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It is a profit warning and advance notice of holding prices aka subsidising the nutrition client base to try and hold market share. That worked well last time didn’t it?

Desperate moves to hold market share in an increasingly competitive and saturated market.

There’s always an excuse lined up for missing targets and disappointing numbers when it comes to the perennially inept Matt Moulding.

Totally agree

When nutrition is doing well, beauty is doing badly. And visa versa. Moulding seems incapable of delivering good results trading across both.

Until he does, consecutively over trading quarters and annually, the price won’t move much from here absent a bid.

I’d love to be proved wrong but what moves an SP (absent a bid)?

A trusted ceo with a good track record - fail

Good governance - fail

Reliable trading performance -fail

Transparency and proper dealings -fail

Run like a plc - fail

Growth - fail (although green shoots)

Respect for conflict duties - horrendous fail

In line with expectations or exceeding - fail

I suspect the SP would move up 10-20% without Moulding and up 5-10% without Lord Lucan.

But they don’t seem to be going anywhere so absent a bid, only positive trading will move the SP.

Can Moulding deliver it? Has he had enough chances?

IMO he can’t and he has, time for a proper retail experienced CEO without the baggage Moulding brings with him.

Why would anybody think it might be a good idea to appoint from within? That’s part of the problem, a lack of quality at director level. They need to recruit a credible, experienced CEO with a proven track record in retail. Promoting from within is not an option.

According to Yahoo

Key Insights

THG's estimated fair value is UK£0.43 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity

THG's UK£0.23 share price signals that it might be 46% undervalued

The UK£0.55 analyst price target for THG is 28% more than our estimate of fair value.

But it is in no way undervalued with Moulding at the helm surrounded by a feckless chairman and cowed board of directors who fail to challenge Moulding.

It is a 20p-25p share with Moulding as CEO.

I hope the shareholder discontent, the appalling share value destruction and the votes against him, are enough to see Moulding exit so that THG gets a fair chance to reach its potential with a proper, experienced CEO with integrity at the helm.

Enough is enough.

The Board is out of its depth. There is a siege mentality promoted by Moulding through blaming shorts and anybody and everything for the SP and for always missing the numbers. They ignore the shareholder destruction because they lack the skills to address it.

The “we’ve got a bidder” pump doesn’t work because nobody trusts Moulding. The forecasts are viewed as pie in the sky because nobody trusts him. The conflict of interest issues drive further mistrust and the silence as the share price crashes day after day reaffirms that THG is uninvestable with Moulding at the helm.

His position is utterly untenable and yet he is permitted to remain as CEO. It is scandalous.

The SP is where it is because Moulding is not trusted, he can’t hit his numbers and he won’t do the honorable thing and exit. The city knows that it’s his train set and despite him having smashed it up, he’s still in control and nobody else is being listened to because his ego is out of control, despite the fact he is a serial failure. Nothing much will change unless they make changes at the top but unfortunately unless the big players jump in behind the PIs, the disgust and activism of the majority on this Board will be nothing but a protest vote which will be ignored.

Oke’s comments on the EBITDA are spot on. Nothing is transparent which adds to the Moulding effect - utter distrust of him as an individual and yet more confirmation he’s not FTSE CEO material.

Expect a LinkedIn rant to drive it sub 23p, he’s due one.

Following on from this gem, I’ve done IR’s job below;

Matthew Moulding, CEO of THG, commented:

"Our anticipated inclusion in the FTSE 250 marks an important moment in THG's evolution following the demerger of THG Ingenuity. As a global beauty, health and wellness consumer brands group, we continue to make significant progress against our strategic priorities."

“Our anticipated exclusion from the FTSE 250 marks an important and truly embarrassing marker in THG’s devolution. Inclusion followed by almost immediate exclusion confirms that I and the Board are incapable of making any progress in anything other than catastrophic shareholder destruction and the publication of high quality “gaslighting” LinkedIn posts which seek to convince, with the aid of toady support, that I am not the Stan Laurel of the FTSE, but I am in fact the UK’s own Geoff Bezos. We will continue to make no progress whatsoever in our strategic priorities and ensure that THG remains uninvestable by retaining the current management team right up to the date of THG’s administration, if shareholders permit us to do so.

Did funds buy in? No

Did the ftse 250 admission do any good? No

The only things that move the SP are;

1. Moulding and the Trappist Monk chairman exit;

2. Positive forecasting that is backed up by legitimate numbers;

3. A credible arms length bid.

I don’t see 1 or 3 happening so it’s 2, and that takes time and assumes that the biggest failed CEO in the market has a road to Damascus experience and turns this around. I don’t think he can which means THG is univestable unless you want to trade/gamble around the margins.

I do not see either of them resigning. Moulding is too arrogant and cannot see his own limitations. With him at the helm, no serious investors or funds will touch THG with a barge pole so the SP will not move much absent a bid.

And there will be no transparency with respect to the Ingenuity contract or the “tender” process involved in winning the contract. Moulding will claim it’s confidential and/or transparency will reveal business secrets which will place THG at a commercial disadvantage. This is horse sh@t. The conflict of interest is mind blowing. The corporate governance at THG has never ever moved out from the toilet bowl. The NEDs and the chairman ought to be addressing these concerns because the optics are appalling.

Moulding and his multiple conflicts of interest and track record makes THG uninvestable which is one of the main reasons the SP is sitting at around 25p.

It’s a good job THG will soon be relegated from the ftse 250 as this conflict is stinking out the market - it is unprecedented. The spiv practices of CD salesmen might be ok for low grade private companies but they have no place within the stock market.

if starmer signs the european security pact next week, we should see bab**** and other defence stocks ticking up. fingers crossed.

You go short where there’s a hopeless CEO, and you have a company which repeatedly misses its numbers and starts to lose sales because its management team isn’t up to it.

THG is a gift to those who want to take short positions.

The only way it ceases to be a gift is by hitting or exceeding the forecasts, growing market shares, and delivering a decent net profit.

I don’t think Moulding or his management team can restore their credibility by hitting the numbers, but it isn’t impossible.

However, I also don’t think THG can fall below 20p so I can see the rationale for buying more shares and holding on to them just in case something positive happens.

If Moukding was to go, the investment case would be extremely compelling and I’d expect an immediate break out of the SP - he really is that toxic to the SP.

The more interesting question is the price increases since the first contract was entered into, and the price today and whether the last contract ought to have gone out to tender.

Only then will we know whether the directors have complied with their duties to THG.

This transparency is essential where investors have concerns with respect to a glaring conflict of interest.

Moulding will claim it’s all confidential so the information will be suppressed and the stink won’t ever go away.

I agree with Pearls. There’s no fast way out.

I don’t see a bid coming that will be accepted so it’s a long trade out, with the Board doing the same things that brought the SP here in the first place.

To materially move the SP dial with this management team remaining in situ requires exceptional results. Exceptional results with a Board full of unexceptional people, some of whom are not trusted by the City is nigh on impossible.

There is nothing to break this out of a 22p-29p trading range within the next 4 months. It is a basket case and I fear material dilution will happen in the not too distant future.

Good luck LTHs, but I fear Moulding has nothing but contempt for anybody other than his inner circle and views you as having served your purpose.

In the context of the FT article and generally, it’s worth recapping on directors duties;

Company directors’ duties are primarily governed by the Companies Act 2006, specifically sections 171 to 177. These duties apply to all company directors—executive, non-executive, shadow, and de facto directors. Here’s a clear breakdown:

Statutory Duties of Directors under UK Law

1. Duty to Act Within Powers (s171)

• Directors must act in accordance with the company’s constitution (e.g. articles of association) and only exercise powers for their proper purposes.

2. Duty to Promote the Success of the Company (s172)

• Directors must act in good faith to promote the success of the company for the benefit of its shareholders.

• This includes considering:

• Long-term consequences

• Interests of employees

• Relationships with suppliers, customers, and others

• Impact on the community and environment

• Company reputation

• Fairness between members

3. Duty to Exercise Independent Judgment (s173)

• Directors must not allow others to influence their decisions unduly and must use their own judgment.

4. Duty to Exercise Reasonable Care, Skill, and Diligence (s174)

• Directors must perform their role to the standard expected from someone with their general knowledge and experience, and any additional expertise they claim to have.

5. Duty to Avoid Conflicts of Interest (s175)

• Directors must avoid situations where they have (or could have) a direct or indirect interest that conflicts with the interests of the company.

6. Duty Not to Accept Benefits from Third Parties (s176)

• Directors must not accept benefits (like gifts or hospitality) from third parties if it could result in a conflict of interest.

7. Duty to Declare Interest in Proposed Transaction or Arrangement (s177)

• If a director has a personal interest in a transaction the company is considering, they must declare it to the other directors.

Duties 2,3,4 and 5 are particularly pertinent.

Shall we have a little game of call out the potential breaches in the context of THG?

I’ll go first. Great John St Hotel.

a puff piece he’s put his name to. it’s not even 8am and i’ve been gaslighted by the chairman and ceo already. self-serving ******.

Excellent analysis.

The conflict Moulding has is so blatant that it is an abomination making THG uninvestable. I think it will be addressed and I think your analysis of how it’s likely to be addressed is spot on.

The question is one of timing. If the BoD, and specifically the chairman and non execs were behaving correctly, (or the FCA ceased to be asleep at the wheel) it would force the issue but as they’re not, it might take up to 12 months.

Even by THG/Moukding standards, a ten percent fall on a day it reports its numbers/he opens his mouth, is a big fall. I suspect he hoped a Selkirk bid sp spike might have eased the pain of the annual jam tomorrow promises and woeful explanations and sp cratering….again. But when a busted flush is bust, nobody buys it and nobody is buying Moukding’s bullsh@t any more.

Is it a recovery share with him at the helm? Nope

Is it a dividend share? Nope

Is it a growth share? Nope

Does it have fcf to buy back shares? Nope

Is there likely to be a bid from an independent credible arms length bidder? Difficult to see with THG propping up Ingenuity and the cost of getting goods into the market through ingenuity which is stuck limpet like to THG.

It’s another 12 months trying to trade out, with the same conflicted clown at the helm.

The only thing that will shift the sp is Moulding exiting and a credible properly experienced CEO coming in and turning this around.

As that won’t happen any time soon, this is unlikely to go past 35p before Q2 and if it’s more of the same, who knows where it will dive down to next.

Just horrific for all LTHs. Moulding, just do the decent thing and go., you are the wrong man in the wrong job.

Everything the BoD are doing seems to be spot on. Absent any market shocks caused by you know who, this should commence trading at £3 plus in the very near future.