Member Info for mulledwine

Ken Travis, President and CEO of Strata Energy Services Inc., said: "Strata has had an excellent first half of 2011, and demand for our services continues to significantly exceed our capacity to service that demand. Therefore, this refinancing and the conversion of OGT's debt into equity is critical to our plans to invest and grow Strata's capacity, and will enable us further deepen our relationship with key customers. Also, the conversion of OGT's debt into equity aligns it with the other shareholders and has enabled us to agree a business plan with OGT to maximise the return for all shareholders." David Sefton of Linton Capital, the Company's Investment Manager, said: "Strata is the Company's best performing investment which makes it as critical as ever to ensure that Strata is in the best position to succeed and grow to the greatest extent possible. By converting its investment into equity, the Company has aligned its interests with the management team and enabled a refinancing of Strata's debt facility to take place which allows for further investment to fuel growth without the Company's interest having to be diluted. The Company is now well placed to reap the benefit from having invested in and enabled the growth and development of this exceptional business. When we examine the fundamentals, the performance of Strata provides further support to the strategy of focusing on mature field recovery services and the importance of the deployment of technology at the wellhead." Christopher Hill, Chairman of OGT, said: "We continue to be excited by the performance and prospects for our investment in Strata. It is clear that the Investment Manager has striven to align the interests of the Company and our investors with those of management, while taking into account the needs of the Company for an underlying supply of income. Clearly, for our investors, it is the eventual capital gain that has the potential to be the headline event, but we also note that this restructuring has been achieved using a mechanism which will still provide income to the Company during the holding of the investment, albeit that the income level is initially below the former coupon but then scales back up. The Board has been closely involved in monitoring the negotiations and structuring of the conversion and refinancing of Strata and believes that the final agreement is clearly in the interests of shareholders."

Strata - conversion of debt into equity International Oil and Gas Technology Limited (LSE:OGT), an authorised closed-ended investment company incorporated in Guernsey, is pleased to announce that on 3 August 2011 a restructuring of OGT's investment in Strata Energy Services Inc. ("Strata") took place whereby the Company has converted its US$20 million debenture in Strata and US$2.85 million of its US$4.85 million loan note in Strata into Common Shares. The following are the principal terms of the conversion: · The Company has been issued Common Shares representing 46.15 per cent. of the current issued share capital of Strata. When fully diluted by Strata's employee stock option programme, the Company will then hold 43 per cent. of the Common Shares of Strata. This includes a small bonus issuance of 1 per cent. of the shares in Strata above the conversion amounts specified in the debenture and loan note. With the exception of a small external shareholding (approximately 3 per cent.), the other shares in Strata are all held by members of the management team and beneficiaries of the employee share option programme. · A new shareholder agreement has been entered into among the principal shareholders of Strata. This provides enhanced shareholder protections for the Company including that its consent will be required prior to the issuance of any new equity or debt in Strata, and provides appropriate exit provisions including tag-along and drag-along. The agreement sets out a dividend policy that provides for continued income to the Company from its investment in Strata. This dividend policy provides that dividends will be paid to shareholders on a regular periodic basis calculated as a proportion of EBITDA, with the proportion applied increasing as EBITDA increases. · The Company has yesterday been paid US$2,366,330 million in respect of accrued, deferred and penalty interest and other fees. · The US$2 million unconverted balance of the US$4.85 million loan note has been converted into a one year promissory note in the amount of US$2 million with a coupon of 4 per cent. · The Investment Manager and the management team of Strata have agreed upon and are working to execute a business plan to maximise the value of Strata and further expand its operations.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201108040700167114L

The chief executive of Next offered a boost to embattled UK consumers yesterday, predicting that there would be no further increases in its clothing prices for spring 2012, as cotton inflation and manufacturing capacity constraints in the Far East ease. Lord Wolfson of Aspley Guise also said he thought the recent doom and gloom in the retail sector had been"exaggerated", as the fashion and homewares giant posted a resilient set of first-half results, the Independent reports.

We have continued to see stabilisation in trading performance, with average income per pub up by over 1% in the eighteen weeks since the Interim Results after being flat during the first half. During the period we benefited from the exceptional weather and two bank holidays during April but were then challenged by difficult comparisons with the FIFA World Cup in June last year. Whilst remaining cautious about the underlying economic environment, we expect to deliver results for the full year in line with our expectations............................................

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201108040700177119L

Rugby Estates (RES) has completed a consolidation of share capital and begun the return of around 4.6 million pounds to shareholders, at 125p per share. Additionally, every 13 existing ordinary shares will be converted into 9 new shares. The move comes after a series of property disposals by the company in order to concentrate on its asset management business. The programme is expected to be largely completed by the end of 2012. The shares closed down by 203.33p at 457.5p.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201108031447106876L

Business software developer Prologic (PGC) reported a 1% increase in revenues for the year ended 31st March, at 9.86 million pounds, but a pre-tax loss of 7.79 million pounds, down from a 61,000 pound profit last year. The loss comes from considerably increased administrative expenses, up 213% at 12.3 million pounds and an impairment charge on intangible assets of 7.8 million pounds, primarily a 5 million pound reduction in goodwill, which arose from the hive up of Pitcomp 192 and Prologic Computer Consultants. Shares in Prologic declined 1p to 34.5p.

Shares in PSG Solutions (PGS) flew 32.5p to 84p after it announced that the value of an existing contract had been increased by 39 million pounds to 48.7 million pounds, excluding VAT. The contract was originally awarded to a subsidiary of the property information provider on 10th May, by a government department, and was valued at around 11 million pounds. The project is expected to be completed in October 2012.

WS Atkins (ATK) reported mixed a performance in the UK, noting that the highway business has begun well but that the rail sector remains highly competitive. The infrastructure group believes there is significant growth opportunity in the Middle East and has begun to invest heavily in personnel and bidding activity. In Asia and Europe the company claims to be trading in-line with expectations, but suffering from weak market conditions. The shares crumbled 24p to 654.5p

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201108030700136229L

First half pre-tax profits at GKN (GKN) rose 14.3% to 223 million pounds, with strong sales growth, up 11% at 2.99 billion pounds. The engineering company expects to see global light automotive vehicle production reach 78 million in 2011, with strong growth prospects in India, but anticipates a slow down in China. The group anticipates a reduction in demand for its aerospace technology in the US over the second half of the year, as the C-17 carrier programme is reduced. The shares fell 3.3p to 213.7p.

Rightmove (RMV) remains a "hold" for Brewin Dolphin, with a target price of 1,250p. The broker believes the online real estate portal is trading in-line with expectations, with revenues for the first half up 20% at 47 million pounds. The broker notes that the number of advertisers on the website has increased by 3% year-on-year to 18,480 and average revenue per advertiser is 18% higher at 430 pounds. New homes made up 18% of revenues, but new homes developer numbers were weaker than the broker expected, at 2,691. The shares descended 14p to 1,202p.

Panmure Gordon reiterated its "sell" recommendation for Capital and Counties Properties (CAPC), with a 161p target price. The broker says that the property developer has performed as expected, with net asset value growth of 4% to 154p per share in the six months to June 2011. However, Panmure feels that a better investment is to be found with central London residential and office projects, offered by London and Stamford Property (LSP), and suggests that investors recycle profits there. Shares in Capital and Counties declined 3.5p to 182.1p, while those of London and Stamford edged down 0.8p to 127.2p.

Vernalis (VER) retained its "buy" rating from Singer Capital with a target price of 80p. This follows a reassuring interim report which showed reduced half year losses of 7 million pounds, down from 7.3 million pounds in 2010. The broker believes the pharmaceutical company has made good progress in product development and reports for the first phase of testing for its painkiller V158866 in the third quarter and preclinical studies of cancer treatment drug V158411should be completed in the first half for 2012. The shares fell 4.75p to 43p.

Ian Garland, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "Operational performance in the first half of 2011 has been strong within both our in-house and partnered programmes. Our in-house pipeline has been strengthened by the addition of V81444, an attractive potential novel treatment for Parkinson's Disease that we will move into Phase I during the second half of the year. Our balance sheet and trading performance remain strong and although we did not secure an in-licensing deal or acquisition, we remain highly active in this area. We are very well positioned for a successful second half of the year both operationally and financially."

Vernalis plc, a revenue generating development stage pharmaceutical company with one marketed product and a broad pipeline of in-house and partnered clinical programmes, today announces its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2011. Highlights Financial · Strong balance sheet with £27.1 million cash resources (including cash, cash equivalents and held-to-maturity financial assets) at 30 June 2011 and debt free · Underlying financial performance in-line with expectations: · Revenue (excluding milestones) £4.3 million (2010: £5.2 million) · Loss for the period reduced to £7.0 million (2010: £7.3 million) · Underlying cash burn (cash burn excluding exceptional costs) £1.7 million (2010: £0.9 million) · An exceptional £1.9 million cost related to an aborted acquisition of a US specialty pharmaceutical business

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201108030700116206L

HOLD: PEARSON "Media group Pearson has been one of our most interesting long-term investments. Internet companies are changing their parent businesses for the better, and a multi-year bull market appears to be already underway in such companies. How to buy a share "The internet boom of 1999/2000 ended in a horrible bust, but 10 years on we believe this area could be very exciting. "It has taken the past decade for companies to invest in new technologies and use them to enhance their businesses. But there still aren't that many quoted companies that give access to credible internet stories; Pearson is one that does. "The company is at the forefront of a transformation in education as teaching shifts towards online delivery. A substantial chunk of Pearson's earnings come from digital sources, and education accounts for around 85% of its business. Its growth rates and profitability are picking up all the time. "We don't use management as an information source - they can't make us privy to any information that's not available to all investors. However, it's important to watch what they do and whether they do what they say. Do they get payback on their investment? "Chief executive Marjorie Scardino has done a good job over the past 10 years; she has been shifting the business to faster-growing areas. We're very happy with this as a long-term hold." Nick Train, Moneywise