Member Info for NickRubens

Yes jimac, Problem with reading Reach titles is that you have to fight through endless adds and I think many of the news headlines just resort to clickbaiting type headlines unfortunately.

Anyway I'm invested here, so whatever they are doing, hope it works. I see they have started to introduce a bit of a paywall recently on some regional titles at least. If that works then things could improve dramatically, but it's a big if.

Seems to plunge soon afterwards. Maybe there is a lesson for me, not to go bargain hunting as there aren't any?

Looks like another bottom drawer stock, that I can't face taking the loss on. I suppose it's just as well my wealth is declining as Labour are coming for it anyway. Either way it was never going to be mine.

Norway has a sovereign wealth fund, the UK has working people and their belongings to draw on.

My average is around 84p and I have no idea why the market is selling it down? Either they know something or it's just one of those bargain shares that eventual hindsight if/when it's doubled in value makes one wish they had filled their boots. A mystery here to me.

Gazking, My 'rant 'on the UK can be applied to almost every company listed or trying to operate in this taxed to oblivion country and it's set to get taxed even more. There is no way out until the state cuts public expenditure and dramatically so.

It wasn't aimed at B&M specifically but this is why I now am a very hesitant investor, actually take losses now on failed buys, and prefer a short term trade (if lucky) but get caught out frequently. Looking at PETS also but the same macro economic problems apply there also.

To re enter B&M I'd have to see what looks like a steal and at the moment it's fairly priced only (cheap if you like, but for a reason) IMO considering the tough climate and budget ahead .Hope it goes well though for anyone holding.

An out of town B&M store closed in Huddersfield in favour of the one in the Town centre. Hard to believe the Town centre ones was seemingly more profitable, but the footfall and till activity was notably far more busier when I visited.

What happened here, A flotation value of over a Billion and now it's around £750 million?

It's just as well I avoid flotations as they are usually exits for VCT's and overvalued ones at that, though this one looks different, with one huge major shareholder holding the company, which makes it interesting at the same time as risky.

EPS of 37p for 2025 looks good, any forecasts for 2026?

Gazking, great optimism.

Anyone fear what might be coming in the budget? VAT rise? The country's finances are a complete liability that is now spilling out into a declining economy. How can any business prosper in this state and how can any worker even prosper anymore as they are effectively taking on more and more mouths to feed and house on the state expense. I'm still shocked at the last 1% NI rise and other related business cost increases.

The Bond markets, despite higher interest rates, to me are holding up well, considering.

What's extraordinary, is the market thinks this company is done with and eventually heading for the end, but the company keeps reporting good profits and yet again is forecasting results 'in line with market expectations', which are mighty decent.

Having said all that, if you look at the political situation, it seems that no one trusts these mainstream brands anymore and real news can be found at the hands of a youtuber or X, far more accurate and truthful. So it is really over for the mainstream media. Have they authored their own decline by having such contempt for the public in their politically biased reporting and demonising of some activists who turn out to be the real truth tellers.

Beginning to wish I never owned these shares, same with ITV and STV, all dogs in my portfolio.

Wisdom "But im also accepting that in hindsight it was a stupid investment."

It could have turned out fine if it wasn't for Labour's remote gaming duty hike (21% to 40% now in effect) and the general betting duty rise to come in a year later from 15% to 25%.

I'm sat on alot of losses directly linked to Labour's budget hikes in various forms and more are to come. This country is in financial trouble and unrest is bubbling.

Bullshirts Yes all I can think is the market expected this but perhaps priced in a surprise sudden above expectations result and subsequent flurry of upgraded profit forecasts . I have bought my first tranche and will scale in on any further drop or perhaps any rise also.

Thankyou Hamiltonac It reads well if they are correct about the future expectation. Time will tell. Good luck to anyone buying, I've still got cold feet at the moment, but that could change anytime.

My biggest worry is the macro economic picture especially in the UK, but that won't affect RWS mostly international earnings, so there is a positive there at least.

Hamiltonacademic, I tend to agree but do you know by any chance (or anyone else) what the full year expectations are that they expect to achieve? cheers NR

WT "These shares should be 110, 115 in the next few weeks" It's happened in a few days. However it needs to hold on to it's bounce, though I did desperately buy on the irrational plunge and add to an already frustrated holding.

Hard to believe I've held from 200p plus only to see it halve in value, since then. The company is in better shape than the SP seems to be suggesting IMO, though i'm not surprised markets are nervous.

The whole UK economic state and the government additionally makes me nervous.

I took a huge loss on this a couple of days ago and sold my holding purchased at around 290p. I hope anyone staying for the longer term and needing to recoup paper losses will do well, but the whole Uk economy looks like it's going under to me. The only place for the government to get any wealth is continued additional record taxation increases, there is nothing else, no growing economy, nada, zilch, debt rollover is increasing the interest rate bill to eye watering levels in itself, and we are continually importing liabilities to draw on the state expenditure bill from other countries.

How can B&M or anyone else prosper with all this? It almost feels like most businesses are just in survival mode, being hit with one additional cost increase after another and this looks set to continue indefinitely to me.

CJ Spot on. British Industry has been struggling/declining for 30 years or so. Politician after Politician have loaded the economy with ever increasing taxes, ever increasing costs and the attack continues. Profit has been demonised in this country. We can delude ourselves that things will improve somehow based on hope and wishful thinking, but they won't. We need a complete Political overhaul in power and then some tough serious discipline as national debt approaches £3 trillion and interest rates are continuing to creep higher, with inflation following suit.

BD, Yes looks good value etc, but whenever I've said to myself 'surely' about any company on the stock market, it's often led to disastrous investment losses.

These Broker targets are kind of meaningless unfortunately. Can ULTP show they are restoring profitability which is the big issue. Having said all that, I am kind of interested to buy should something favourable news wise come along.

The director buy wasn't very much IMO, so for me it's not giving confidence.

Hope the shorts fail big time, as I just added more to existing holding. Sell off looks excessive, but maybe investors are furious as we just got over the late accounts filing debacle and that was nerve racking but turned out ok, so hopefully we'll hear that washing machine roll out is on schedule and doing ok. Still a bit frustrating though.

We haven't long to wait. 11th June deadline.

From the price drifting, it's clear the market has doubts of a 595p offer sailing through. Having said that it makes sense for Ingredion to pay more than a VCT would. A VCT would have to do it's mathematical gymnastics and 'dodgy' IMO restructuring , whereas Ingredion are already in the same business.

If Ingredion don't pay a generous price and instead walk away, then I think it's an uphill struggle to earn itself back to this valuation, though for patient investors, maybe that's not a problem.

At the moment i'm content I sold on the immediate rise (helping correct a mistake I made buying), though slightly nervous I'm out with such a predator looking at it.

But share price held up on bid possibility. Without a predator we'd still be around the 400p level.

Having said that, it is a more valuable company now that some interest from outside has shown, so I doubt we'll see that level again. At some point I might jump in again, and then possibly regret it again! It's so difficult to judge as an outsider with no contacts.

Grounding, yes agree, I thought it unusual they were suggesting a price of 595p cash plus 20p dividend and then reserving the right to adjust the price. So i sold my disastrous investment here to take a small profit and considered myself lucky.

Now I don't have the bottle to buy them again, but wish shareholders all the best and for some competing offers to emerge.

I may still panic buy back in though, if I feel I am missing out on what could be a bid battle with potentially others expressing interest.