Member Info for portswigger

Understandable Sister. Agreed you can't have both. 20-25M investment and expansion strategy has to come from somewhere. Whether it be existing financial resources, profitability or even a fund raise. The DX directors have done a wonderful job in turning around the business and I personally think it's bit rich of Gatemore to say well done on one hand for getting us to this point but we are not happy with your plans moving forward and we want to temper that with our own interests, so we demand a seat on the board. The share price has done pretty well since the current directors got involved in 2017.
If I was Lloyd I would have say that I would be pretty cheesed off not withstanding the mistakes made over the corporate governance issue last year. I would worry if Lloyd feels he is losing control of the strategy so I can understand the nervousness . I'll watching the mood music very carefully coming out of DX in the next month or so.
Happy New Year Everyone.

Well I've come to the conclusion that we aren't going to be told in detail what the corporate governance issue is. They would have told us by now if they were going to. There must be a reason for non disclosure but I suppose if they don't have to tell us they won't.

All we can hope for really is that the share suspension is relatively short and mediar's review doesn't take to long but It wouldn't surprise me if we didn't hear much until Feb on the future plans.
Sister: Yes, you do wonder what the non Execs have been up to !

Anyway.. Investment head off for a few weeks so I wish my fellow shareholders the best Christmas possible under the current circumstances.

I agree it wasn't a good PR exercise when the directors bought on the sp fall after the RNS but we all had the opportunity to buy at very advantageous levels. It probably was the tin lid for Gatemore. The worry for me is if Mr Meidar rattles Lloyds cage to extent he walks away. I think he will be treading a thin line as he will want to keep Lloyd and his team onside moving forward.
The pregnant silence regarding corporate governance issues continues to disappoint.

Fair point unhooked.
The worrying aspect in all this is that Gatemore had by their own admission been in discussions with DX about various issues for sometime. Inspite of that they still felt in necessary to to take a rather drastic step of threatening DX with demand for a shareholders meeting and demand for a seat on the board. That means the discussions didn't go well. DX seem to be portraying a united front with Gatemore with the forthcoming review.
But I'm not so sure its all happy behind the scenes. I don't see how it can be.

Well sister I am in two minds. I think a review of what's going on is only a good thing as I have some worries about this speedy headlong into expansion, all things to everyone type strategy. I hope the outcome will focus on the more profitable aspects of the the business and we may see something done with the other divisions. The expansion strategy will be put on hold to some degree.

The investment case will change also. The real question is whether the discord between
Gatemore et al and the board can be addressed amicably. Lloyd and the board are obviously excited at the growth opportunities and that really trumps everything else whereas Gatemore are more concerned as to the shareholder return and their own interests. Can they come together.... who knows but these conflicts don't always end well.

All we can do is watch it play out but I hope they find some balance and middle ground.
At the end of the day I would want logistics people running a logistics business and if that looks like it may change I'd be off at some point.

Well we have a lot to look forward to:25-25m investment in the next three years ( Averaging 7-8m per annum)15 New Depots in the next two years ( Averaging one every 6/7 weeks)Substantial partnership with EuronicsInternational Express offering in ExchangeContinued Expansion.All seems rosy in the garden.......But is it:The new euronics deal is supported by our freight department for UK and Northern Ireland. Unfortunately we don't have a freight depot in Northern Ireland..... Just two express depots. In fact our coverage in Ireland in general is pretty paltry.On the current logistical foot print there are vast swathes of the country where the stem miles will be substantial reducing profitability. Headwinds continue to be substantial and now with people being asked to work from home this will affect DX exchange business.New fleet needed for the Euronics deal... I wonder how that was financed. Although we don't have the final accounts all these plans/infrastructure cost.....alot. And I wonder if that can all be financed with existing resources because they are relying on continued and greater profitability in the face of substantial headwinds or whether further funding will be required. There must be further economic and financial turbulence ahead and having a rough idea of the current cash position my own view is that further wool on their back will be required so it wouldn't surprise me if there is something announced in Jan/Feb after the probable suspension. Just one of the reasons I am not comfortable with Gatemore being on the board as I'm sure they see opportunity for themselves.Anyone else have a view ?

Absolutely Pianista. I think i am just going to sit on my hands for a bit with DX. it doesn't sit well with me that DX are happy to shout from the rooftops about the deal with euronics and yet are prepared to keep the private investors in the dark about the corporate govenance issues. We are owners of the company after all.

Maybe Pianista. What you can say is that if DX still fail to provide a clear explanation now that L. Meidar is a Non Exec then he has no influence or is now complicit with it. I won't hold my breath. !

Undoubted good news in the RNS this morning. Confirmation really of DX strength in the freight department and the continuation of its expansion strategy. It's a shame that this good news is released whilst the black cloud hangs over DX regarding the Annual Report and probable share suspension.

Taken some of the profit from when I topped up around 20p just really to take advantage of some value I see although still heavily invested here. Can't see much happening here until after the suspension and really looking for. a bit more transparency that isn't forthcoming at the moment.

I can't say I am comfortable with this but I suppose it is on balance the best option. However, it seems we will have a Non Exec on board who has no experience of the logistics sector and only has a seat on the board because they have demanded it and the DX board have succumbed to the pressure.

The fact remains that we are still in the dark regarding the corporate governance issues and the reasons for the delay in the Annual Report and I for one am not comfortable with it. Dx have had the opportunity to inform the markets and they still refuse to do so.

The revised AGM is a week today but we have no idea which resolutions will be put to shareholders to vote on. We know there will be no annual report. Most AGM resolutions are normally passed with out much fuss but if the big institutional shareholders are still at loggerheads with Dx who knows what may happen or even if there may be a further postponement. I should imagine the Dx boardroom is well used. We wait for news........

Probably true P but it is indicative of DX not being fully transparent with the markets. I remember a few of us questioning it at the time when schroders said they bought in. I get the feeling Dx have been chasing their tails in the last year or so rapidly expanding in difficult circumstances and have taken their finger off the pulse of certain things. I am really intrigued as to what has upset Gatemore so much, they were instrumental in enabling the turnaround in autumn 2017 and it really is a big fall out. ?

Something with the institutional shareholders or Lloyd possibly I think. Interesting that Schroders holding is now itemised on the DX website holding above 5%. I don't think this was ever RNS'd was it.? I wonder if this is part of the governance issues ?

Who knows P but anything could happen at any time. Someone may see the value and be prepared to take the risk. Personally, I’d be surprised if it’s anytime soon as DX have long way to go. I also would think they are to small for PE and not profitable enough. Just my opinion.

That would seem to be fair and common sense point Sister. It's still as clear as mud although I take comfort that it is not a financial issue but there is obviously something that Dx doesn't seem to want to get out in the public domain at the moment and there must be a reason for that. It's just an information void and we won't know until someone in the know says something. We should know something soon enough around the AGM as you say.

Two transactions today involving nearly 7m shares around 11.30am. Something going on behind the scenes I would think. Tomorrow is the requested deadline from Gatemore to reply to their letter although I would think discussions will have been taking place throughout the week.

I don't blame Gatemore for writing to the board of directors but there was one point in the letter that I thought was pretty daft and that was moaning about the share price as if it was Dx's responsibility for not getting anywhere near the analysts targets. By Gatemore's own admission DX are producing the figures but it's not their fault the SP is where it is. DX have done a remarkable job in three years turning around the business and in the last eighteen months they have been like many others fighting substantial headwinds not only in the own sector, but the domestic and worldwide economy. There are many shares currently undervalued by standard metrics.

Dx have made a mess of the last few months but outside that the Directors have done an outstanding job and I hope that whatever transpires in the next few weeks Lloyd and his team remain in situ as they are key in my opinion to the future of DX.

The more I think about this the more baffled I become.

The letter from Gatemore suggests that they have been aware of these governance issues for sometime and in discussion with Dx about them. At no time have they reduced their holding which implies they were comfortable with the feedback from Dx. It seems the RNS last week has taken them by surprise and even with a drop of near enough 40% why on earth didn't they increase their holding when it was 18p to 20p knowing Lloyd had bought substantially. Perhaps their investment rules didn't allow it but I'd imagine they would be pretty miffed that Lloyd has benefited substantially.

It strikes me that Gatemore don't trust the directors and by their wording they are saying that DX have not been fully transparent in their discussions with them over the issues raised. An erosion of trust between the institutional shareholders is a huge problem not easily overcome. If all the institutional holders are on the same page they are in the box seat. !

Agreed Unhooked. A conscious decision to make it public is not ideal but it does increase the pressure on DX substantially but I'm sure Gatemore would be well aware of the implications. If it had been kept quiet and a scenario came to pass that the managing partner of Gatemore was appointed to the board and it was released via an RNS all sorts of rumours would be flying around.
We now know that the institutional shareholders are not happy and and are taking action. People of influence are now in the corner of the private investor. !