John Lewis Of Hungerford Share Discussion Threads

[pedrojack] 23/10/2007 14:37

On the move again this afternoon...I wish I held...

[jim_bently davis] 22/10/2007 17:18

Warren Buffett always looks at the director before making an investing decision. Here at JLH you will find a pretty useless Koeth Bentley, a person who left to his own devices saw the complete collapse of the BKE share price and today seem fairly impotent do stop the rot, et has th face to come back to the market for more cash. This cash seem to only have one use and thats to pay hi to sit on hs fat a£se doing noghting constructive---at least based on the share price performance.


Methinks you would be daft to touch these, or anything that has a Bently/Diggle Investments connection!

[cockneyrebel] 19/10/2007 18:49

I think CFE have got a lot of IMF in the irons Pedro. I don't think the market wants to hear about that at the moment tho, I think it wants to hear about cash flow positive and profits in CFE. Need tp be patient and sleep on those imo.

CR

[lord c.] 19/10/2007 16:46

Lord C.>>>C/R,

Have to disagree here. His tax advisers,his board,his family and I guess himself will be looking for a full or partial exit. Best to spend some while fit and healthy.It's his lifes work we are talking about. Pre April seems the obvious time to benefit from the extra 8% relief which in his case is serious money.
I stick with my 5p forecast.
Our friends Smallbone up yet again. The sector is certainly interesting.

[bigbigdave] 19/10/2007 11:05

Just managed to nibble another 50k @ 3.4p

[cockneyrebel] 19/10/2007 10:39

I'd have thought he's better off to hold on despite the CGT changes. He'll lose 8% tax by hanging on but he must gain more than that in growth over the coming year imo.

CR

[lord c.] 19/10/2007 08:53

A good look at the trades yesterday throw off some interestings stats.
14 reported trades, = 2 sells, 12 buys including 250k & 175k @ 3.4, 141k @ 3.5 Results due early December.
John Lewis will most probably be advised by his tax experts to sell at least some if not all of his 60+% before he loses his taper relief. That number needs to be either (i)carefully placed with several institutions or (ii) trade sale which means we all join in the fun via general offer. My guess the management will want to take this on to greater things so the most likely scenario is the company brokers will be visiting a few institutions in the near future. Either way he will want to see some excellent results and even better forecasts.
If I were him there is no way I would sell below 5p.
A most interesting situation.

[pedrojack] 18/10/2007 22:43

Missed that raise today...Starting to look very interesting this one...

[cockneyrebel] 18/10/2007 18:02

John Lewis does want to sell imo.

I think he has tasked Rosby and Hepworth to get the buusiness up to a size where he can sell out and take a decent retirement myself.

From Sep 27 2006 RNS:

"As part of the reorganisation of the Company's management and the Board, I will be relinquishing day to day executive responsibilities from the time Jon Rosby assumes the role of Managing Director but will thereafter remain Chairman of the Company working in a part time capacity. My wife, Linda Lewis, will retire as a Director with immediate effect.

Your Board believes that these changes complete the managerial transition we have been working on for some time and puts the future development of the Company into younger and highly experienced hands.

We are confident that these changes are in the best interests of our shareholders and offer the greatest potential for enhancing future shareholder value".


One of the share options for Rosby mentions some extra ones applying if the company is taken over too.


Rosby has started selling the kitchens like he did at MFI, only this time they are high end kitchens. This from the last results:

"The pattern of sales continues to be increasingly skewed to promotional events. Much of the sales revenue in the period was at discounted prices, although the financial impact of this has been reduced through price increases."

Raise the prices and have more sales - seems to work well throughout the industry like MFI, Magnet, In-Toto etc.

Looks exciting to me - boring is exciting :-)

CR

[greek islander] 18/10/2007 17:29

It occurs to me that John Lewis himself - now that he has ceded control - may well want to sell his holding or a substantial part of it. Maybe a predator is waiting in the wings?

[greek islander] 18/10/2007 17:27

I've asked a retail CEO - (with a quoted multi million pound company) to comment on this one and await his response with interest.
The last time I asked him to comment on a company NETeller he finished up buying a massive number of shares for himself. And did very well out of it thank you.

CR, I am continuing to research this company currently and I must say it does have all the makings - though it is early days yet. Maybe your summise that directors are buying would fit the facts.

[cockneyrebel] 18/10/2007 17:27

Impossible to buy :-)

Will be good news when everyone wants to buy them :-)

CR

[bigbigdave] 18/10/2007 17:25

175k were mine 8-)
Had an order in at 8am for 200k, but it was never filled 8-(

[cockneyrebel] 18/10/2007 17:15

Most trades I've ever seen in one day on JLH

Net 500K buys.

CR

[cockneyrebel] 18/10/2007 15:39

Anything over 5K delayed with this one GI.

New management are doing the business imo. Take a look at the share options they all have.

CR

[greek islander] 18/10/2007 15:26

Well dipped toe - 29,411 at 3.4p.
Didn't appear on trades - maybe too small for them to worry.

Will put cash aside with a view to further purchases later. My wife approves. Unusually.

[greek islander] 18/10/2007 14:11

Thanks CR that helps.
May try to buy a small amount initially say £1-2k as I find that once you get into a stock and start to get a sense of progression, then you can of course decide on going for a bigger level of purchasing and what that might entail.
Yes it looks a bit of a gamble on the new management being able to fulfill their promise.

Certainly keep an eye on it.

[cockneyrebel] 18/10/2007 13:05

I think you will find it hard to buy a meaningful amount GI - the market has been on to my brokers this morning trying to buy 1m off me for the second time in about a month - I obviously declined :-)

They have just had their best ever H1 and the results sounded upbeat imo.

New management was a must, I'd never have bought a load without it.

Any eps guess I could make would only look like a ramp I suspect. All I can say is that if H2 is flat from the year gone, eps will be 0.35p. The co seemed to suggest they could do better than that. If they do 0.35p that will be some growth from losing 0.04p last year. A PE below 10, posibbly a lot lower and a fwd PE which would be criminally low.

That's if they do that and I can only project with what they have done so far and what they have said. Everything I know more or less is in the header, but again, you'll never be able to buy many easily. I've pensioned all my 1.4% of the co with a 3 year view to a hopeful multibagger.

Your wife is right, it's high end kitchens that have transformed over the last year.

CR

[greek islander] 18/10/2007 12:20

CR

You have tempted me over from the APG BB to what is undoubtedly a speculative buy.
Without the new management, this would be a bad buy without any doubt as the trading performance recently has been dull. A new injection of energy and drive was required and this seems to have happened. A typical recovery situation.
Can you CR, suggest a likely eps based on your in-depth knowledge of this company and what would that mean for the forward per?
My wife is very impressed with their trading profile, which she says is very much at the luxury end of the market. And I read your intro above with some relish.
However, the price in the low pence would normally mean a dreadful spread but this doesn't seem so bad.
Can you help me out here please as - despite my recent success following you into Airsprung - retail is not my usual sector. I tend to avoid it.
You are an awful tempter CR, you seem to have excellent sources for finding undervalued companies. This one, however, reminds me of WNG when I first bought in - a stock with a track record of slow progress suddenly handed new lauded management which ultimately proved to be an absolute shambles full of bullsh*t. Just got out on break even before the real sh*t hit the fan - literally as well as metaphorically!
I think that I have mentioned that I am coming into substantial funds next month though I could buy stock sooner, in advance of that.
Seriously looking at this one and not worried at the recent increase in share price - quite the reverse.

[cockneyrebel] 18/10/2007 11:29

Looks like someone had to pay 3.5p to buy 140K when the price was 3p :-)

Market is sewn up in this stock - when they put out results Lord C :-)

Pays to buy when it's quiet :-)

CR

[cockneyrebel] 18/10/2007 09:50

Blimey! :-)

6 weeks to the results - wonder if it's directors buying?

Cracking breakout whatever it is :-)

CR