Member Info for chrisc32

... Not too shabby for a company with a shareprice at multi-year lows, and an SP around £6.5m. Of course, the existence of the preference shares must be taken into account, but the company still looks very cheap to me. Now, start to factor in that Styles are now a growing business with a net cash position, improving margins, and a more diversified offering. It's not much of a stretch envisage a return in the SP to 20p plus (£12.5m market cap) upon results. It will be interesting to see any indication of the outlook for 2012 and an insight into current trading performance. Full year figures are just a few weeks away (April). Looking forward in anticipation. There's also an outside chance of new contract/framework news in the meantime. Good luck all holders.

~(continued) and shareholders alike. * Gross margin 7.9% (H1 2010: 7.4%) SOURCE 3: MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS ARTICLE http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/jobs/s/1468743_styles--wood-expansion-to-create-dozens-more-jobs --- quotes start --- * expects to increase its workforce by 10 per cent over the next 12 months * grows its business in the south * planning to expand its range of services to include data centres * strong demand in the London area * £4m fit-out contract at the 2012 Olympics' athletes' village * announced it has secured a place on Sport England's framework * push into the public sector has taken off with refurbishment contracts in the education and healthcare sectors * benefiting from increased investment by high street banks in their branch networks, partly as a result of European Commission instructions to sell some of their outlets to other operators * demand from high-end retailers which are adding space and reconfiguring stores, including selfridges * Analysts are expecting Styles & Wood to post adjusted pre-tax profits of £1.6m for 2011 on revenues of £104m. Last year it achieved earnings of £500,000 on turnover of £99.1m. * The group is expected to be debt-free by the end of this financial year. --- quotes end --- SOURCE 4: HOLDINGS RNS JAN 2011 http://uk.advfn.com/news/UKREG/2012/article/50978965 UBS Global Asset Management's holdings fell below 3% on 27th January, or just over 1.8m shares. Since then, I make the next buying of STY shares to be roughly equivalent to the 1.8m shares (noting that many buys have been reported as sells). So this overhanging stretching back to at least December 2010 has now been cleared or almost cleared. ADDITIONAL SOURCES: OTHER LOCAL MEDIA COVERAGE: http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/business/innovation/s/1468529_styles--wood-wins-nationwide-building-society-award http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/business/s/1469340_2012-share-tips * "I am choosing Styles & Wood, the Altrincham-based property services group, which is benefiting from a move into new sectors and higher margin work." MY SUMMARY: Styles and Wood are experiencing a growing workload, seeing improved gross margins, expanding in the south, diversifying their revenue basis to create a more resilient and less sector-specific business model. The fact that S&W have been recognised for "outstanding delivery performance" amongst its key customers should not be overlooked, as it reinforces postive client relationships and positions S&W well for future growth opportunities. The indications from the interim trading statement are that we can expect a solid-looking set of full year results. The key point for me is to take note of the forecast £1.6m underlying profit before tax and £104m of revenue. Revenues should be up around £5m on the prior year and underlyiing pretax profits sho

Probably worthwhile sharing this post here that i posted over on advfn at the weekend: we actually have a fair bit of information to to go on prior to results. I thought I'd summarise the bull-case here in one post. SOURCE 1: INTERIM TRADING STATEMENT - NOVEMBER 2011 http://uk.advfn.com/news/UKREG/2011/article/49922520 * traded in line with management forecasts. * Revenue and underlying profit before tax for the year ending 31 December 2011 are anticipated to be broadly in line with market expectations. (prior to non-recurring expenditure and notional interest charge on preference shares). * The Group continues to have a strong balance sheet * positive cash balances * no bank debt * maintains its focus on cost control and cash management. * Initial prospects for next year look encouraging with the opening order book for 2012 currently running in excess of 12% ahead of last year. http://www.placenorthwest.co.uk/news/archive/10497-styles-and-wood-order-book-healthy-for-2012.html "Altrincham-based retail fit-out specialist Styles & Wood painted a picture of stability in its interim management statement to the London Stock Exchange on Monday" SOURCE 2: INTERIM RESULTS - AUGUST 2011 Operational highlights -- Unexecuted secured order book at 25 August 2011 10% ahead of prior year -- A leading delivery performance on all retail banking frameworks -- Growing workload with high end retail department stores -- First public sector contracts secured for the refurbishment of educational establishments -- Development of sustainability offering to include photovoltaics and modular build * benefited from investment by the high street banks in their branch network with the majority of the work being undertaken under framework arrangements. Our major customers in retail banking include Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide and RBS. * [RESULTS BY SECTOR: OFFICE AND BANKING] outstanding delivery performance across all framework arrangements as recognised by our customers' KPIs. The outlook for the second half of the year continues to look positive for this sector. * [RESULTS BY SECTOR: OFFICE AND BANKING] We have a strong unexecuted secured order book for the second half which is currently running more than 20% ahead of last year. * we are encouraged by our customers' indications that their investment plans for 2012 will be above 2011 levels * [TAXATION] Tax losses generated in the first half of the year are expected to be recovered as the Group returns to profitability in the second half of the year. * Profitability - the Group continues to take actions to realign its cost base to ensure alignment with level and nature of business in the current economic climate. The impact of this alignment has been seen in improved gross margin levels and the Group remains focused on managing costs and flexible delivery models to add value for customers ...

I really need to sort out a SIPP. I've about £28K total sat in 3 previous employers' company pensions. Might kick that off this week. I like the fact that STY is ISAable. Mine is pretty much full of them.

I'm not made of money ... :-) This is my largest holding by some distance now, with plenty in the ISA, and I've no more funds to add unfortunately. My ideal scenario is that we see STY return to paying dividends in a couple of years or so. That would be very nice indeed.

Yep, still in 1st gear with volumes higher than for some months, but far from "high". The overhang now looks to be clear to all intents and purposes. The drop to below 10p was a huge over-reaction. It seems to me that the market is only just starting to take on board what the positive November update should mean in relation to the results coming up in April. PS. I've accumulated over 1% of this company. Still can't quite get over the fact myself.

I took 12,500 today, and it also showed as a sell. I wonder if this is MMs tactics, or if they have a few more shares to shift?

Note that the shareprice ticked UP twice AFTER the trade went through. Not a reason there for the SP to drop any IMO.

Managed to add in small volume at 10.25p, so trades showing at 10.25 are buys. Now 10.26p to sell. The published spread doesn't give a reflection of the real strengthening SP. I imagine buys of any volume are paying more, like the one earlier over 10.8p.

Nice to see those through yesterday. 10.25p to buy now it seems. 10.18p to sell

... Yes, free of bank debt as per interim results. Turnover forecast to top 100m GBP. Margins improving. Order book over 10 percent stronger. Preference shares are a broad equivalent to debt though as I understand them, with redemption schedule etc. Still, STY seem well placed to me, very low cap and seller being/been cleared out.

STY Seems to be hitting a few radars now, judging purely by the volume. Current cap of just £6.5m or so now. All the best here Tradey. Should hopefully continue north quite a bit higher on results anticipation alone. Regular newsflow is not the name of the game here, but the major positive is I think UBS GAM must be done selling now, or very very soon.

Would be nice to see an unexpected RNS. ISG issued a cracker the other day regarding a significant data centre contract. I'm not counting on one, but do hope to see the steady rise continue.

The actual spread is tighter than what's published , but not much. I wonder if the tick up means the overhang is cleared, or very nearly so.

http://m.cnplus.co.uk/8626035.article

http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2012/02/06/sport-england-selects-45m-contracting-squad/

This overhang of shares for sales is key for me. Could well see the end of it this week, as I don't think there are many remaining. Agree - momentum definitely up.

Looking forward to the next few days and weeks, the results and beyond. It's been a while since STY have issued contract news between trading and results statements. However, there remains a possibility we'll see some other news pre-April. All the best here. I'm hoping that my overhang theory is right and we see a sharp rise. However, I'd be equally happy with a steady riser into results. We could of course see a retrace, buying can't see it at the moment as the momentum is clearly upward. Nearly every buy raised the real offer price in Friday. A comprehensive break above 10p on Monday, I feel.

I had a quick whizz through previous holdings RNSs. UBS GAM held 6 percent in December 2010, so have been selling into the market for over a year, supressing the price. Even the November update saw very little movement with UBS selling into the strength. Looking forward to seeing how the SP reacts once this weight is lifted. Looks like it'll be soon.

Results should be in April ... So a couple of months to go. But you may be right about needing to be quick. If you count the shares bought since the holdings RNS, about 1.6m have been bought since 28 jan. The seller had 3per cent left, or 1.85m shares. Bear in mind that many reported sells were buys below mid price. Stock was clearly tight today, and it may be about to get a lot tighter. Roll on next week :)