Member Info for Davde

Let us hope we do get a decent uplift to reflect true value. Still waiting news on shareholder return seems to have gone quiet!

The First Group website, investors section has a tab re potential offer it is all on there.

They issued a statement on the 16th Aug 2022 saying they would not be pursuing a bid for FGP.

The board rejected the last takeover bid not long ago!

They have sold the assets bar a few remaining Greyhound properties in US!

Majority of debt is associated with leases. I would have been happier with a special dividend but hey ho!

RTN will have free cashflow of circa £60m this year. The current market value is £205m. Yes the recession may make things a bit harder but RTN are not facing armaggedon as far as I can see. SP does not make sense, should be double this at least! I am hoping the next update will reassure the market but who knows!

Recession is the issue and the impact on earnings, as yet to be determined, but fully priced in! Is it going to be shallow or deep, long or short, nobody really knows. We seem to be in recession but vacancies still high and no real rise in unemployment to date. It is growth that gets us out of recession and this is the issue, you cannot grow the economy without labour to deliver the goods and services. Until the UK has a ready supply of labour it maybe a prolonged and structural recession, hope not, but the Government needs to be honest re the options and solutions available to it. Thought we would have had a tick up based on M&B results but heyho!

Yet price drops 10% absolute nonsense, someone playing games!

mrc Agree as think that was the original plan, think they are bringing forward to clear decks as they going to have more cash than planned. I do take your point re GPA investment requirements but hopefully they have a plan, we need to wait and see on that. I do have more confidence (more than 50/50) that GPA will take place due security of supply concerns, the question is when.

Adw agree but they will be elevated above the norm if softer. Revenues will exceed 21/22 imv.

The annual accounts notes show movement on decommissioning, it's on the PMG website. I do understand the concerns about laying out the cash, but they would have to do it at some point, so just bringing forward. It is also worth noting the revenues for first 4 months for gas, prices are expected to stay elevated for remainder of 22/23.

Agency workers may get £20 per hour but doubt UK government pick up difference! Whilst at face value agency staff are more expensive, they are not as expensive as they look, agency rate includes an element for holiday pay. Agency staff have no sick pay, pension cost or other staff benefits as far as I know.

It is very unlikely that the current government will nationalise public transport, but they are enabling local government to dictate services that meet the needs of the local populations.

The government do provide support for subsidising unprofitable routes and for concessions, i.e. children and the over 60's. The government also support investment in green measures but not sure how much and the rules.

Hopefully the dust has settled and there are no more surprises to come! DVRG now has funding to support working capital, STC development and loan repayment. To date no downgrade on this year's £18m turnover target so DVRG should generate a positive EBITDA this year. Looking forward is now the key for those remaining LTH's who are now sitting on significant losses, myself included! DVRG still have good products and are still increasing revenues hopefully! DVRG are still in existence which is positive and reasonably confident that at least some of my losses will be recouped in coming years. That may take time as there will be a lot of warrants to be got through before SP climbs significantly but many are time limited, so in a year or so DVRG could be out of the woods. I have moved on from the utterly depressed to slightly optimistic but cautious stage! I await with interest further updates from the BoD to see if my cautious optimism is justified or not, but we are where we are!

Recruitment is a major issue for many sectors in the UK at present. If you cannot secure staff to support a sectors growth the sector will suffer. Makes you wonder what the solutions are at times, but for me the problem is easily solved, in a global world you get appropriate staff from where you can, I am sure many want to work here, just like they do in banking!

They had a rights issue in 2018 that raised circa £275m (to buy waga), followed by a placing last year for another £175m. The average SP was circa 105p. I cannot see the institutional shareholders accepting a 70p offer as the underlying value has to be greater but you never know! A lot depends on how profitability is impacted in the next year or so as RTN deal with the headwinds facing it and to date they have managed well. Whilst we maybe in recession for some time to come it may be shallow so spending may not be impacted by as much as is being currently suggested, we will see! Hopefully the trading update provides some reasons to be cheerful!

Very poorly written article and clearly shows no understanding of the company accounts, focus should be on retained business!

FGP is primarily owned by Institutional investors (65% plus), had they deemed the offer acceptable the BoD would have been told to accept. The II's have been invested for years and they may have a high average SP and did want to take a loss. Alternatively, they may have a view that the core business is worth more, this is supported by brokers ratings where circa 130p-150p seems to be the current range. Whatever the motives they believe FGP will be either a good dividend payer in future and/or expect some good capital growth in the coming years. Who knows but I will keep my modest holding for now and may increase if it drops much lower and we get clarity on greyhound payout.

Thought the offer was 118p, the rest being contingent based on returns from First Transit earnout and greyhound sale mainly.

Note 9 "£990.0m of additions relate to the extension of leases as a result of signing of the National Rail Contract in Great Western Railway."

Leases for rail assets main reason for debt. Results not bad but not good either. Hinted at a further 1.8p dividend in second half on top of the first half 0.9p. No mention of what they intend to do with Greyhound money that I can see!