Darwen Share Discussion Threads

[m.t.glass] 28/4/2008 16:21

Colonel Rigger -

Darwen own Optare whose name is in that list, supplying 63 buses..

[fugwit] 25/4/2008 09:24

The 'green' buses seen in London were 'eloctrocity' hybrids and look to have been supplied by 'Wright Bus'. How many of these are on the road and how many similar could be bought from DHP I don't know. Guess alot here will depend on Mojoral elections.

[leighbarton] 23/4/2008 12:44

Topdoc, I think what has got a number of punter interested in this is the Stanley effect. There is nothing untoward at TAN to have a negative impact here, other than a few (but by no means all) city analysts feel they were mislead about TAN's results. Don't see it myself, and I suspect they may be kicking themselves in 6 months time for being put off TAN.

Clearly he is going to need to be clear in his communication going forward. A good start would be sorting out exactly how his interests in Optare and DHP are going to be aligned! I thought that maybe the delay was to do with the new CGT regime but we are well past the beginning of the tax year so it would be good to know his intentions.

[shakes2] 22/4/2008 14:14

I'm holding off buying any more for a while while I look at Tanfields, gotta be high risk tho and I am a bit risk averse.
Still think Darwen is good over the long term.

[topdoc] 22/4/2008 13:00

Could Tanfields results effect sentiment on this co due to the Stanley affect.

[fugwit] 21/4/2008 08:54

Ta for that loafingchard.

I spotted a few London buses at the weekend touting their 'greenness'. I will try and get a closer look today and see who they are made by. It is great to see that dhp are in a development project with Transport for London but I would like to see if there is an incumbent.

[leighbarton] 20/4/2008 18:19

Have been away for the week, just got back. Really surprised that this has not generated more interest on the back of this news. Everyone is speculating about Optare, this is surely just a matter of time before Stanley brings the businesses together. What I like about this contract win is it confirms the story about the economics of the business here, where the business model gives them a severe margin advantage over the UK incumbents. Altom I think you are right that this is not one to hang back on. Like TAN you could find this escapes before you notice (I hung back from topping up there recently at 95p and it is now trading at 122p). Both companies have significant newsflow still to come I think which could see us trading at much higher levels fairly quickly. Stanley stated his ambition to build this into a £250m company within 2-3 years, that suggests fairly rapid progress from where we are today.

Re his Bus Link appointment. He is a dealer as someone else stated. I suspect the appointment gives him greater visibility of bright upcoming opportunities, I don't think it will dilute his interest either here or in TAN.

[altom] 19/4/2008 09:39

I waited 2 years for Tanfield to come back. It never did, or I missed it. Gave up. Never bought to my regret. Have gone into Darwen strong (for me) as I think it may be same story.

[loafingchard] 18/4/2008 16:05

As far as i know fugwit most bus builders , and indeed minibuses and other specialists are known as "coachbuilt" . They buy in the chassis and mechanical parts and then custom build the bodywork themselves .
I used to have a Dormobile which was a Ford Transit chassis , engine etc , even some other bits like headlights and grill , but the entire body was coachbuilt by Dormobile from Aluminium and GRP .
I also had a Merc Luton , the chassis cab made by Merc and the entire "Box" on the back made by Hunter Coachworks in the UK .
Hope this helps , not in here yet either but considering it . Anyone have much info on projected earnings etc ?

Good luck all ( also hoping for a retrace )

[fugwit] 16/4/2008 13:55

New to this thread so thanks to all particularly MTG for a great read. Not in yet but like the story so far.

Would anyone like to hazard a guess to the following Q's.

If DHP start developing their own chassis what effect will this have on margin, i.e. if buying in from scania etc they should currently be benefiting from some of scania's economies of scale. Can they produce chassis themselves and maintain or improve current margins.

If I understand correctly Optare already produce their own chassis so a merger of the two would answer Q1, might it be the reason for the Optare purchase? (I will try to look at competitors tonight to see if they are outsourcing chassis production). Excuse the circumlocution, Q2. If there is a merger between dhp & optare would anyone like to hazard a guess at savings to be made across the two companies? After a brief look, it would appear dhp has a pretax margin of approx 8% so even a small %age gain through cost savings should have a decent effect.

Fingers crossed for some profit taking soon to let me in (sorry). Many thanks.

[m.t.glass] 15/4/2008 07:28

Darwen vehicle image from M.E.News

[richaims] 15/4/2008 00:57

Market cap is a mere £20.58m based on 14/03/08 close of 41.75p according to Barclays Stockbrokers' website.

[9degrees] 14/4/2008 21:54

This current order represents about six weeks work at the previous rate of six per week , but I guess it depends on what type of buses these are as they are an average value of £131k each (£5m/38)

[9degrees] 14/4/2008 19:27

FT reported market cap £15m on 22 feb when it came to AIM. At todays share price it is about £20m

[robow] 14/4/2008 17:13

Sharescope has the same figure

[loafingchard] 14/4/2008 17:09

LSE says the Mcap is 17.99 Million , is this correct ? Nice contract today :)

[m.t.glass] 14/4/2008 14:20

£250pp at say 44p equates to a shareholding of £11,000 which is a high threshold - and if they want a 75% deposit, may as well put the money straight into buying the shares at a couple of pence lower.

[hughes76] 14/4/2008 14:00

Ig have replied to my email.. It can be traded...

'Yes, you can trade DHP. However you need to call in when you like to trade the first time so we can set it up in the system. It would require a 75% deposit and the minimum bet size would have to be £250'

I hope this answered your question.

Kind regards,

Anna Holmstrom
IG Index plc Client Services

Friars House | 157-168 Blackfriars Road

London | SE1 8EZ | www.igindex.co.uk |
Freephone: 0800 409 6789
International: [phone]

Fax: [phone]

[shakes2] 14/4/2008 12:48

Thank you for the information.

[m.t.glass] 14/4/2008 09:08

IG-Index still not got Darwen listed for sbet quotes. Could do with a few traders chivying them a little at

Today's price movement talkes market capitalisation above £20m. (IG quote companies from £10m upwards - the only issue is whether they regard Darwen shares as liquid enough)

[theo13] 14/4/2008 08:22

Everyone asleep here?

[noshy] 13/4/2008 12:51

Comment by Peter Temple in yesterdays FT

And I have added one new share: the Blackburn-based bus-maker Darwen Holdings, a recent new issue. My interest here was stimulated by the presence of Roy Stanley as the company's executive chairman. Stanley has already had considerable success with Tanfield. This company makes low-emission vehicles. Its shares have risen fourfold over the last couple of years, even allowing for a sharp setback in the past six months.

Darwen, formed from a merger of a long-established coachbuilder and an automotive technology business, is targeting the market for a new generation of fuel-efficient buses. These will utilise a hybrid electric power and internal combustion engine. Rationalisation moves have already substantially improved the profitability of the underlying business. There is, I believe, a lot more to come in the medium term.

[topvest] 12/4/2008 09:04

Snakes - Roy is a serial entrepeneur and deal maker; he gets other people to run his businesses. There is no problem with him doing these roles. The one that is not ok is running Optare and Darwin as there is a conflict of interest, but I suspect that this is short term only.