Member Info for Misterh

Has taken a small punt in TSL. Described as 'an odd one that looks too cheap to be true'. His column is widely read so should not harm the SP.

What we really need is proof of concept for the miniaturised version of the above. It sounds like science fiction at the moment but would be incredible if it really could detect a range of airborne pathogens including Covid19. The PCR reagent technology is impressive enough when used on a biological sample such as a nasal swab, but here we are talking about millions of cubic metres of air!

Another great divestment at a substantial premium to carrying value. With almost 300 million quid soon to be on the balance sheet, lets hope a few million are earmarked for further buybacks. When you can buy £3.63 of assets [including £1.57 of cash] for £2.54 there is no better investment on offer. Let's clear out some weak holders and move on upwards!

This is now comfortably the worst performing stock [in percentage loss terms] in my portfolio. My mental stop loss was triggered some time ago and I'm sure that plenty of holders more sensible than me will be getting out pronto.
The one thing that I have not lost sight of is the fact that the directors did a fantastic job of persuading new investors to shell out 8.28M quid at 10.2p a pop. Nobody is going to part with this much capital without carrying out very careful due diligence. Nothing has materially changed since then. That is why I intend holding.

At 212p per LUCE share as I write, the value of the ESO holding is approx. 85M. The market cap. of ESO [at mid-price] is a mere 65M. Everything else is in the price for free [including 18M net cash pile and the valuable Pharmacy2U stake]. Some big buys in the last couple of days, coupled with the valuation anomaly could mean the SP taking off North very soon. Bargain hunters take note.

This has been a frustrating stock to own of late and am currently sitting on a fairly sizeable paper loss.
I do however think that the company is in much better shape now than when I first invested. The divestment of the European satellite business will leave the balance sheet looking much healthier and remove the immediate threat of any dilution. The growth potential of the Quickline business is considerable and now becomes the main focus. I truly believe that management want to create maximum value for shareholders and it would not surprise me if they sold the both the Australian and Nordic businesses should the right price be offered. Once further developed, Quickline itself should also attract takeover interest. Just look at the huge premium paid for City Fibre a couple of years ago. There are plenty of deep-pocketed giant infrastructure funds out there looking for the right assets. In summary, I think this is one for the patient investor and I won't be bailing out anytime soon.

I wonder if they'll declare another special dividend/return of capital as they did in March 2019. There is plenty of cash on the balance sheet [bolstered by the recent legal settlement] and I can't imagine they need that much working capital for the ongoing business.

I noted this morning when the above reported their interim results that the value of their holding of LUCE was on the balance sheet as at 31.7 for 57.3M [they hold approximately 25% of the shares in issue]. I calculate that the value of their holding at last night's close would be 75.77M given the recent surge in the share price [results also seem well received today]. I further calculate that the NAV per share will have increased from 303p [at 31.7 so includes write down of unlisted investments]to approximately 360p all other things being equal. This means that with net cash of 18.2M stripped out, the investment portfolio is being valued at a whopping 53% discount to book value. Shares currently being bought for 208p.
It's true to say the shares of ESO are highly illiquid compared to LUCE but represent excellent value for those wanting cheaper exposure to what looks like a winner.

I picked this up on a 'value and momentum' stock screen a few months ago. When I looked at the stock in detail, I was blown away by the fundamentals of the business and it passed scrutiny on all fronts leading to a decision to invest. I decided to break an unwritten rule of mine which was never again to invest in a Chinese listed aim company, remembering the likes of Naibu and Camkids which looked equally impressive on paper before their fall from grace due to creative accounting. More fool me, as I am now nursing an eye watering paper loss that I can't even turn into a real one! It will be a difficult decision once I am able to trade but I really need persuading that this is worth holding after what must be the worst IPO I have witnessed to date.

A really detailed [40 pages] and positive broker note which is free to access. Excellent value still on offer here for the long term investor. If net cash is stripped out, then portfolio is still being valued at a discount to book value of >50%. Some of the valuations are quite conservative to boot. Looking forward to interim results on 10.9. Management always keen to reduce discount so could be looking at another share buy back or possibly even a tender offer. A hike in the dividend would also be welcome. They can certainly afford it with the cash mountain on the balance sheet.

There's a big difference between the two circumstances. In October 2017 the LSE removed the status of NOMAD from Polo's then adviser ZAI Corporate Finance. This time the NOMAD has essentially resigned and Polo have not stated the reason for this. Such lack of communication leads to inevitable speculation that there are significant corporate governance issues and that other NOMADs will be unwilling to take on the business.
In the past, resignation of a NOMAD has been an enormous red flag. Just look back to when a similar thing happened to a number of Chinese AIM listed firms a few years ago. These have all since disappeared.

With the market cap. now standing at a paltry 237M does anyone know if we can be relegated from the main board to the GEM [Growth Enterprise Market]. In other words do they have reshuffles like the LSE?

KP123
I got this from the IC Alpha report published on 30.4. and updated on 12.5 under the heading "Tech that and rally"

The key fact is that Thinksmart has a put option on agreed valuation principles to sell its remaining 10% holding in Clearpay to Afterpay. One of the valuation principles is the market capitalization of Afterpay so the carrying value is clearly a function of this.
It should become a bit clearer once the final results are published in September, noting that the SP of Afterpay as at 30.6.20 was 60.99 AUD and comparing this to the valuation at 31.12.19 of 16.4M when the share price was 29.28AUD.

Carrying value of ClearPay stake as at 31.12 was 16.4M or 15.4p per share.
SP of Afterpay increased from AUD 29.28 to 73.50 or 2.5X since then.
Not inconceivable that could now be worth 38.5p per share.

Just tried to top up through A.J. Bell and message came back as 'Instrument not traded'