Touch Group Share Discussion Threads

[donkey40] 15/2/2018 05:03

Given the importance of the RFP award ( and the impending Reserves upgrade), why did management not request suspension of trading in company shares pending clarification from the debrief with PPADB on Wednesday ?

That is normal and expected protocol when there is news which is likely to be price sensitive.

[masurenguy] 09/3/2011 17:57

Serious Fraud Office charges Nicholas Levene with 16 offences
Nicholas Levene, former financial intermediary, accused of fraud, money laundering and false accounting

Bankrupt City financier Nicholas "Beano" Levene has been charged with 16 offences relating to an investment fraud following an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office and City of London police. The former financial intermediary, who acted for businessmen such as Brian Souter, founder of trains group Stagecoach, is accused of fraud, money laundering and false accounting. Lawyers representing Levene strongly denied the charges. Philip Smith, partner at Tuckers Solicitors said: "These are simply allegations at the moment and will be vehemently contested at trial."

Nicknamed "Beano" on account of his love of the comic, Levene used to be a high roller, throwing parties that attracted guests such as Simon Cowell and Sir Philip Green, the retail entrepreneur. He was declared bankrupt in the High Court in October 2009 after a petition submitted by Michael Dorsman, who is based in Israel. The SFO said its investigation involved cooperation from a number of overseas authorities, believed to include Israeli agencies. Levene, who has undergone therapy at London's Priory clinic for a gambling addiction, has faced litigation from a number of luminaries including Souter and Richard Caring, owner of the Ivy and Le Caprice restaurants. When he was declared bankrupt 18 months ago, Levene owed creditors millions of pounds.

A former vice chairman of Leyton Orient Football Club, the 47-year old businessman was charged at London's Snow Hill police station and released on conditional police bail to appear before City of Westminster magistrates court on 11 March. Conditions of bail included surrendering his passport and agreeing to a ban on travel outside Britain. The charges include 11 offences of fraud by misrepresentation, two offences of possession of an article for use in a fraud, two offences of money laundering and one of false accounting.

Levene a self-made man, left school at 15 without qualifications, but with a good head for figures. He joined the London Stock Exchange as a trader in the run up to Big Bang in 1984 and earned a reputation as a confident and forthright salesman. Later he joined broker Phillips & Drew. He was a vice chairman of the supervisory committee of Bramdean Asset Management, founded by Nicola Horlick, but was never an employee and did not sit on the main board.

[ashbox] 08/12/2010 15:13

Hard to say if patience will be rewarded, one year things are going well, the next something happens to put it back to square one. As a % of turnover the loss is still significant and surely these levels of loss can't be sustained.

[rossstar3] 08/12/2010 14:53

wake me up in 4 years , they might have achieved profit then and il buy some.

[don carter] 07/12/2010 16:27

Results: going in the right direction...I like the digital reprints idea and so does their market....strong repeat business....fingers crossed! Is great patience here to be rewarded?

[don carter] 17/11/2010 12:44

Me too. I've just re-read the September statement and it reinforces my feeling that they might just pull through. Sales are certainly well up....I'm 85% down so.....

[ashbox] 17/11/2010 11:33

I made the mistake of topping up at 2.7p in Jan 2009 to bring my average down! Not sure why I'm hanging on really and may crystalise the loss at some point to offset CGT if the need arises. I want to believe in the story but it does get harder as the months & years roll by. Think I'll hang on a bit longer just in case.

[don carter] 17/11/2010 11:25

Yeah, it's reliable as hell isn't it? Only 77% Ashbox, you done well! Shouldn't we be dumping them though? They'll bore us with silence for years then go into administration, which seems to be the pattern emerging too often right now! Is there no glimmer of hope here, as others suggest?

[ashbox] 16/11/2010 12:05

This is a great share to hold during market turmoil and down-days on the FTSE. Whilst all else is a sea of red, reliable old TOU holds firm and refuses to budge :-)


just a shame it's down 77% on my original investment :-(

[don carter] 28/10/2010 11:22

A contract announcement? Nothing clear on the money side at all, but licensed out these journals should bring in some revenue. At least, they're getting them out to the people who need them.

[rossstar3] 21/4/2010 18:37

did they ever?, isaacs has brought enough shares but so far has invested alot but not produced profit,doesnt look good on the basis of last years performance but they seem a strong enough company that could grow at there own pace.

[ashbox] 06/4/2010 16:34

Lol - yes. The p. poor performance perhaps sheds new light on the recent departure. Seems they took their eye off the ball.

[rossstar3] 01/4/2010 14:18

the thought of del boy " this time next year wer be millionaires" passes me whenever i read a touch g. report, maybe one day.

[ashbox] 11/2/2010 20:42

H - the RNS makes no reference to the CEO pursuing other interests, nor is there any vote of thanks from Mr Isaacs. To my mind this might indicate that she took a job with a competitor or was removed. Both scenarios are not, to my mind, positive in the short term although I concede that it could be positive in the longer term if deliverables were not being met (and assuming the new CEO will deliver).

[handsome] 11/2/2010 16:00

Ashbox Surprise move yes! - but why do you think this is not a postive development?

[ashbox] 11/2/2010 13:05

Not a positive development......

[masurenguy] 22/10/2009 12:53

Fraud office investigates missing 'Beano' City trader

Nicholas Levene, the City financier who has vanished amid allegations that he owes tens of millions of pounds, is being investigated by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), it emerged yesterday. The SFO said that it had begun a formal criminal investigation into the business activities of the 45-year-old, whose whereabouts have been unknown since his business began to unravel this month.
The fraud prosecutor said: "A 45-year-old man voluntarily attended an interview under caution at the SFO on October 15, 2009, and was released without charge pending further inquiries."

The SFO began its investigation in to Mr Levene, known as Beano, after a referral from the Metropolitan Police, which was given a dossier about his business activities. A former City high-flier and owner of Leyton Orient Football Club, Mr Levene was declared bankrupt in his absence at the High Court on October 7. Investigators at Deloitte are examining his business and property empire amid reports that Mr Levene, of High Barnet, North London, owes up to £200 million. The SFO declined to elaborate on its investigation, but it is understood that Mr Levene is suspected of involvement in fraudulent investments.



Israeli basketball manager with Nick Levene link found hanged

One of Israel's best-known basketball figures has hanged himself after bad financial investments made through a British company left him $20m (£12m) in debt, according to his friends. Israeli newspapers have reported that Mr Fanan was connected to Nick Levene, the British financier declared bankrupt earlier this month. Mr Levene, 45, went missing earlier this month, reportedly fearing for his safety. British investigators said that he had left scores of claims against him totalling hundreds of millions of pounds.....Friends of Mr Fanan said that he had boasted of doing business with Mr Levene, investing both his own funds and those of players and basketball executives close to him. Mr Fanan's debts to former players, coaches and management officials are estimated at about $20m.

[yohoho] 20/10/2009 07:58

WouldnT TOUCH it with a bargepole......

[yohoho] 20/10/2009 07:58

WouldnT TOUCH it with a bargepole......

[masurenguy] 17/10/2009 13:25

Presumably creditors could seek to expropriate Levine's 5,374,000 shares in the company (4.5%). They could come onto the market which might impact the share price unless they are directly acquired by another director or investor.
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'Beano', the runaway financier, and the frantic hunt for £70m

Metropolitan Police and the SFO, which confirmed that it had heard a series of serious allegations, are trying to piece together the facts. Why did investors give millions to Mr Levene in the first place? Had the money been embezzled or simply lost on volatile markets? Was this really a fraud or just bad business judgment? The biggest surprise for many of Mr Levene's high-rolling friends is that anyone gave him money to invest on their behalf. "Whether this is fraud or not, this whole operation is staggering," said one well-known financier. "These investors seem to have simply sent Mr Levene millions of pounds, personally, without even a bank account. He wasn't even qualified, he was a broker, a middle man, he should never have been managing money and I never knew that he did." At Leyton Orient, where he and his wife Tracey, 42, had been regulars at home games, he had not been seen since August. The following month, he resigned from the board of Touch Group, a small listed company, citing "personal reasons".



Vanished City trader's losses may hit £200m

FOUR clients of a missing City financier claim they have lost £30m each, according to officials investigating the case. Total claims against Nick Levene, a 45-year-old trader and adviser, amount to £200m - three times the sum originally feared. Thirty clients have contacted Deloitte, the insolvency experts investigating Levene, who was declared bankrupt in his absence earlier this month. However, one source who knows Levene well said: "Thirty clients is laughable - there are loads." A source at a firm of private investigators said claims against Levene - nicknamed Beano - could easily exceed £300m, because of the high returns he had told investors they were making.

[yohoho] 15/10/2009 11:05

how was he involved in Touch in the first place? Friend of Mr. Isaacs?

[masurenguy] 15/10/2009 09:01

'Beano', the top City financier, disappears amid allegations he owes investors £70m

A city trader nicknamed Beano because of his extravagant lifestyle has disappeared amid claims he owes clients more than £70m. Metropolitan Police are investigating allegations of fraud and last night a senior City of London figure said he believed the financier could owe investors as much as £200m......Yesterday Levene, his wife Tracey, 42, and their three children were nowhere to be seen at their £2m mock-Tudor home in High Barnet, North London.....Neighbours said the family - once known for throwing huge garden parties - had suddenly begun moving out a month ago. Levene recently opened bank accounts in Northern Cyprus, which does not have an extradition treaty with Britain. He also owns a villa in Tel Aviv, although the High Court has frozen his assets and ordered him to surrender his passport.....Levene has claimed his £18m debt to the Stagecoach moguls was due to a 'misunderstanding'. Three weeks ago he is understood to have quit the board of a technology company, saying he needed to 'organise his personal affairs'.

[yohoho] 12/10/2009 10:16

we'll watch this story develop...............