Lakehouse Share Discussion Threads

[grannyboy] 27/3/2019 15:26

Ok, thanks for that diduno.

[diduno] 27/3/2019 09:19

The share are now listed under the new company name of Sureserve.

[grannyboy] 27/3/2019 08:41

Anyone know what's happened here? Not looked in here for about a year...Is the shares suspended or have they delisted..Anyone know?

Had a look at RNS announcements but nothing regarding any suspension/delisting..

[diduno] 21/11/2018 09:18

Which company is conducting the consultations, Sureserve or Mapps Group? I have heard that it is Sureserve which begs the question why did Mapps Group buy it, albeit at an extremely attractive price, merely to close it?

It appears unfortunate that the newly formed Mapps FM is to take over Property Services as this is the company set up by those who own Polyteck, two of whom it is reported are facing charges for bribery. It could all turn sour, depending of course, on what happens at their trial.

[grumpy stumpy] 20/11/2018 16:00

Sureserve have not taken back the construction arm of MAPPS.The PS services section is going to be combined with Foster under one name MAPPS FM. The construction side of LH is closing with consultation with the employees currently underway.

[diduno] 17/11/2018 12:09

Although there has been no official announcement from Sureserve, I have heard a rumour that the company has had to take back Construction & Property Services from the Mapps Group. If this is true, will it continue to drag down Sureserve as this was the principle reason for selling in the first place? Moreover, having sold to the Mapps Group, why should Sureserve be obliged to presumably buy it back?

[diduno] 13/10/2018 17:22

You could well be right PLCBASHER. Perhaps the fraud squad should look into the shenanigans taking place with these companies and those involved, although there is another name listed as a former company secretary of Mears Housing Management Ltd that could be linked to Polyteck; the same uncommon surname. It is all looks rather intertwined and confusing. Shareholders should perhaps prompt an investigation in order to prevent further possible losses.

[plcbasher] 13/10/2018 12:37

Go to Meditemp and the picture is complete David Miles Mears Group PLC CEO is a partner of Jared O’Sullivan in this business ...I cannot believe the LSE allows this type of activity and shareholders of Sureserv4 are not looking for deeper investigation ...Bob sells to Jared for token amount who will in time sell to Mears or David Miles no doubt for mutual benefits later down the track ? PerhapsmSeriuos Fraud Squad should broaden their investigation..the one caught are just the small fry ?

[diduno] 13/10/2018 10:06

Indeed it is now 2 former members of Lakehouse staff that have been charged. One was a Divisional Manager, a fairly senior position. The other a contracts manager. I therefore think it duplicitous of Bob Holt to claim that Lakehouse was not involved/implicated in the frauds unless, of course, the frauds are unconnected with their work at Lakehouse.

My sources confirm not only that you are correct regarding redundancies, but that the Mears director you refer to is now a director within the Mapps Group. What you may not be aware of is that another Mears director is effectively running the new Mapps company from its Brentwood office. He has not, as yet, been registered as a Mapps director.

It appears a possibility that Lakehouse effectively transferred Construction & Property Services over to Mears, or those connected to Mears, via Mapps Group for a transfer fee of £0.5m.

What doesn't quite make sense is why 2 directors of Polyteck set up Mapps FM to become part of the Mapps Group. You will be aware that 2 directors of Polyteck are facing criminal charges alongside the 2 ex employees of Lakehouse. It is intriguing but hopefully more will be revealed at the forthcoming criminal trial.

[jsmith1982] 12/10/2018 14:31

To confirm its two ex Lakehouse Contracts employees who left back 2013 after the initial fraud was discovered.


I'm also concerned by other news, Lakehouse Contracts (the business just sold for £500k) has just appointed a second director. It could be a coincidence but the their occupation is down as SHEQ director, and by chance Mears Plc (same chairman as Lake) has a SHE Director by the same name. Have Lake allowed a good business to loose direction, not managed to sell it for a fair price and then sold it on the cheap to connected parties.

A number of the senior management from the Lakehouse Contracts business moved over to Lake before the sale went through to help close out legacy job, on top of this the CFO is moving on (which I see as a positive thing). There is likely to be large redundancy/notice payments going through at present, eating up cash, which ideally would be used to pay down the debts.

I suspect the year end accounts are going to have a large number of 'exceptional' items going through (just like the last few years) and picking through the numbers is going to be very difficult. Who knows what the underlying business really looks like!

[diduno] 12/10/2018 10:53

Please look at Evening Standard & Daily Mail online articles regarding Lakehouse and some of its subcontractors. It appears that 2 of Lakes contracts managers have been charged alongside 2 directors of Polyteck which, as most will know, formed Mapps FM, part of the Mapps group that took over Construction & Property Services from Lake.

What on earth is going on at Lake/Sureserve?

[vfast] 01/10/2018 09:16

It appears all is on track with a positive trading update this morning.

"Financial and operational performance has been strong in the second half of the year and the Board expects that the outcome for profits for the year to September 2018 will meet expectations."

See you on the Sureserve Group plc (SUR)BB.

[damo88] 29/9/2018 09:04

We need a new leader for this business

Bon Holt is past his sell by date now - despite all the hype, the share price is no where near where he was targeted and incentivised for it to be

Other businesses he is involved with have tanked - including Forrest, DX

Mears have exited him

It seems to me he has lost interest and needs to go

[diduno] 22/9/2018 09:48

Unfortunately, I think you are probably right. The companies, or some directors of Lake, will possibly merge with the newly established Mapps Group at some point in the future and all will do very nicely thank you. I am surprised that shareholders are content to sit back and witness the board of Lake effectively give large parts of its business away for so little return. I cannot imagine that any of this will be to Lake's benefit.

[jsmith1982] 21/9/2018 14:22

I am not aware of any linked between the registered director of Mapps and Mears, but from speaking to ex colleagues there was a senior Mears guy on site the week following the sale. Same goes for Polyteck I can't see any link on companies house but the oweners were in the Lakehouse Contracts offices following the sales, I suspect the businesses will merge at some point.

What concerns me is that the Plc board goes from a point where it is considering suing (issuing legal instructions) Polyteck one moment and then a few months later sells to someone associated to them.

I'd love to see the warranties and indemnities for this transaction, I suspect these will feature in the ever present list of exceptional items within the Lake Plc accounts.

[diduno] 21/9/2018 10:06

jsmith - as you say, none of this is visible on companies house. Although I very much suspect that the newly established Mapps companies, Mapps Group, Maintenance, Construction, Resourcing are all under the name of one person, is that person linked to Mears?

What is visible on companies House is that the same person was also appointed a director of Lakehouse Contracts and Foster Maintenance on 17 August 2018 following his being registered as a director of all the above named Mapps companies in June 2018. Mapps FM is the odd one out being registered under the names of Polyteck's directors. It does, as you say, seem a little iffy to say the least.

[jsmith1982] 20/9/2018 17:31

Although I do agree it does sound a little iffy what with parties from Mears (common chairman) and Polyteck being involved, although none of this is visible on companies house.

[jsmith1982] 20/9/2018 17:28

Hi,

Lakehouse Plc were never based in Brentwood, this was always a regional office with a lease in the name of Lakehouse Contracts Ltd.

[diduno] 20/9/2018 10:34

Trustman - it could well be that the scenario you describe is very much a potential risk. But why were parts of Lake effectively undersold to a subcontractor that appears to have been involved with issues at Hackney Council alongside Lake, and isn't it odd that the newly formed sector specialist, Mapps, will be sharing accommodation with Lake. Is this not a sell off in name only? Shareholders must draw their own conclusions.

[bargainbob] 19/9/2018 20:36

Looking to float on Aim

The Lakes Distillery, a leading English single malt whisky distillery, is pleased to announce it is exploring the possibility of seeking admission of its shares to trading on AIM, the London Stock Exchange’s market for smaller growing companies.

The Company has appointed N+1 Singer as its Nominated Adviser and Broker in relation to a possible admission and a potential fundraising by way of a placing with institutional shareholders to raise up to £15 million of growth capital in the latter part of 2018 (together the ‘IPO’). A meeting has been convened for later this month at which various resolutions needed to enable the IPO to take place are to be put to the Company’s shareholders for approval.

Background on the Company

The Lakes Distillery was formed in 2011 and commenced operations in December 2014 with the aspiration to create a global luxury whisky brand. As well as distilling and maturing initial stocks of premium single malt whisky the Company has built a portfolio of award-winning premium spirits brands including: a world’s first blend of British Isles whiskies, The ONE; Steel Bonnets, a world’s first of English and Scottish blended malt whiskies; The Lakes Gin; The Lakes Vodka; and a range of flavoured liqueurs.

As an English single malt whisky distiller, The Lakes Distillery is classified as a World Whisky, the high growth segment of the global whisky market.

Strengthening the team

The company was founded in September 2011 by Paul Currie, COO, when he acquired the distillery site located in the Lake District National Park, and was later joined by Nigel Mills, CEO and Co-Founder in April 2012.

As it positions itself for the next stage of growth, the Company has assembled a strong Board and senior executive management team, including considerable and relevant expertise in producing high quality whisky, building a global luxury brand and growing a business to generate shareholder returns.

In addition to Nigel and Paul, the executive team includes Deloitte-trained David Robinson as Chief Financial Officer; and Dhavall Gandhi, who joined the Company from The Macallan Distillers, as Chief Whiskymaker.

The Non-Executive Directors comprise Dr Alan Rutherford, Chairman, who held the role of Production Director at Diageo from 1989 until his retirement in 2000 and was awarded an OBE for services to the Scotch Whisky Industry in 1996; Tim Farazmand, formerly a Managing Director of Lloyds Development Capital, where he backed high-growth opportunities in the consumer sector, including Fever-Tree Drinks; Paul Neep, formerly CEO, and latterly Chairman of the whisky distiller Glenmorangie PLC, where he was instrumental in building the premium global luxury whisky brand Ardbeg and in the latter years worked closely with Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy following the sale of Glenmorangie to LVMH in 2005; and Richard Hutton the Finance Director of Greggs plc.

Nigel Mills, CEO of The Lakes Distillery, commented: “The Lakes Distillery has strong brand credentials, is located in an area of outstanding natural beauty, the Lake District National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and has a successful track record of innovation and brand development.

“We believe we are well positioned for growth, with multiple revenue streams, and an appreciating asset in the form of our whisky stock, developed using our multi-oak, multi-sherry led production process.

“We are exploring an IPO as a flexible source of capital to allow us to increase our production significantly, whilst remaining independent and focused on quality, as well as investing in our whisky stock, our sales and marketing capabilities and our distribution channels. Ultimately this will help us to achieve our ambition to build a global luxury whisky brand.”

[trustman] 19/9/2018 16:27

Concerning post diduno re 917 above.
don't want to put you in a difficult position but do I take your concern to be that what may be a cosmetic solution leaves Lake at significant risk as they still seem to have responsibility for business run off and therefore possible difficulty ingathering debtors and also coping with potential liabilities at one remove?
TIA Trustman

[diduno] 13/9/2018 09:16

1newtothis - as this is the forum for discussion on Lakehouse, I feel certain that if I were to talk of other stocks you would delight in reminding me of this. Should you wish to discuss other stocks, I suggest you visit their corresponding forums.

[1newtothis] 13/9/2018 00:29

Please diduno. Can you tell us about a different stock? Or is this the only one blessed with your expertise?

[diduno] 12/9/2018 10:06

sharw - why was it not made clear that Lake's subcontractor, Polyteck (or should I say its directors now heading the newly established Mapps FM), would be taking over Construction, Property Services and Fosters? You will recall that Hackney's Mayor warned social landlords of the problems it had encountered with Lake & Polyteck and of contemplated civil proceedings. Bearing in mind that Construction turnover was in excess of £90m and Fosters in excess of £30m in 2017, the deal concluded with Mapps does appear attractive for the newly formed company described as sector specialists. How can a company with no track record be described as specialists? It may prove to be a disaster.

There was also no mention that Mapps would be sharing Lake's offices? Could this be a sell off in name only in order to disassociate both Lake and Polyteck from the bad press linked to the Mayor's letter and possible civil proceedings by Hackney?

Unfortunately, information passed to me indicates that there will be more bad news for Lake in the near future. Rather than attempting to ridicule my posts, which I only make as constructive criticism and warning to shareholders, it would possibly be beneficial for those investing to undertake their own checks on this company. You are perfectly entitled to ignore my posts and proceed as you see fit which I dare say is what most have done whilst enduring the collapse in the share price.

[sharw] 10/9/2018 17:32

Another fatuous comment from diduno. Mapps did not buy just the business, it bought the legal entities Lakehouse Contracts Limited and Foster Property Maintenance Limited. Given that Lakehouse set up in Acadamy Place "to accommodate our operations teams" some part of that will have passed to Mapp. If Lakehouse owns the leasehold it could mean some rental income from sub-letting to Mapp.