Member Info for Timmit

Bunsenburner123 - I think you've missed a real gem in their investments. Have a look at:
https://www.primorusinvestments.com/our-investments/engage/
"The Company has invested a total of £1,450,000 in Engage Technology Partners Limited (“Engage”) comprising 72,121 shares at a blended average price of £19.42 per share and £50,000 in a Convertible Loan Note representing approximately 4.0% of the issued capital in Engage. The last capital raise completed by Engage secured £7m at £22 per share."
Website is at https://www.engagetech.com/
PRIM has actually invested £1,500,000 and are about to invest £250,000 more. The £1.45M already invested (not including the CLN) is worth by my reckoning at £22 per share about £1,586,706 - up £136,706 already.
The interesting part is not just the potential Engage has to completely disrupt the recruitment process - look at the growth over previous quarterly updates in terms of Corporates that had signed up for the service. Once they have more traction in the market place (and COVID-19 in my view will accelerate this - people will prefer remote solutions without physical bits of paper as part of the process chain) I could see them being snapped up by one of the larger cloud software players (take your pick - SAP, Microsoft, Oracle, Salesforce etc).
I've set up several systems for recruiters and to try and get different systems joined together is a real challenge. One company may do a great temp payroll but they don't handle the compliance procedure or link to a job advert board and the chances are that none of them link to the accounts!
So, a cloud-based system allows remote working without losing functionality. The subscription-based model allows new recruiters to start small and grow big without a huge investment in software upfront. I think this is potentially one of the most disruptive things to happen to the industry..

So that's nearly £34k of buys that have been marked as sells...

The 321,938 timed at 11:05:40 but between transactiosn timed at 13:05:30 and 13:21:20 on first glance looks like It should be a sell from the time stamp. But it's timed at the point that the price ticked up and I know at this time MMs would have nabbed that stock quite quickly so I'm pretty sure that was a delayed buy.

Couple of others are definitely delayed buys..
The 300k timed at 11:03:56 but wedged between two transactions timed at 12:00:17 and 12:07:22
The 250k timed at 08:25:03 but wedged between two transactions timed at 09:24:15 and 09:26:41

Some of the "sells" are delayed buys from earlier...

Absolutely agree. You only actually make money when you sell. Before that you have paper profits which you cannot spend!

From last update

“In respect of the administrative claim filed against the Piedmont Region in February 2015 by Mediapolis’ previous management team, for the amount of €39.65m, the Receiver of Mediapolis has continued to pursue the case through the Italian courts. The Company has been informed that the claim has now reached the final stages of court trials (which commenced in February 2020), with the latest hearing being held on 6 July 2020. The ruling is expected within 60 days of this date.“

60 days from 6th July is 4th September (two days time). I know it said “expected within” so might still woosh by as a date but something either way is expected imminently...

The 52 week high was 37.50 back early January. But it seems that the offer price under the Malaysian system Once 33% is breached is the highest share price in the preceding 6 months (about 35p back in March) not 12 months as the UK system.

Normally for uk Quoted companies yes. This company is registered in Malaysia so the trigger level seems to be 33%

https://www.ibanet.org/Document/Default.aspx?DocumentUid=9396529C-A9F3-40E0-8809-2FF831949659

If GGP gets to 16.2p then our holding is worth 3p a share...

Rupert Labrum ups holdings from 15.02% to 17.60%

Also:
Agree with you completely about pressure on the BoD can be constructive.

I think Engage's day may be sooner than you think. As an accountant one of the sectors I've worked most in is recruitment. I think the post COVID-19 workplace will accelerate that. Systems which are cloud-based have been a real boon for those working from home. Engage as a scaleable solution covering timesheets - payroll - payments (www.engagetech.com) where you're not locked into upfront software fees I'm sure will be a gamechanger. I expect some of the fallout from COVID-19 will be redundant recruiters starting up on their own and being able to punch above their weight using Engage to look after the back office. If you've seen the payroll and admin department in a decent-sized traditional temp agency there is often still a lot of paper timesheets, manual checking and then manual input into a payroll system. To buy a full system to do this digitally can still cost many thousands up front so start-ups tend to go down the manual route. But if you are only paying for each temp you are putting through the system that week you can include that known cost in your costings for tenders etc.

I understand the frustration with salary levels v mcap.

I too believe the salaries are too high especially when there are still 17,800,000 options with exercise prices from 6p to 8p (and only 1,200,000 of them expire this year). I don't know why BoE salaries have jumped from £72k in 2016 to £323k last year. It might be worth asking AC whether, in light of his appointment to the board of Artemis Resources as Executive Director in Feb 2020, his PRIM salary will be reduced as he can't be full-time at both!

With my Devil's Advocate hat on (I'm not an apologist for the BoD having never thus far engaged with them) It might be that there has been more work behind the scenes considering other investments and due diligence on things we don't know about yet. One of the previous quarterly reports mentioned:
"We regularly meet the CEOs and management of companies which are seeking funds to further their businesses. It is notable the comments we receive on the perceived difficulty in securing funding outside of the VC/VCT and private equity universe. Several companies pointed out to us that there is simply a dearth of investors able to participate directly in pre-IPO and private funding rounds and that VC/VCT funding terms are onerous to the point of being unattractive."

AC, being a qualified geologist, should be an excellent judge of mining-related investments so that expertise should also be reflected in salary but still too high in my opinion considering share price performance.

So, why invest in what's essentially a longer-term investment company only to break it up for short term gain. The price you would get for unlisted investments would be considerably less than their potential value. Surely, that's why most of us are invested here (even if some are invested at higher levels) - the belief that the sum of the parts is worth more than the current price (otherwise you would be overpaying for it).
I'm genuinely interested in your timescales when you invest. Do you decide to look at the nuclear option after a certain period of stagnation or do you have other criteria you look at too?

My understanding is that PRIM intends to be a £20M company and stay about that level so dividend distributions would start then. You may be premature with a big chunk of the potential being unlisted how do you feel that would unlock value before the Engage, Weshop, Fresho IPOs etc? Serious question....
I understand the frustration over share price not reflecting NAV or potential but how short / long term is your view on this?

kernowlad: "What are your thoughts between share buy back and dividends?

AC is on the record as wanting PRIM to be a £20M company so I wouldn't imagine dividends would be part of the picture until that goal is reached as it would be self-defeating (even though welcome for shareholders!).

Also:
It is the intention of the Board to resolve with our lawyers and Nomad, the ability for the Company to buy back, where appropriate, up to 10% of the issued capital in the Company via a share buy-back programme to be approved by shareholders.

I was agreeing with you Balanced66 - It doesn't so much matter what percentage of the pie you get it's how big the pie is that counts.

Exactly - PRIM hold between 0.5% and 1% of GGP.

Mediapolis money makes no difference to our market cap. It was already in the accounts as a debtor so it’s just reduced debtors and increased the bank. I’m glad it’s finally in the bank as it means we can start paying down the Eufingest loan but it makes no difference to our market cap...

It's possible that KNIGELK has his tongue firmly welded in his cheek when he made that comment :-)