The latest Investing Matters Podcast episode featuring Jeremy Skillington, CEO of Poolbeg Pharma has just been released. Listen here.
Guys, where do we stand if Koovs releases a stinker in a couple of weeks, especially after the CFO Robert Pursell stated in the last conference call that the growth was sustainable & reiterated at the AGM that they were trading inline with market expectations?
It wont be the first time long term shareholders like myself would have been misled.
As for attendance at the EGM & AGM, I was at both & can confirm that only the CEO Mary Turner & CFO Robert Pursell bothered to attend both! The Chairman Lord Waheed Alli attended neither. The non execs all on £50k a year didn't bother either, inc Emily Sheffield who has received £25k a year extra for the last two years as consultancy fees.
I have been a loyal shareholder & for three years have been writing to Lord Waheed Alli expressing my concerns & misgivings in how the company was run. He has totally ignored me in all that time. That's what he thinks of retail investors.
His behaviour towards shareholders like myself is a total disgrace. I took time off work to attend both the EGM & AGM this summer. Guess what-he wasn't there!!!!
As for the latest funding round. He secured a weeks worth of cash £250,000 that was another blow for shareholders & the City obviously wasn't impressed.
Why are Future Group holding back the money? They already walked away from the original deal, imposing this strange 'blended' deal.
Koovs CEO Mary Turner on BBC Business live this morning stating that 50% of their customers are now from outside of the large Tier 1 cities.
Says that 65% of the population is under 35 & are tech savvy & aspirational, from 6.55 onwards
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0008mrm/asia-business-report-17092019
Finally some good news, even though it's a token amount.
I'm not sure if the new take out price will now be 28.36p or the blended price of 15p.
Either way, many retail investors (50% of Koovs shareholders) had sold out because they didn't believe the deal was on.
The deal is now FIRMLY ON. I'm sure that those waiting on the side lines will now start to build up a position here.
Q2 figures out in a couple of weeks. Remember that Q1 was 104% with 20% margins.
Newgate Communications have a lot of work to do with their PR to get retail investors back on board, who make up 50% of the holdings in Koovs.
Retail Investors have left in droves. I have been here for over three years & have spoken to many, who have sold at huge losses. There isn't a single investor in Koovs who is in profit. I have spoken to clients of the recent 15p placing who bought in via Optiva Securities. They have sold at huge losses too.
I can not believe that the board are still in place after the catastrophic collapse of the share price. Let's not forget that the CEO & CFO only have 270,270 shares between them. That shows confidence in the company from these two!!
The Chairman Lord Waheed Alli is ultimately responsible for the mess the company finds itself in. He floated Koovs at 150p, now 6p, nearing all time lows.
I am a long term holder who believed their waffle & hype & can categorically state that I feel misled & cheated out of my investment. I have never seen a company run like this, even on AIM- which is saying something!
How Biyani is tolerating this is beyond me. The CEO Mary Turner & CFO Robert Pursell in their time at the top have presided over a collapsing share price of 80p to 6p.
With the right management & PR (Newgate Communications have done nothing), Koovs can still do ok.
Unfortunately, I will never get back my initial investment here, but hopefully one day, I'll be able to claw back a small part of it.
Biyani's Future Group is one of India's largest retailers with thousands of stores & nearly 50 massive super modern Central Malls. They have spent over a year tying up different contracts with Koovs.
There is now way they can pull out now. It is a multi Billion dollar PLC. How bad will it look for them? Most importantly, it will set their e commerce race back years, at a time when the e commerce sector is gaining traction.
Shareholders like myself were assured at the AGM the other week that the 28p funds will be received in tranches by the end of the year. They ALSO stated that they are performing within market expectations.
Trading update due in 2/3 weeks. With those two bits of news, there should be a re rate very soon,
Long term shareholders like myself feel totally scammed here. I came on board because of Lord Alli's reputation with ASOS. He has not had the courtesy to reply to a single email of mine in three years, whilst the share price has continued to collapse & the company continuously diluted.
They paid Hardman & Co to come out with the report that alluded to a 25p placing, which turned out to be 10p!
I believed their exaggerations & waffle, none of which has come to fruition.
It's just missed forecast after missed forecast with horrific spending.
Nobody is interested here- Buying volumes show this, because Investors have sussed out management.
Although Newgate Communications remain silent, myself & other shareholders have told them exactly what is going on. But as you said, they just want their fees.
AIM companies aren't regulates like the main FTSE index. Legally, they may remain within the law, but when it comes to morals- they have none.
Why is it that only the CEO & CFO were the only Board members at both the EGM & the AGM????
Kong- are you on Twitter?
Kong, myself & other serious investors attended the EGM on June 25th, nearly three months ago to vote on the 28p placing & to meet the board. (Only the CEO Turner & CFO Pursell bothered to turn up). The motion was passed by over 99%. We were assure that the cash would be received by the summer. It is now the Autumn & the goal posts have been changed once again to suit Byani & Future Group.
Koovs aren't strong enough & don't have the clout to demand the cash. They don't represent or respect shareholders.
This is why there has to be a complete management overhaul.
As for the PR firm Newgate Communications- they have been a complete waste of time & money. Since coming on board in March, the share price has continued to fall. They have had zero impact.
As for getting out, our group has several million shares that will be impossible to sell on the open market.
I agree the Serious Fraud Office will not be interested.
Yes, the CFO did state at the AGM that they were trading in line with market expectations & that was after all the warehouse disruption/ move. If for any reason they change this guidance in a few weeks, they have clearly misled at the AGM.
I will then be seeking legal advice.
I concur that the CFO has not bought a single share, either in any placing, or on the open market. That is despicable.
I am still waiting for a reply from the Chairman Lord Waheed Alli. I have been writing to him for three years. This isn't how a Lord should conduct himself. He is responsible for the 95% drop in the share price, yet treats loyal shareholders with disdain. He is an utter disgrace.
On 17th July Koovs stated that they were trading in line with market expectations (Hardman & Co report).
They have surprised us with shockers in the past. IF they come out with a poor H1, is there any recourse for shareholders?
I'm praying that the largest shareholder Kishore Biyani/ Future Group, who clearly call all the shots & are now running the company bring in a new management team. I couldn't care less if the current failed CEO Mary Turner loses all her options. I also couldn't care less about the current failed CFO Robert Pursell, who has been in charge of the abysmal numbers here. His £175k pa could be better spent elsewhere.
I honestly cannot believe that these two own a paltry 270,000 shares between them (£16k's worth), with Pursell never having bought a single share. That's confidence for you!!
The City has had enough, shareholders have had enough. There is a serious lack of confidence in the current management. They have failed the company & failed all shareholders, showing a total disregard for them. I can confirm that they are not acknowledging shareholders emails & have categorically stated that they will only answer emails on rns days IF shareholders stop sending them any more emails.
A very autocratic approach, more suitable to a private & not a listed company.
The only way this company can survive now & regain any credibility is for a complete overhaul of management. They need a young dynamic team, based in India, that understands India, preferably led by Avni Biyani ; ) a team that respects its shareholders & listens to their concerns.
It's no surprise that there are lots of angry shareholders here. The Chairman Waheed Alli has overseen a spectacular share price collapse from 220p to the current laughable 6p, not forgetting the mass dilution along the way.
I have been here over three years & have expressed my serious misgivings about the proven flawed business plan, but was ignored. I have been misled by all the forecasts & promises here.
It is clear that Koovs do not run this company anymore. Kishore Biyani calls ALL the shots now. He changed the 15p funding deal at the last minute where we have only had cash at 8p. The following tranche at 28p has not materialised, now the terms have changed AGAIN & we are getting it in instalments.
Waheed Alli stated that he will provide shareholder value. Where is it??
The sad thing is that after dozens of emails to the Chairman over three years, he has not had the courtesy or decency to reply in person to a single one. That upsets me.
I believed everything he had to say, yet he didn't turn up at the EGM or the AGM this year. In fact, none of the Non exec Directors bothered turning up either, all on £50k, apart from Emily Sheffield, who has received £75k a year for the last two years (inc £25k as a consultancy fee).
Some people have done very well out of Koovs since it's IPO.
AGM results
http://www.koovs.com/corporate/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Koovs-Proxy-Vote-2019.pdf
The first part of the meeting was just a formality, we'd all voted by proxy, the results above.
The next hour we spent asking questions. It's up to them whether they take any of our points/ concerns on.
They have listened before, hence why we now have Quarterly updates.
The main reason for me attending the AGM was to express my concerns. I had mine & other shareholders questions answered.
Are the right people in place? The top two have been there for three years with the share price going from 80p to 6p. There has also been mass dilution with some questionable decisions (SimplyBe) & appointments (Samantha Chilton).
At least they now know the Indian market & have a strong team behind them. Christian Westphal as new CCO (Robert Bready's old job) is a very interesting development which we were surprised at was not mentioned.
We were happy with the warehouse explanation, which was blown out of all proportion by a team of trolls/ shorters. It wasn't a big deal.
Admittedly the e commerce uptake has been slower than expected in India, but is now gaining traction. Management are happy with progress thus far. They keep a daily eye on web traffic, complaints etc.
Unfortunately there isn't any Institutional buying at the moment. This could change if growth is shown to be sustainable. Q2 is what everyone is waiting for.
Retail traders are still selling out. Each to their own. Just have to be a little more patient.
They are very excited with the Chelsea King tie up with Brand Factory initially being sold in 25 stores.
This is all leading up to massive expansion with one of India's largest retailers.
Exciting times ahead & looking forward to Q2 figures in a few weeks.
Institutions may show more interest once there is another Quarter or two of good figures (sales & margins)
Ignore those 'Buys'. One was cancelled & the other looks like a rollover or SIPP/ ISA transfer. They had zilch effect on the share price.
Is there any Koovs penetration over in Assam?
We are now only sharing info in the private Twitter group. It was infiltrated by a couple of trolls, but once we identified them, they disappeared.
Was great meeting up with other shareholders at the Koovs AGM today at the Newgate Communications office in London today.
The CEO & CFO answered all our questions & concerns & spoke extremely enthusiastically about Indian e commerce & their growing partnership with Future Group. Looking very promising ; )