also make a couple of additional purchases when buying their Easter eggs or Valentines choccys will disappear completely. They may still get their Thorntons eggs from Tesco/Sains but unlikely to buy their other goodies. This IMHO is destined to become a niche online retailer with a couple of shopping centre stores and a handful of franchised outlets. As much as i love their viennese Truffles i'm not likely to travel 50 miles to buy some or ever buy enough in one go to justify the £5 delivery charge. Have had a look at your posting history and you seem to have similar interests to someone else who used to post on here, but it's been so long since she put in an appearance that i've forgotten her name!! ATVB.

With the good figures coming out of WTB IMHO don't think we will be seeing 1366p any time soon. Just goes to show that some of these broker comments are not worth the paper they are printed on. But then again WTFDIK!!! ATB.

You should find all the dividend information you require here: http://www.santandershareholder.co.uk/financial-information/dividends/ The timetable for the Nov div can be found by clicking on the 'Scrip Dividends' tab. They issue 4 divs a year in Feb, May, Aug and Nov, with the Feb and Nov divs being taken as cash or shares via an issue of 'free allotment rights'. There is also the option to open a Santander Shareholder account - SSA - if investing for the long term, where each of the four divs can be taken as new shares to increase your holding. As for how long they will continue to issue divs, well they have given no indications of suspending it yet. They are still a very profitable global bank, but are suffering along with all the others. IMHO they will continue to offer a div, albeit maybe at a reduced rate. ATB.

Couldn't agree more with the sentiments contained in your last paragraph, and put far more eloquently than i ever could. I have in the past been labelled smug for being happy with my current financial position, but it is born out of a lot of hard work and saving for the future rather than sqaundering for the present. I have a combination of property, shares, UT's, pensions and cash deposits that will provide a very comfortable retirement for as long at it may last, and there is no way than i will - rightly or wrongly - gamble even a penny of it on the chance to make anymore. Like you i'll leave greed and the headaches to others. Diversification is the key and a way of having your finger in every pie. While i have a broad spread of UK stocks i also have a presence in just about every region in the world, with China and Emerging Markets having done very well for me over the last decade. ATB.

http://www.money.co.uk/article/1007536-50-off-national-express-coach-tickets.htm

South African finance group Investec is to buy British investment bank Evolution in an agreed 233 million pounds ($374 million) takeover deal designed to boost Investec's wealth management and broking arms. (Reuters) Investec said on Friday its offer was worth 100.24 pence per Evolution share, a 6.6 percent premium to Evolution's closing share price on Sept. 8. Investec, which runs investment banking and fund management businesses, had been vying with Canaccord Financial for Evolution, until Canaccord pulled out on Thursday. Evolution's main interest for bidders has been its Williams de Broe wealth management division, while its Evolution Securities investment banking and broking arm has a solid range of corporate clients in Britain. 'The transaction strengthens our position in the UK, giving us greater scale in both private client wealth management and investment banking,' Investec Chief Executive Stephen Koseff said.

Not neccessarily. Circulation is only a small part of the equation and any profits from the extra sales are eaten into by the extra print costs. The overwhelming share of the profits comes from ad revenues and this has been on the slide for some time now. You assume that no-one in the City has worked this out yet as you say that it is "not yet factored into the Share Price". Really?? When in reality everyone is aware of the extra sales but still sees TNI as a basket case which is why the sp is still on the slide. It will take a lot more than a few extra copies being sold to turn this one around. ATB.

It would appear, for the moment at least, that you picked up a bargain here at 1236p. With hindsight you would have also made a nice profit on BP had you stayed in, but BG has just egded it so far this week in % terms. The main bonus to BP as i see it - being a long termer in both - is in the divs. BG only pays a miserly 1% in cash, whereas BP currently pays 4% (5-6% historically) which can be taken as new shares, meaning the number of shares held doubles in around 14 years - I did say i was long term!!! I know cash divs can be re-invested but then you have to take dealing costs into account. ATVB with your future share dealings, and best of luck predicting which way we go next. Is the FTSE headed for sub 5000 or another push above 5500??

This very probably will come good in the long term, but until all of the Euro worries are resolved - or seem at least not to be getting any worse - then this will struggle. In years to come this will look like a 'Fire-Sale' price so if you can afford to tuck some away, and take advantage of their SSA to take your divs as new shares, then you should IMHO have a nice little nest egg. ATB.

Glad to hear you won't be shorting this or any other share, IMHO i think shorting is one of the biggest evils in the markets today and wish they would ban it. Considering we both claim to be investors, we have very different strategies. I am 100% in at the moment, i.e. i continue to hold my portfolio through thick and thin, seeing it rise from the lows of March '09 to the highs of two months ago. One advantage of being continually invested is that i benefit from every div, and as most are taken as new shares then i get those shares cheaply when markets fall and have a bigger stake when they rise again. This i guess is countered by your selling out of most when you think things are falling and buying back lower when rising again. But you need to be on top of things nearly 100% of the time, whereas i can walk away for a month and leave things alone. Would be very interesting to discuss things over a pint or three and see which is the better route, although i suspect over time - if you are successful - then your strategy will have the edge. Like you i think we have further to fall yet - i was amazed that we were around 6000 back in July considering what was going on - and wouldn't be at all surprised now to see 4500 maybe by year end. ATB.

Whitbread PLC, the UK's largest hotel and restaurant group, today reported its trading performance to 18 August 2011. Whitbread delivered 12.9% sales growth in 2nd quarter. Andy Harrison, Chief Executive, commented: "Whitbread traded strongly in the second quarter with total sales growth of 12.9%, making us one of the fastest growing consumer facing companies in the FTSE100. This growth, combined with a strong like for like sales increase of 4.8%, underscores our shareholder value creation and exciting future growth potential. Premier Inn grew its total sales by 12.5% and its like for like sales by 7.1%, with growth across the country and a strong London market. Trading in our Restaurants continues to be challenging, with customers being particularly price sensitive. Costa grew its total sales by 28.8% and continues to demonstrate that it is the UK's favourite coffee shop. We have now opened our 100th Costa store in China. We have traded well in the first 24 weeks as a whole. On a month by month basis, trading continues to be variable with the second quarter benefitting from a strong June, whilst the first quarter was held back by a poor April. This variability is not surprising in the continuing uncertain economic environment. Trading highlights for the 24 weeks: Hotels and Restaurants: Premier Inn continues to win share of the hotel market with total room nights sold growing by 6.6% to 5.7 million benefitting from both good business and leisure demand. Room rate was up by 3.4%, which combined with occupancy up 0.7ppts to 79.2%, increased like for like revpar by 4.3% with growth across both midweek and the weekend. Like for like revpar grew by 11.4% in London and by 2.9% in the provinces. Restaurants delivered total covers growth of 0.8%. 1,368 new rooms and 5 restaurants opened and for the full year we plan to have opened around 4,000 new rooms and 14 restaurants in the UK. Costa: Costa continued to deliver a strong performance growing total system sales by 22.8% to £351.3 million within which franchise sales were up 16.5% to £146.5 million. Like for like sales in UK equity stores were up 6.6% with transactions up 6.9%. Costa opened 145 new stores in the first 24 weeks. In 2011/12 we will add approximately 300 stores worldwide. The launch of Costa Express is progressing well. In the UK there are now 155 Costa Express units and we are proceeding with the rebranding of the remaining 760 Coffee Nation units. Group: Whitbread retains a strong balance sheet capable of funding future growth. The programme to renew our borrowing facilities and diversify sources and maturities of debt continues. We have now completed the sale and leaseback of seven properties announced on 11 August. LaSalle Investment Management have paid £53.8 million in cash and entered into 25 year leases for the properties, which will continue to operate as Premier Inns and adjacent restaurants. The shares ended the day +106p at 1563p.