Our live Investing Matters Podcast Special which took place at the Master Investor Show discussing 'How undervalued is the UK stock market?', has just been released. Listen here.
Not great. Lost faith. Bailed.
Boohoo v Shein is one thing, but here's a damning summary of the industry as a whole, from yesterday's Guardian. Thanks Spideystreet:
"The rise of AI-driven product development has allowed the distribution of these goods to become smarter and more cost efficient. Existing fast fashion retailers Asos, Boohoo and H&M are all losing market share, as the likes of Shein and Temu drag down an industry that already prioritises profit over human and environmental damage. Damage, because fast fashion is a product that is quickly used and discarded, often at huge cost to planet and people. Fast usually means cheap, which means synthetic materials that do not biodegrade and are tricky to recycle, with cheap labour sourced from unregulated markets linked to human rights abuses. The high volume of products these companies rely on for their sales model is not only encouraging overconsumption in the target audience but creating mountains of waste in the world’s deserts and seas because landfill sites are already full.".
Hi southcoastbather, I must admit I didn't read that the e-commerce in the uk alone is set to nearly treble in the next 5 years. Clearly if that were to apply to fast fashion e-commerce in particular, it would make a difference. Please post a link if you have one.
"Boohoo doesn't need to compete with shein to make shareholders money from these levels, all it needs to do is return to steady growth with a good margin and we will get exponential sp growth from here...". That sentence is a contradiction because to return to steady growth with a good margin absolutely requires Boohoo competing with Shein - there is no avoiding it. And it's getting clearer by the month that we are struggling in that endeavour. I had hoped that public markets would increase the burden of scrutiny on Shein, but with Jeremy Hunt desperately courting the company to list in London, I wonder if he might be prepared to cut them some slack as part of a deal to get them to list here.
I've held boohoo loyally for years but the light at the end of the tunnel seems to get further away, not closer, as the years go by. Do I keep saying something like "into the bottom drawer it goes", or do I face up to the reality, take my licks and move on? That question has never felt more pertinent to me. Ultimately, everyone's patience has a limit.
Interesting, thanks. There seems to be a paucity of info about GRID. I keep looking and will update this board if I find anything relevant & useful. I'm sure you're doing the same JTS13. It's been a painful experience for all of us LTHs, but I've added this morning at 52p because I really don't think they'll allow a trust with (supposedly) £950m in assets go to the wall.
Patience is required because this is now a long-term recovery situation without divi income to sweeten the pill. First they need to cut debt while trying to avoid a fire sale of assets. Then we require the flows of revenue from the grid connections to bed down and become more predictable. Finally there should be a renegotiation of the fee structure, imo, as has happened with other poorly performing trusts. A lot of things to fall into place but with time I remain hopeful.
Oof! A capitulation day to end a fun week. Income mandates selling out I suppose. Loads of uncertainty here, both in the battery storage sector generally and with this trust. Another c*ck-up buying this...
Ok, VCT status is not part of the strategic review. The RNS says they want to broaden the investment remit while preserving VCT status. Of course I can understand why - if they didn't maintain their VCT status, most of the investors would cash out - but, big mistake (imo). Only allowed to invest in IPOs (& placings)? In 2021?? Good luck with that!
To be clear, if Amati is selling, it's not because of redemptions. That's because the shares are not held in the open-ended fund but in the permanent capital VCT compliant AIM investment trust, AMAT.
Re: the strategic review announced by AMAT today, it's a good thing in my opinion. That's because the trust has to operate under v onerous restrictions in order to preserve VCT status. For instance, they cannot buy shares in the open market. Purchase can only be made at an IPO or at a subsequent placing, which means they cannot buy more of a share simply because the price has fallen and they reckon it's good value. Similarly, they cannot buy a share they have previously sold. Imagine investing in that way - it's hard enough making money on AIM, without having to navigate these VCT compliant handicaps additionally. I'm therefore not in the least surprised that AMAT has been such a poor performer and should be avoided except, possibly, for v wealthy risk-taking investors who need the VCT tax advantages... but even then I'm doubtful because if it doesn't make any money due to the restrictions it operates under, what's the point?
Very fair points Streets.
SP decline is just a reflection of the company's deteriorating financial performance these last years. They stopped the divi too, meaning on top the share gets no love from income investors. It's also v possible there's a significant seller, as suggested.
Sooooo, I've done the good, old-fashioned contrarian thing and topped up. Why? 3 reasons. Firstly, I re-read the half-year Results and I detected tentative signs of a pick-up, so maybe, just maybe, this time it really will be different. Secondly, the price is so low - now 50% below my last top-up and almost 60% below my initial purchase - that I'll never get my money back unless I take a chance like this. Finally, I admit I do love a juicy contrarian punt and this rather fits the bill...
C'mon Mr Cooklin, cook us up some good results!
"Ignore the noise"... well said yourself Hawker, especially on this board of late!
Interesting to see that the other biotechs in the Harwood stable, EKF, VRCI and esp TRLS, are all having a bad day today. Worries about Harwood money being allocated/diverted to the RENX fundraise?
I'm one of those long-suffering LTH's who've stuck it out, mostly because I dislike selling for a large loss. I've bought at all sorts of horrible prices before the fundraise. I also bought Rights at £1.97 and then (most fortunately and bravely) held my nose and topped up one final time in the 140's.
We deserve some good news! That the market is rewarding SYNT simply because the update doesn't contain another 'bomb' tells us something!
A long, long way to go but one can only hope this is the start.
Hello SB, good to read yr commentary on this share again. I didn't know about the current nasdaq 20% rule, that's v interesting. Step by step is what I think. It could be an interesting summer indeed! Tbh, I didn't notice the placing of restrictions on who will be allowed to participate... Clarification would be helpful.
As others have said, it's sensible and good practise to take advantage of a spike in the share price, no matter if that spike was caused by a factual event or just a rumour, to get a fundraise off.
A few weeks ago, when the sp was circa 11p, we might have been looking at a discounted placing, set, perhaps, around the 7-8p mark. In that context they really have pulled the proverbial rabbit out of a hat by raising at 20p and I can't complain much about it. The fact that the sp hasn't instantly dropped to 20p is interesting too. It suggests the fundraise will be oversubscribed. Looking ahead, I'm hopeful there'll be further opportunities to reduce my holding in RENX at much reduced losses.
The position today is incomparable to where we were 6 weeks ago.
Let them take it private. It's a crap company. At least there won't be any more fleecing of PI's in share placings, which is a very good thing. Let the management face the heat of investors in the private markets. I suspect they'll be out on their ears if they don't perform. And if the company does turn around, well, we still have our shares - they didn't put the company into administration, in fairness. Don't get me wrong, I'm not predicting for a moment any future value, especially traded OTC, but they don't have any value now and - who knows - maybe one day those clever PE guys will dress it up and bring it back to market and we can all cash out! Lol. We have nothing to lose.
... is a tricky business! I thought we were near there last week, when I bought in at 155p. The Update of 07/02/24 didn't read too bad to me - a 'strong' rental market and signs of a 'recovery' in the investment market, we were told. Yet here we are 2 weeks later with the share price down another 13%.... in fact now even below the dark days of 2015 when PSDL was in its infancy. I am really surprised.
But then this isn't the only over-indebted specialist investment trust getting punished lately. We are being discouraged from investing in anything which isn't large, plain vanilla & with lots of cash. What a bl**dy market!
I took a speculative punt on these years ago. The great thing about holding an investment that's already a disaster, is that when the end finally comes, it hardly registers. My LOOP shares worth £250 quid last week, are now worth £50. Who cares?