Member Info for JohnLewis79

Last rns re COA refusing HMRC right to appeal came at 12.27am, that was back in May'16.

Well that's a bust. Exec's at WH are very accident prone in their offers of undying love. Best to get back to running the business as your searches for a suitable partner are falling on stoney ground. WH had a chance 6 months ago but either failed to notice or were blind to a golden opportunity. As per usual with many a British management....heads up their arses....!

Well here's what we are looking at: a) HMRC being told "to do one" b) £97m credited to our bank account. c) sale of Pools completed. d) receipt of £94-100m cash from Pools. e) payment of c £30m to HMRC for exorbitant charges? f) Maybe loss of interest added to overall amount? g) Restructuring of share capital? h) Change of management. i) Sale of HQ in Liverpool. j) relocation to USA. k) Debt free. l) Aquisitions in US ? m) Nasdaq quote. n) special dividend? o) overseas pools/ games might remain under our SG umbrella? p) SG games to target HK Jockey Club as a priority q) Cash available for India / Far East expansion. r) Playwin to lead cricket/football expansion through SG games. s) Huge increase in Bump 50:50 games/lotteries. t) Venues to expand offerings to the weekend betting diner/fun bettor. u) Venues to become a "night out" experience with music / cabaret added. v) Regain California track 'pari-mutual' license. w) Increase our regulated trading to over 30 States. x) South America / Mexico the next opportunity. y) A sitting target? z) Be honest you never thought i'd get to Z!!.... no'r did iI! !

It's worth rremembering (for the 3rd time i have tried to post this) bloody mob!!. Since the last court ruling we are in receipt of £35m net (since added to). That equates to c 17pps on a good day! Immenently we are expecting a further £94m+ from the successful sale of the pools division . That equates to c 46pps. No doubt HMRC will want their grubby hands in our till so best expect a 30% charge for anything they can dream up! Worst way we should come out in front around £90m in the clear or more pertinently 44-50 pps. That being so the rest of the company is valued currently at c £60m or c30 pps which is producing around £10m net or around 5 pps. This before any share restructuring ex pools sale. A blinding buy imo but as you know I talk my own book. Nevertheless a bargain is a bargain all you have to do is press the button!

It is worth remembering (as we wait the spb vat decision) that the jackpot was last won back in 2004. No jackpot prize has been paid out since then though many 'near miss' prizes totalling around £16m have been paid to lucky players. As you know spb players have to "second guess" where the ball is positioned after two ex footballers have decided where to place the ball on a picture chosen from thousands. It can be placed anywhere and most likely not where most judges would place the ball thus reducing the "skill" element , indeed if there is any at all. Roulette considered a game of pure chance has odds from evens to 35/1 depending on the players bet...black /red etc... Ever thought what the odds are for spb? Well not incalculable but many thousands to 1 (it's a pin prick or a needle in a haystack type odds!) suffice to say you'd have more chance of winning at roulette even with the 00 game. Once played by 3M plus devotees spb along with the Pools draws game has been decimated by the National Lottery (itself suffering from a huge drop in players) so much so that only around 14000 play the weekly spb (on line) now days for a top prize of 250k. Spo say they pay out around £10k a week in near miss prizes which for a 50p stab ain't bad if your incredibly lucky. I used to throw a few quid at spb but soon realised I'd be better off chasing the dogs at Wimbledon greyhound stadium.

I read that the proposed rev t/o of Amaya has run into a storm of protest from WH's largest investor. No surprise there, well not from me! Always looked a second best after the 888 / Rank attempt was rebuffed. I thought Amaya holders would gain more especially given that their core business is at the mature end of the cycle. Not having much luck is the new CEO! He failed to see the gift horse right in front of his nose when he had half a chance and now its gone! Another case of a WHAT man running a large co and not a WHY man.

I should have said this is a private bet with my bookmaker. He has offered me (10/1on) Spo winning... ie....£5000 to win £500. I consider this a stand out bet. Normally this is a massive swerve but as far as I'm concerned it's an easy £500 given what I think i know. The reward small as a % of my layout is still worth having. Of course I have considered buying £5k worth of Spo shares but am strapped at present. Luckily my credit is good for 30 days should the worst befall me.

C 8% drop on nothing volumes is par for the course on thinly traded stocks in the netherworld of sub ftse leaders. Talk of leaks/ insider info are just that....chit chat beloved of BB's! If there was anything serious to the rumours....well expect the stock sub 60!! Pay no attention! Consider Mr Market offering you an opportunity to pick up some cheap stock ahead of the vat result. Do you really believe that the SC is going to overturn the last courts decision? Good grief do they want to prolong this farce any longer? This has already become a laughing stock among most half sensible on lookers. Most expect that the SC will throw out HMRC's opportunistic appeal. I'm betting £5k that HMRC will see their frivolous appeal turned down. My record is poor in this regard but heh...I'll get it right sometime.

Kenny...I dont do twitter...whatever the hell that is? If it's half interesting best post it for us luddites! Thanx.

Trade check?

For HMRC as companies owed money by Lehman Bros when it collapsed eight years ago are set to avoid a tax bill of £1bn. The High Court criticised HMRC's inconsistent and confusing statements and sided with LB ruling that creditors should not pay income tax on the interest earned on money tied up in a failed bank. HMRC claimed that tax was due even before it was clear that there would be enough money left in LB to reimburse them. Needless to say HMRC has been given leave to appeal. HMRC said "we do not shy away from difficult legal challenges and it is right that we pursue every penny that may be due to the Exchequer (however low we may stoop) my words.

WH expected to tie-up with Canadian poker outfit Amaya (PokerStars) to create a $5bn online giant. Marrying WH strong sports book operations to their strong poker business is seen.by WH executives as a second best after 888/Rank went south. Surprised WH jumped into bed with Amaya so soon which strikes me as one of desperation by WH management. Well, I guess the new boss had to flex his muscles after Henderson got the heave-o. I must admit I'd have thought WH would have gone for a Co with a wider spread of interests as poker ain't what it used to be.

On June 6th HMRC lodged an application to appeal the COA unanimous decision to refuse directly to the Supreme Court. That was 4 months ago.We know the wheels of British justice turn exceedingly slowly and an autumn decision is expected. So sometime between now and Christmas we will know the outcome. Hopefully this will be the last of any appeal process ie to the European C of Justice for which the intricacies of the spot the ball game vis a vis it's vat status would be of little interest. Outside of that avenue I dont think there is anywhere else to go to seek redress. HMRC are not noted for throwing in the towel over a £100m dispute but on this occasion, should they lose, they might see the futility of continuing and retire gracefully! Meanwhile Burtonwood ready the Pools business for an AIM quote and raising the finance. I read end Oct/Nov completion was expected. That being so monies from the sale won't be in our bank until sometime Dec which will give us a clear run into next year boosted by vat monies hopefully! Financially Spo could be in the strongest position ever of the Co's history and debt free to boot. After expenses, tax etc....we could have net c £90m in the kitty (45p) which represents a big chunk of our asset value. We stabilised the Pools business but we're unable to grow it, that required a different mind set and management. Penrose & Co at least realised that. The Co had to be put on a stronger footing prior to any hopes of US expansion. That has nearly been achieved and I look forward with more confidence to Spo's future across the pond.

$/Zam kwa......current 9.899.

Is Zam the new Big little Co? Or the little Co that just got Big? With 6000 employees were out of the minor leagues for sure. With our wide spread of interests in Zam and West Africa were out of the minor leagues. Our annual profits are hardly minor league.....so a just got big co? Not really our mrkt cap places us in the minor leagues. No make that the micro cap league! (under £50m mrkt cap). Seems illogical for a Co making perhaps £18-20m next year to be a microcap stock traded among the waifs, strays & nee'r do well's on Aim. Perhaps we are in the misunderstood big little co section?

Not sure what % of the cold store production pork is as it's lumped together with all the others. But in view of China's problems and pork shortage, I'm sure that has not escaped our board. Whether Zam can significantly up pork production in the short term I don't know. But it looks like a real opportunity for the co.

Cheers rev...interesting post! Under threats you say global agricultural giants muscling in...that could make us a potential target as we're now virtually debt free. How CDC would view this I'm not sure but who knows a couple of years down the line? That maniac Mugabe will hopefully depart Zim and whatever influence he has with neighbour countries will evaporate overnight. Come.back off your hols with Zam thru 20!!

The sp is trading at c 39% discount to nav (41) so a large margin of safety. I'm not sure what the competition is...if any, perhaps rev can clue us in?But at least Zam fullfils most of Buffets prerequisites for an investment some of which are: i) trustworthy management ii) provides a product that is needed. iii) ability to raise prices. iv) competitive advantage. v) not overly capital intensive. Lots more obviously but these all apply to Zam imo and would go someway to reinforcing your view of Zam as an investment and not a punt... (gone wrong)!!

P/e c3x not 1...still way too low for a Co with Zam like prospects.

I agree DD77 Zam looks undervalued. If you take our debt to shareholder funds it's a lowly 32% or 3x so Zam is not using debt as a form of leverage. With an expected ebita of c £17m our pe is a ridiculous 1x and a low 2 x $ debt v $ ebita. Our 300m issue is earning us c 5.6p ebita or 31% of our sp goes straight to the bottom line. Cheap as chips or what?