Member Info for Redacted

Well you don't brag about your losers do you...

"AUTHORISE APPROPRIATION OF COMPANY'S PROFITS TO PAYMENT OF THE INGENUITY DISTRIBUTION AND AUTHORISE ENTRY INTO THE ELECTING SHAREHOLDERS AND DIRECTORS DEED OF RELEASE (A response to this proposal is mandatory)"

I still don't fully understand what's going on here (and I think that's intentional obfuscation by the BoD) but just the first part of that sentence has made me vote NO. Appropriation of company profits. How can anyone vote for that without a full explanation of how much is to be 'appropriated', where that money is going, and more inportantly, what is going to be the net effect on THG? Not bloody me!

The BoD seriously need to start engaging with shareholders and explain what's going on, BEFORE they ask us to vote on anything.

Yes giro121, many of us were caught out by holding within an ISA. Having said that I also hold in my SIPP and opted not to participate in Ingenuity. Mouldy is difficult enough to deal with in a public company. God only knows what he'll get up to in a private one.

I've just been trying to research the implications of Friday's RNS and interestingly this was one of Gemini's responses:

"💡 The "Real" Reason for the timing: The Capital Reduction isn't just about dividends; it’s about flexibility. By cleaning up the balance sheet now, THG makes itself more attractive for a potential takeover or a re-listing in a different market (like the US). A company with "distributable reserves" is much easier to sell or merge than one with a deficit."

I'm not suggesting that this is what Mouldy and Co have in store, but it's interesting none the less.

My personal take is that the VAT receipt and another disposal (possibly already in the offing) will leave cash to distribute, and Mouldy wants his (let's face it, quite substantial) share of it. Or maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part...

What's I find so galling is that they have obviously fooked up, and admittedly I don't understand what they have done wrong, so they need effectively a retrospective vote to put the matter right. But given that the ones who fooked up in the first place hold so much equity, they can vote their way our of the mess they have gotten themselves (and us!) into.

Seems a bit unfair to me.

And why do you think cutting it would cause this to literally fly?

It does feel that way at times.

But that would imply that someone from THG is involved on this board, flagging up posts they dislike or disagree with, and having them removed. Surely not. Is Mouldy really that insecure?

I frequent a number of boards on the LSE site. Some good (LGEN, GGP) and some not so (TLW!) but I have never seen so many posts removed as there are here on THG. It does seem to be very heavily 'moderated', much more so that I've seen anywhere else. Or is it just my imagination?

Interesting, Investor95.

You've used the incorrect 'there' instead of 'their' your last post. And that same mistake was made twice in the LinkedIn post.

Are you sure it's not you? Are you Julian Roberts? 😊

Yes, but is it by incompetence or design, CityPie?

Mouldy is trying to get the debt down to a manageable level - for only one division.

If past form is anything to go by he will hive off MyP into a private entity but he won't want to, or can't, take the debt with it. The liabilities will be left with Beauty. That way he doesn't need to pay a what it's really worth, like with Ingenuity, by 'allowing' us to 'roll with it'.

What price that will be at I have no idea, but talk on here of numbers like 170p are absolutely pie in the sky.

Is anyone intending to go?

Does anyone have any thoughts about what will happen afterwards, should THG win the VAT case, which looks pretty much nailed on now.

The c. £80m is obviously going straight to paying down THG's debt, but what will Mouldy do then? One option is to leave prices unchanged and reap more in profit from those sales. That's effectively the case now and sales are doing well against competitors, most of which, unlike THG, have not been applying VAT for some time.

However, that most likely will not suit Mouldy. I suspect his preferred option will be to reduce prices in line with the removal of the VAT cost, which should go some way towards THG's (Mouldy's) land-grab strategy. It will also increase the amount of goods going through Ingenuity i.e. the lion's share of the ongoing benefit will end up in Ingenuity's pocket rather than THG's.

I hope this post ages badly and that's not the case, but this is Mouldy after all. He has form and can we really trust him to do right by THG rather than Ingenuity? I'm not so sure.

Yes, it's actually stated twice in the 2025 Preliminary Results:

From page 7:

"FY 2026 expectations remain unchanged and in line with the company consensus range. Net debt is anticipated to reduce to between c.£110m - £130m before any strategic asset disposals, through a combination of free cash flow generation and VAT repayments"

And again on page 34:

"FY 2026 expectations remain unchanged and in line with the company consensus range: Net debt is anticipated to reduce to between c.£110m - £130m before any strategic asset disposals, through a combination of free cash flow generation and VAT repayments"

Makes sense really as current Net Debt stands at £233m, excluding lease liabilities. That forecast reduction down to c.£110m - £130m does include the c£80m VAT refund, should it ever materialise.

I suppose if THG had anything that resembled a working IR department we could email them and find out. Good luck with that.

It might, and I stress MIGHT, not do so this time Pearls. As long as Mouldy keeps his trap shut we might just get a decent rise and hold it today after that update.

🤞

April Fool was last Wednesday, Speedy 😂

On the contrary if I may say so Bamps. No doubt what Shaun has to say at the TH will bring up some great points for discussion, and it would be great to hear what you and some of the other experts have to say on that.

Personally I'm looking forward to the meeting even more now.

Yes, could be MA filling his boots. He'll want to be in the mix when it's taken private for a pittance...

...that we all give Shaun and the entire team at Greatland a huge THANK YOU and a 👍for their hard work getting GGP to where it now is. Absolutely outstanding! I hope they are all getting a well-earned bonus and a slap-up meal to boot.

It would probably be fitting of Element or Bamps to second the motion then we can all vote on it.

What do you say fellas?

The only positive I can see in this is that should those contracts come under external scrutiny they would need to be truly arm's-length and on strictly commercial terms. Any potential bidder would go over them with a fine-toothed comb, and anything beyond those criteria challenged. Anything untoward would potentially reduce the break-free payment required to separate THG (or whichever division was sold). However, I don't think Mouldy will ever entertain such a thing because Ingenuity can't survive without THG.

Unfortunately, win4call, that's the most astute comment I've read on here for some time.