Hill Station Share Discussion Threads

[mrphil] 11/12/2006 08:01

Cerrito, yes I think the bottom drawer might be a good place to put these for now, along with my CFE which are similar in many ways. Good luck anyway.

[cerrito] 10/12/2006 21:09

as someone who is not too long but very wrong I have put these in the bottom draw..not really worth selling and do not have the courage to buy more...to my regret they are in my SIPP so that I cannot even get tax relief.

[mrphil] 06/12/2006 19:44

CURRYPASTY - With the redemption premium, after 5 years the total repayable could be as high as £7.5M for £2M borrowed! Agree these are not the best terms but presumably there is a belief it will all work or why would they bother?

[currypasty] 06/12/2006 17:41

interest to accrue at 15 per cent per annum but for such interest only to become payable upon full or partial redemption of the facility. The LS facility also provides for a redemption premium of 200 per cent of the drawn amount.


mmm 200% thats a bit on the high side !


so , after 2 years say 2 million borrowed will be 2 mil + 2.6 mil = 4.6 mil

[giardap] 06/12/2006 17:31

Probably to do with imminent placing of new director's shares? I believe he got 40 million

[mrphil] 06/12/2006 16:13

Seems strange that the share price has dropped so much this afternoon for no apparent reason. Thought I would try a trial online buy of 50,000 but when it came back with 1.4p I pressed the accept button! I notice the trade hasn't appeared but the same thing happened with the last lot I bought and they never did appear! Just hope there is nothing sinister in this latest drop.

[mrphil] 05/12/2006 08:08

ericktherock, same here! I bought a few days before the suspension of the shares on the basis it was make or break at those levels. Saw a further plunge on the announcement but the rise yesterday has almost put me back to buy price already. Whatever the terms of the funding, those putting in the cash have done so as they believe this has a future imho. Yes, things were pretty desperate but then don't risk & reward often go together?! For what it's worth I shall be staying on board a while yet. Good luck with your decision either way.

[eriktherock] 04/12/2006 19:45

I've been looking at the Business with a view to getting in at a low level. However, I'd say the Co. looks desparate. 'Fortune favours the desparate'?

[mrphil] 04/12/2006 12:16

A welcome tick up this morning, maybe the article has tempted one or two to jump on board. Obviously not much in terms of cash, but good to see a few buyers this morning.

[jonc] 01/12/2006 18:50

I wouldn't encourage my worst enemy to invest in this.

Stand back and look at the Co with an unjaundiced eye.

They need £2m to get them to the end of January!!!!!

Three loss making companies do not make one profit making co.

Anyone buying into this needs their head testing.

[giardap] 01/12/2006 17:57

Will let the dust settle

New execs shares will further dilute/depress price. See what final figs reveal sitting on a loss at the moment but am tempted to top up in new year if no nasties in figs.! Would like a bit of promotion of their product eg buy 1 get 1 half price , 2 for 1, ads on tv/internet/hoardings. As a small company they should be more nimble than Walls/Hagen D etc.. and more responsive to UK buying habits - promotions etc....

[toriel] 01/12/2006 13:00

I don't know enough about this company to know whether it's wise to buy; I'd definitely be cautious myself at this stage.

The discussion about it reminds me of Eliza Tinsley, which was a company which I felt had the potential to do well, but seemed to get things wrong with depressing consistency. I never bought Tinsley, but several times came close to doing so because it seemed as though, at last, the directors were about to take the difficult decisions needed to turn the company around. Alas, they never did, and the company slid slowly down the tube.

Without knowing more of the current situation at Hill it's hard to predict whether it will go down the same route as Tinsley, but I find the statements issued by the company to be long on hope and short on decisive action, hence my caution.

[ponty] 01/12/2006 12:59

MRPHIL. This new director sounds very interesting got a good backround, he could make all the differance,i will wait a few days for the share price to level out

[mrphil] 01/12/2006 12:30

Reading further, I see that the new chairman is putting a fair bit of cash into the business and is also a director of other food related companies. I presume he must have confidence that he can get this moving in the right direction. Might need to revise my thoughts regarding topping up.

[mrphil] 01/12/2006 12:03

Ponty - for what it's worth, I bought a few just before suspension and, although I'm not too pleased with the loss so far, I am happy holding. Having said that, like you I am reluctant to top up just yet.

[jonc] 01/12/2006 11:22

So they borrow £2m that will be fuly spent before Jan 31st 2007(ie before they get good cash flows from trading) and they have to pay back up to £7.5m.

I wouldn't jump in without wearing a life jacket...

[ponty] 01/12/2006 11:17

still not happy to top up yet,what do others think

[peenut] 01/12/2006 10:56

A SENSIBLE INVESTMENT!

[peart] 01/12/2006 10:55

MRPHIL - I've read that also - I hope he's going to get stuck in. They need some good people with their sleeves rolled up for this one. I think they (the Hall's) are not applying themselves properly, currently. Perhaps acting as bankers and waiting for reports from managers. Who knows, but the Hall's need to wake up and get stuck in - the're messing about at the minute. jmho

[mrphil] 01/12/2006 10:28

Morning Toriel & Peart, they do seem to have appointed a new exec chairman so maybe things are looking a bit more positive?

[peart] 01/12/2006 09:38

The Hall's are investment bankers who appear to be incapable of working at the sharp end - or on the coal face as it were. there is a big difference between understanding figures and carrying out the work that creates those figures. They should step aside and let another look after shareholders best interests. They seem to spend far too much money in my view - like a couple of headless chickens.

[toriel] 01/12/2006 08:45

I've just come across this thread.

I find it interesting that the company is run by a couple of former JP Morgan bankers. The share price graph for HLL is very ugly, and one wonders whether the bankers (a) got involved in the company without having found out enough in advance about its state; (b) are not very good at running a business; or (c) are just unlucky. If it was (a) or (b) it doesn't reflect too well on JP Morgan (though since JPM has some of my money, I'd better not be too nasty to them...)

Whatever the explanation, it appears that the management has not done a lot for the company so far; let's hope they can pull it around.

[mrphil] 01/12/2006 08:17

Well we are still here, but I can't say I am delighted with the terms of the LS, not that it appears there were many other options available. MrP