Member Info for Yorek

Back to the conversations about Ste2000 (who apparently is also Haveinthelasttoast) on ADVFN, if Matt is planning an MBO, why does he need a new company to be formed? Unless he’s splitting off a division for sale/relist?

Autostore & Ocado have reached an agreement on patents. The numbers quoted provide a glimpse of what the future could look like for Ingenuity.

Analysts suggest that by 2030, Ocado revenue could be circa £1.1b with underlying earnings circa £600m.

Ocado sales in 2022 were £66m.

When you don’t frequent ADVFN, like on here, it’s difficult to distinguish between the ‘knowledgeable’ and the fantasists.

They could be creating new companies to split up the divisions. Matts post on LinkedIn suggested this in my opinion. If that’s the case, hopefully preparing for incoming investment.

Only if the dots are being joined accurately. All we can prove is the company formation piece. The rest could be evidence-based, or could be purely guesswork.

It’s on Twitter now.

CitySpy responded to this tweet with “🤔”:

“ isn’t it funny that on the 20th July THG Newco1 Ltd was set up by John gallemore exactly 30 days after he bought 500k shares. RNS stated zavvi and demand was sold to newco on same day. ZAVVIGROUP Ltd was set up 8th may for this purpose. This was a mask. #thg”

Seems to be 2 company links:

THG ICON S.A.R.L

OE022283 - Registered on 2 February 2023

Sanne Lis S.A., 5 Heienhaff, Senningerberg, Luxembourg, L-1736

THG UNIT 3 PROPCO S.A.R.L

OE022140 - Registered on 2 February 2023

Sanne Lis S.A., 5 Heienhaff, Senningerberg, Luxembourg, L-1736

https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/search?q=Thg

Licker, I’ve read the post. Thanks for pointing to it.

Have you been following it? I don’t, so do you know what he’s implying will happen with the new co? There’s been so many suggestions on here, I’m confused…. Is he suggesting a spin off/listing elsewhere?

If it was a conscious decision by Matt…then maybe he decided to encourage more shorts, prior to news, so they get burned. After all, if you are a long term holder and investor, you will still be here to experience the benefit and will be less worried about the short term shenanigans. Just another view.

The speculation this time has so far, all come from posters on here, reading too much into things…or trying to upset the Apple cart IMHO

Decent write up in the Mail. Includes all the details from the RNS plus a reference to the LinkedIn post:

“Moulding said the UK market penalises businesses operating in more than one sector. Add On Demand as a fourth division, a loss making incubator division, then we’re really wasting our time and money, he said in a LinkedIn post which declared the announcement as bittersweet”.

All good spin for a change.

Thanks blert.

Reads ok then…and I felt the article title was decent too:

“THG can see the beauty of selling two businesses”

I’ve read all the press from yesterday and the only negativity so far has been in this board. Even the FT had a balanced piece:

https://www.ft.com/content/850c8321-d31f-4563-a4a7-4251100a1c64

The Times has an article this morning, but I can’t access it, so will have to wait until I pick up my paper.

I hope this board hasn’t provided the fodder for weekend articles.

I guess we’ll have to wait for a journalist to confirm if the theory is right…

Even if you’re right (no idea how anyone proves this on here) I don’t see the issue, if they have followed appropriate protocol in selling it to a relative.

THG appears to have been largely built by people who started young and lasted the course, so I’m not surprised that tribe members become related. It’s not as if Leigh was made MD 6 months before selling it to him, he’s been the MD for years.

Thank you Dg221

I understand the frustration with Matt Rock8, I just don’t share it. I’m still believe in Matt, the Board and THG and hope to one day be rewarded for staying on the rollercoaster as an investor, rather than a trader.

What frustrates me is the none sense that gets posted as soon as the muppets arrive, which is why this evening, I’m going to give myself a break and not read it.

The company was sold to the management and Amery is the MD. I don’t see what else needs to be said…but I also don’t care.

Ultimately I too topped up today.

I can’t be bothered reading all the posts, because it’s the weekend, so have a good one all long term holders.

The only point to make if no one else has previously, is that when looking at Leigh Amery’s profile this morning on LinkedIn, it struck me that he says he went to Sandbach Boys School. Coincidental Sandbach?

Feels like the company is being cleansed, before incoming investment, as I read it that 3 divisions is still not palatable for the LSE.

The LinkedIn post does suggest the value for Probikekit was circa £1m, if £3m for OnDemand.

MM would be more than financially capable of backing the new OnDemand business, but has chosen not to personally back them with his newly liquidated funds….

I think Kelso are too late to the party for them to take credit for a strategic review IMHO. Having seen it before, I believe this would have been first on the list for TGL. It will have taken considerable time to decide on and agree actions.

“Today is bittersweet.

This morning THG announced we’ve sold our incubator brand division, OnDemand, to Management. They’re being backed by Gordon Brothers, a multi-billion $ US finance firm.

It’s bitter because the division holds a special place for me and THG. Yet it’s sweet because the long-serving Management team now own it. They’ve more than earned the opportunity.

Leigh Amery joined THG as a Finance trainee 18 ½ years ago. I think he was our 7th employee back in 2004 - cheap labour! After training to be an accountant, Leigh moved into various commercial roles becoming MD of OnDemand c4 years ago.

18 ½ years’ service is unheard of in today’s modern world. Most people quit when the going gets tough, which it does at some point. He and his 50-person team deserve the right to shape the next chapter for OnDemand.

The £3m sale proceeds is small to THG, but the heritage of OnDemand is massive. Everything at THG has been born out of this division through the years. It’s the original THG business we started nearly 20 years ago. 6-months after start-up, we couldn't survive by selling CDs alone, so Ingenuity was formed, selling our brief expertise to other retailers and competitors 😂

We quickly won big contracts with the likes of Asda & Tesco, which saved us. Ingenuity was just 2 developers sat in OnDemand back then, vs. a 4,000 strong global THG Ingenuity team today.

Our moves into Nutrition and Beauty also started in OnDemand back in 2008. Early trials in these categories gave us the confidence to bet the farm in 2010/11, risking everything buying 2 tiny online businesses: LOOKFANTASTIC.COM and Myprotein. This created the Nutrition and Beauty divisions we have today.

So why sell OnDemand?

In our first year on the LSE, it became clear that the UK market penalises businesses operating in more than one sector. THG has 3 highly profitable divisions in Nutrition, Beauty, and Technology, each with enviable global positions in their sectors. Not ideal for the LSE!

Investors often scratch their heads as to why THG has always been valued on the LSE at less than what the individual divisions should be worth if listed separately. This is why PE interest in THG is always so strong. It’s basic math.

Add OnDemand as a 4th division, a loss-making incubator division, then we’re really wasting our time and money. Imagine the multi-faceted models of the big US tech firms like Amazon or Meta operating from the LSE 🤣 It just couldn’t happen.

Even if OnDemand was to create another billion $ division for THG, it doesn't change anything. So, it’s time to unshackle both the Management team and the division and see if they can do it again, this time for themselves 💪

Yes, it’s bittersweet, but we will stay close - after all Ingenuity will continue to power OnDemand’s technology. I for one will be cheering on Leigh and the OnDemand team every step of the way.

(pic is with Leigh and Adam Kn