Member Info for mulledwine

bonty - howdy - a nice write up http://www.stockopedia.co.uk/content/abcam-the-next-giant-of-the-life-sciences-55549/?utm_source=sendgrid.com&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Site%20Features

Profit warning at Northern Bear Date: Friday 08 Apr 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Shares of building services group Northern Bear sank 10% after it warned profit for the year ending 31 March 2011 is expected to be below market expectations following the severe weather conditions at the end of 2010. The firm, which provides roofing, building and fire protection services, said that while trading conditions improved at the start of 2011, it was not enough to override losses in the previous few months. "Trading conditions improved in January, and activity has increased further since that time. Whilst March was a very positive month, the markedly improved environment has not been sufficient to enable the company to trade in line with market expectations," Northern Bear said. CJ

Games Workshop to produce great figures Date: Friday 08 Apr 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Tabletop fantasy and science fiction war games firm Games Workshop expects pre-tax profits in the current financial year will be ahead of expectations. The company, best known for its Warhammer and Warhammer 40k products, as well as for a gaming system based on JRR Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings”, said that gross margins have been strong since the last trading update at the end of November. The group has continued to deliver cost savings and cash generation remains so healthy the company has more money than it knows what to do with, so it intends to whack up its interim dividend from 4.95p last year to 20p this time round.

Now this is an interesting Company - will have a right gander at this over the weekend

API Group plc Pre Close Trading Update API Group plc ("API" or the "Group") is pleased to issue the following update on trading for the financial year ending 31 March 2011 (the "Period"), before entering the close period ahead of its results announcement due on or around 9 June 2011. The Group expects trading results from continuing operations for the Period to be ahead of market expectations due primarily to a stronger than anticipated second half performance from the Laminates division. Results in the Foils businesses have been in line with expectations, with margins under pressure from increasing raw material costs and the lag in passing these through in higher selling prices, partly offset by increased holographics volumes. Cash flow for the Period has been strong and the Group expects to report net debt for the year end of below £10.0m (2010: £18.5m). As the Group enters the new financial year, the high level of activity in Laminates is being sustained whilst the outlook in Foils is improving as raw material costs stabilise and margins start to recover as a result of the action already taken on pricing.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=20110408070000H4439

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201104080700055412E

Capital Pub expands in south London Date: Friday 08 Apr 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - London pub operator Capital Pub Company is adding two pubs in the south of the city to its estate. It is buying the Mansion in West Dulwich for £1.55m and the Rye in Peckham for £1.37m, taking the number of pubs the company operates to 34. Another acquisition is being handled by lawyers and the firm is on the lookout for more pubs. Capital, which has been benefitting from much better trading conditions in London than in other parts of the country, hopes to grow its estate to 45 to 50 pubs in the next two to three years. The two new pubs have beer gardens, though the Mansion will miss out on the opportunity to benefit from warm weather this summer as it will be closed for refurbishment until the end of the season. “Both these properties perfectly fit the location and quality criteria that we require when adding pubs to our estate,” said Capital’s chief executive Clive Watson. “We continue to make significant progress in building our estate towards our stated goal."

http://www.halifaxmarketwatch.co.uk/rns.cgi?username=&ac=&action=news&rns=1&view=full&story_id=4164710

http://www.miningmaven.com/k2/companies/horizonte-minerals/horizonte-minerals-interview-with-ceo-jeremy-martin/

David Taylor-Smith, Regional CEO, G4S UK & Africa, commented: "We are very pleased to welcome Tom and his team to G4S and expect them to make a real difference to our business. We believe their market leadership, extensive client base and unmatched track record of delivery in this highly specialist area will underpin our consultancy offering here in the UK and overseas." Tom Scott, CEO of The Cotswold Group, commented: "We are very excited about the opportunities for our employees and our company through becoming part of the G4S family. We believe the Cotswold Group is highly complementary to G4S's existing operations around the world and will bring many new capabilities to G4S and its customers. The opportunity to create a major force in investigation services and to work with G4S teams in the UK and globally is an extremely exciting prospect."

G4S plc G4S acquires The Cotswold Group G4S, the world's leading secure solutions group, today announces the acquisition by G4S Managed Services (UK) Limited of The Cotswold Group Limited ("the Cotswold Group") , the UK's market leader in surveillance, fraud analytics, intelligence and investigations services from Tom Scott and other members of its management team. The Cotswold Group had revenues of £10 million in 2010 and G4S will pay a maximum consideration of £10.2 million in cash, comprising an initial payment of £8.0 million with the remainder to be paid upon the achievement of specific PBITA targets in 2011 and 2012. The acquisition will significantly strengthen the strategic development of G4S's covert surveillance and investigations capability, allowing it to embed increased intelligence offerings into its service portfolio and introduce these offerings as part of its existing solutions based contracts. Adding to similar services offered in the US, Middle East and Asia Pacific, with this acquisition G4S will become the global leader in the investigation of insurance fraud which is estimated to cost in excess of $200bn each year. The Cotswold Group will provide an intelligence-based fraud investigation services platform and give G4S the capability to pursue major opportunities within UK central and local government in areas such as benefit fraud investigation. The Cotswold Group is the largest provider of surveillance and investigative services to insurance clients within the UK, with a strong emphasis on personal injury fraud. It provides a range of surveillance and investigation services in property, motor and personal injury insurance claims, employers and public liability, employee screening, housing benefit fraud and corporate investigations. The Cotswold Group was founded in 1990 by Tom Scott, its current CEO and a former police officer who specialised in covert surveillance, combating serious and organised crime. Tom will continue to manage the business following the acquisition. The Cotswold Group is headquartered in Gloucester and currently employs 260 staff, 120 of whom are investigators located across Europe.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=20110408132000H4708

Yesterday’s fourth-quarter update from electrical components distributor Electrocomponents was reassuring. The shares are trading on a March 2012 earnings multiple of 13.1 times, falling to 11.6 in 2013, which does not seem too demanding for a company that is showing strong growth despite tough comparables. Buy, says the Telegraph.

Investors in Matchtech, the staffing firm whose shares suffered a sudden tumble after it warned on full-year profits in February, must have been relieved when the company issued its interim results yesterday. There were no nasty surprises, and the update suggested that there had been some improvement, particularly in Matchtech’s newly launched professional services brands. Buy, says the Independent.

Armour Group makes hi-fi and home-cinema equipment, including speakers and cables, as well as audio and visual equipment for cars. Britain is its core market, with 80% of the business based here. In yesterday’s update, Armour said conditions “are difficult and have deteriorated significantly over the last six weeks”. Sell, says the Independent.

Victrex does nothing but polyether ether ketone, helpfully shortened to Peek. The group’s factory near Blackpool produces the hard-wearing polymer in a vast array of shapes, sizes and varieties for use in everything from aircraft and electronics to artificial hip joints and vertebrae. Victrex has bags of potential, even with the widely predicted softening in the second half thanks to tougher comparisons and the drag from the special dividend. Buy, says the Independent.

steve - yes thats a good article regarding AUG and what it is all about

BW - all looks good at the moment in here - Just in from the garden so I havnt read he report yet - will save that for when the sun disappears - cant waste that !

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=20110408114043P8487