Member Info for Pianista

We've already seen it, so nothing new here.

There’s not really enough to go on in Zibra’s message to comment in full, eg what exactly was the “inside information”, and who exactly was doing the “encouraging”?

However, it was around that time I think that Stephen English was talking about an SP target of £1, which was largely dismissed on this board, but I’m sure some PIs would have “encouraged” family and friends to buy DX shares on the strength of it, ditto employees. If that’s all that’s to it, that would obviously not be ”insider trading”. However if, partly as a result of the increased interest in the shares at that time, many employees now have sizeable stakes, either directly or through employee share schemes, a permanent delisting of DX would be highly demotivating for them, so that would be the last thing the company would be looking to do at this time.

Meanwhile, they seem to be keeping us waiting…but maybe negotiations have reached a delicate stage, and it would be inadvisable to issue an update.

Just checked the AA website, and it seems they're no longer offering Smart Breakdown to new customers - despite consistently maintaining that SB is the future. Existing customers are still being supported.

Not desperately bad news for Trak in the sense that take up has been poor anyway. But they had great hopes it would take off in a big way.

I suppose the AA might relaunch it at some point?

Frog - what’s bizarre is merely that a company which has achieved an amazing recovery appears to have tripped up unnecessarily over something relatively minor. That’s all I’m getting at, the irony.

And if someone in DX has tried to hide something from GT - which, from the little we’ve been told so far, is possible - DX have no choice but top fess up to any prospective new auditor, and "privilege" won't get in the way of this. [No reference to privilege was made by GT when alleging the lack of access to information etc. – see para (iii) of their letter. The reason for DX’s alleged shortcomings is therefore something else (dragging of feet? incompetence? plain evasion?), and not privilege. Privilege was only mentioned in relation what could or could not be disclosed in the resignation letter itself – see para (ii)].

The whole thing is bizarre, but then following GT's resignation Mr Meidar did reiterate, through Gatemore, that it’s effectively a minor issue – which should give us at least a crumb of comfort.

They've used privilege to withhold information from the general public, including us, but not from the auditors. I agree they'd have difficulty appointing new auditors if this weren't the case.

What surprises me, is that given the harsh criticism of DX's communications by Gatemore's BOD appointee, we aren't being reassured about progress the auditor issue, or the appointment of a new Audit Committee, which doesn't exist at the moment following the two NED resignations. Maybe they think communication is less important while the shares are suspended and any news cannot be acted upon.

Ports – your concern about “privilege” is misplaced. Privilege only prevented GT from saying more about the investigation/inquiry in their, admittedly sloppily-worded, resignation letter. There is no suggestion privilege was ever used by DX as a reason for withholding anything from GT in the first place.

We’re getting ahead of ourselves with all this speculation. The company is talking to several potential replacement auditors, who in turn will need to talk to Grant Thornton, so it all takes time. It is vital they make the right choice (e.g. can the new firm do the outstanding audit in the required timescale, with none of the resource issues that GT had?), and I wouldn’t start to get concerned unless we don’t hear by the end of next week (a month out from the last RNS). In the meantime, it’s back to sleep…..

However, interim results are due around now, and if they’re RNS’d before an auditor has been appointed, they’d at least need to include an update on the matter.

Apart from defence stocks and gold, nothing seems safe at the moment, but if, as the market seems to be assuming, people will be reluctant to travel abroad this year, this should at least benefit Halfords.

Why all the criticism of shorters? It is they who’ve given those who believe in the company the chance to get in at a bargain basement price.

It's already taken a fair bit of punishment. Hard to tell where it will go in the short term. But today's purchase only represents 1% of my portfolio, so not so brave really.

Probably, but can't be far from the bottom - just taken the plunge at 265p.

Up 10% so far today, and yet there's nothing we know today that we didn't know last week. Amazing how the market can suddenly wake up.

Time for a new thread title?

I don't know about a "boost": I'm not aware of any "Covid rule" which in practice is having any major effect on JDW's trade currently.

Like Djokovic, the unvaccinated aren't going to get get vaccinated just to travel.

They will travel as soon as this unnecessary "medical apartheid" is abolished.

Medical apartheid also affects vaccinated people who will not travel because they have unvaccinated partners, family members etc.

So if 5% of the country are unvaccinated, more like 15% are adversely affected, if we assume that ON AVERAGE an unvaccinated person would normally travel with two persons who are vaccinated.

No need for conspiracy theories. Given GT's allusion to breaches of law/regulations, the most likely reason for reticence is that the issues are simply sub judice.

DX may also have legitimate criticisms of GT, which may have exacerbated the situation, and which are best kept to itself at this time.

So we have to accept that certain information cannot be made public, however frustrating that is. The only news we urgently need at this stage is confirmation that a new auditor and a new Audit Committee have been appointed.

The company should probably have done more to avoid this mess, but as long as management are not allowing it to distract them from looking after the business I’d be fairly relaxed, because ultimately that is our safety net, viz. a business that ultimately people will be queuing up to pay much more than 30pps for.

Yes, GT were adjudged to have a "SERIOUS LACK OF COMPETENCE", which they seem to have carried over into their work for DX by "failing to meet their previously agreed audit timetable due to their internal resource issues and their need to replace the Statutory Auditor".

So hardly a credible outfit themselves, and one whose no 1 priority will inevitably be to avoid further reputational damage, even if it means overreacting to a non-critical issue.

No new information, except to say the company "is in discussions with potential replacement auditors".