Connaught Share Discussion Threads

[ladyboyblap] 10/9/2010 08:04

Great News on the Sale of Assets.
I expect the Suspension will be dropped later today.

30p here we come.

[wenlynn] 10/9/2010 07:03

Morgan Sindall Group plc ("The Company" or "Morgan Sindall"), the construction
and regeneration group, today announces that its Affordable Housing division,
Lovell Partnerships ("Lovell"), has reached agreement to acquire the majority of
the ongoing contracts and their related assets of the social housing division of
Connaught plc, allowing essential maintenance services to continue without
interruption. Around 2,500 employees connected with the ongoing contracts will
transfer to Lovell as part of the agreement.

A total cash consideration of GBP28m has been paid for the assets, which
represents a discount to their net book value.

[hvs] 09/9/2010 16:20

I thought they would do a tax payers lottery for them since they OWE them BIllions?

The amount they get will not be enough for a single BONUS.

Its seems the more you lend and the more your clients go into administartion the bigger THE BONUS on TOP OF HUGE SALARIES.

Not bad at all.

[isis] 09/9/2010 16:18

I'm looking for a new heater - I take it this is a Fire sale?

[purple sound] 09/9/2010 16:17

I've just visited my local bank - The Royal Bank of Scotland.

They're selling lots of tools at knockdown prices e.g. shovels for £2.99, hammers for 99p.

You'll have to be quick cos I think they're going to be snapped up at those prices.

[typo56] 09/9/2010 15:50

I wouldn't assume it's the same for long spread bets. More likley valued at zero I'd have thought. Bookies make their own market and make their own rules.

[wenlynn] 09/9/2010 15:26

So it must be the same for a long spreadbet.

[isis] 09/9/2010 15:24

Yes, people who spreadbet are doing just that - betting. It is crafty they use the suspension price - I suppose they class it as a non-runner?

[ellemaitch] 09/9/2010 15:20

I assume trading is different in Spread betting to CFDs. I have had a cfd price of ZERO placed on my short trade and thus realising the profit ....

[ladyboyblap] 09/9/2010 14:57

At least RBS haven't suffered.
That must be applauded.

[hvs] 09/9/2010 13:57

Will ant action be taken against old BOD and the auditors PWC ?

Did they do anything wrong apart from taking this company into administration and investors loosing £ 100s of mills.

Is there such a thing as WHITE COLLAR CRIME or is it just all incomptence and sorry we will POCKETS the DOSH and very NICE PENSION .

[timbo003] 09/9/2010 12:56

It looks like some spreadbet shorters may also be losers on this too.

See today's markets live on ftalphaville:



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NH just a got a sad email from a punter short of Connaught Plc (CNT:LSE): Last: 16.65, no change, Volume: 0.00

NH (won't we all miss that ticker?)

NH he believed

NH a big pay day was coming

NH because he was short via a spread betting house

NH but NO

BE And, let me guess, the spread betters have told him he's closed out at the suspension price?

NH yep

NH

We are writing regarding your spread bet position on Connaught.

The shares underlying this position were suspended from trading on 7 September 2010 and Connaught subsequently entered administration. In these circumstances, CMC Markets is no longer able to quote prices on this instrument and is unlikely to be able to do so in the future. Pursuant to the Spread Betting Terms of Business, we have suspended Connaught from trading and we will close your position at the last available price prior to suspension.

Your position will be closed on Friday 10 September 2010 at 16.65p.

NH so

NH no profit

BE Hm. It certainly does look shoddy. But you swim with sharks .....

NH I suppose so

[juggy_g] 09/9/2010 12:56

ive just come back from my holiday in nairobi and i cant believe what has happened to my connaught shares..i invested £4000 back in november last year, im totatlly gutted, i feel anhilated

[the_doctor] 09/9/2010 12:15

Did that mean some of the tracker funds had to continue holding rather than sell out I wonder?!
Presumably they have some leeway regardless of what the list at the time shows

[typo56] 09/9/2010 11:56

I think FTSE made rather an odd decision last night to keep Connaught in the FTSE 250 index, on the grounds that they are suspended. Had they been suspended a day later they would almost certainly have been booted out of the FTSE AllShare index with a market cap of only £23m. Instead they are still messing it with the £2bn boys.

Meanwhile, feel sorry for Hansteen Holdings who have been booted out instead.

[via con] 09/9/2010 11:52

FWIW from FT

SUPPORT SERVICES
News analysis
Investors count cost of Connaught gamble
Many of the City's biggest investment funds were among those who suffered the biggest losses, writes Alistair Gray
The retail investors who piled into Connaught stock shortly before the company went into administration can console themselves with the knowledge that many of the City's biggest investment funds were among the biggest losers from its demise.
KPMG were appointed administrators of the property services group on Wednesday and warned of possible job losses at Connaught's social housing maintenance operation, which employs 4,400 people.
People close to the situation said that although the compliance and environmental divisions had avoided administration and attracted interested from possible buyers, Connaught shareholders were unlikely to recover any value.
A Financial Times analysis of figures provided by JunctionRDS, the data provider, shows that several well known institutional investors had already endured multi-million pound paper losses. Large institutions such as Fidelity Investments and Aviva Investors dominated the shareholder register as the share price fell by 66.5 per cent within three trading sessions after the FTSE 250 company issued its original profit warning in June.
The biggest shareholder was F&C Asset Management, which was demerged from Friends Provident last year. It was sitting on an estimated paper loss of £18.6m three days after the profit warning.
Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, one of Europe's largest asset management companies and part of Lloyds Banking Group, took an estimated hit of £13.8m.
The demise of Connaught also highlights the dangers of passive investment strategies. The tracker fund run by Legal & General Investment Management, the UK's biggest shareholder, was one of the few institutions that remained a top 10 shareholder as of the start of September.
Many professional shareholders bailed out in the days and weeks after Connaught's first profit warning as the company replaced senior executives and drafted in Deloitte to conduct an independent review of its accounting practices. Indeed, Barclays – a member of a lending syndicate led by the Royal Bank of Scotland – sold its entire debt exposure of £19m for about 37 per cent of face value.
Although the company blamed its original warning on public spending cuts as councils deferred projects to improve their social housing stock, it soon became apparent that Connaught's problems were company-specific. Rivals such as Mears insisted they had not experienced similar problems and analysts said the problems at Connaught were more down to contract mismanagement.
Many institutions saw the writing on the wall over the summer but thousands of individuals willing to take a punt piled in. Retail stockbroking houses – acting on behalf of their clients – bought the vast majority of the shares.
Still, Guy Knight, director at the Share Centre, says it is unfair to characterise retail investors as significantly less canny.
"They are disadvantaged in terms of access to the company. If you have a big shareholding, you're closer to the immediate news [source] as opposed to a retail investor who has to rely on the regulatory news service."
Among the individuals nursing heavy losses is Sir Roy Gardner, who became chairman in May. He spent almost £500,000 buying shares at 314.8p in the days after his appointment.

[collection] 09/9/2010 11:49

Luckily I never held overnight so, got out a few days back, close call but was always high stakes poker! Anyone with losses could easily get it all back & more with {HER} MM are seriously short of stock and with a resources update due very soon we could fly north DYOR as I always do!

[fishermans friend] 09/9/2010 11:41

And further, a bank would be willing to lend a fair amount on the basis of £ 20.5 million operating profit.

[fishermans friend] 09/9/2010 11:32

P Whyte73 * 5031

'Connaught Plc the largest part of the company that was traded on the LSE has gone into administration. Meaning your part of the company has gone bust.'

The compliance division (which is not in administration) was part of Connaught PLC and had turnover in 2009 of £ 132 million with £ 20.5 million operating profit. Also Connaught PLC acqusitions within the compliance division for 2009 were as follows:

Lowe Group £ 7.5 million,
Predator £ 0.6 million,
Pest Services £ 3.9 million, and
UK Fire £12.5 million.

These were all part of Connaught PLC and must have some value as they continue to trade outwith administration. So who now owns these, RBS and the rest of the consotium, Sir Roy & team, shareholders ?

However, I did say that we are clutching to straws here.........

[hvs] 09/9/2010 10:12

Apart from The right Royal Bank of Scotland off course.

Is it owned by the King of Scotland ?

[the_doctor] 09/9/2010 10:11

Well done Cawkwell.
I do think there was a risk (for shorters) that the govt might have induced funding, but perhaps it was too far gone and perhaps the banks knew that already

[the_doctor] 09/9/2010 10:08

smurfy2001 - 8 Sep'10 - 11:27 - 4993 of 5037

>> very informative post regarding the shareholder register. Thanks

[hvs] 09/9/2010 10:04

Funny how 2 CEOs resigned in 6 months and the Board just kept quiet until
Royal Bank of Scotland said NO MORE TAXPAYERS MONEY.

Where are all the assets talked about so much ?