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| Share Name | Share Symbol | Market | Stock Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Powerleague | PWR | London | Ordinary Share |
| Price Change | Price Change % | Share Price | Last Trade
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.00 | 0.00% | 52.25 | 01:00:00 |
| Open Price | Low Price | High Price | Close Price | Previous Close |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 52.25 | 52.25 |
| Top Posts |
|---|
Posted at 23/12/2008 15:37 by beaufort1 Tipped in Momentum Investor, which I received yesterday. Share volumes are so low that even that is enough to move the share price |
Posted at 16/5/2007 11:08 by 5dally Wednesday, 16th May 2007Top StoriesWed 16 May 2007 Printer friendly Send to friend Comments (0) Powerleague kicks ahead in the City HAMISH RUTHERFORD POWERLEAGUE, the AIM-listed five-a-side football operator, has unveiled its next round of openings, including a second site in the City of London. The Paisley-based company, which has 34 all-weather sites across the UK, said it had signed a lease on an indoor Old Street site, its second in the City. Last year, the company opened on a site near Liverpool Street on a short-term lease which it says has been highly successful in the financial district. The latest site has a lease of a minimum of nine years, and is expected to open in September. The London site is one of three Powerleague expects to open in the first half of the year, which will include its first Welsh site, in Cardiff, due to open in July, while a Milton Keynes site will open in September. Chairman Claude Littner said the company was trading in line with expectations and viewed the year with confidence. A further two sites are expected to be opened in the second half of the year. Altium Securities analyst Wayne Brown said the market was expecting Powerleague to open five sites for the full year and the announcement should offer investors reassurance. "It should give investors confidence that not only is the opening programme slightly half one weighted this year, but that all is on track," he said. Brown, who has a target price of 100p on the stock, said the company's accelerated refurbishment programme allow it to increase prices and returns over the medium term. By the end of the year the company is expected to have more than 400 five and seven-a-side football pitches. Its shares were unchanged on 94p yesterday. |
Posted at 27/3/2007 13:35 by richandjanet Full write up belowPowerleague - 5-a-side football firm with healthy new openings pipeline 80.5p Epic code: PWR (Momentum Investor) Those who think we have become a nation of couch potatoes should think again given that 5-a-side football was able to claim a remarkable 2.7m participants in 2005. The fact that this shorter version of the game has eclipsed its traditional 11-a-side counterpart to become one of the most popular sports in the country, goes a long way to explaining the remarkable success of leading AIM-listed 5-a-side operator Powerleague. Under the canny leadership of chairman Claude Littner, Powerleague is forecast to more than double its pretax profit from £2.6m in 2005 to £5.4m in the year which starts on 1 July. And this could be just the beginning with Powerleague's expansion, which should see it double in size, likely to underpin 15-20% earnings growth for several years to come. History Powerleague was established in 1999 following the merger of two private companies funded by venture capital firm 3i and has since grown to 34 sites across the UK. However, its development can hardly be described as plain sailing and Littner, an acknowledged turnaround expert most famous for his previous roles as chief executive of Tottenham Hotspur and Amstrad, was forced initially to turn around several loss-making sites. Those problems, which were caused by the previous management's obsession with expansion at the expense of good housekeeping, are now well behind it with the latest half-yearly results showing pretax profit increasing 21% to £1.7m on turnover ahead by 15% to £10.9m. All weather pitches Since then, Powerleague has continued a roll out of its centres, each of which typically comprises three acres of land with 10-11 all-weather and floodlit artificial football pitches, as well as a clubhouse, changing rooms and bar facilities. The majority are situated within the grounds of schools, universities or other local authority areas. Most of its money is made from football pitch income which contributes 78% of group operating profit and is highly profitable, with gross margins of over 80%. Income is generated partly via player registrations but mainly through renting out its pitches at a rate of £4-£5 per player per hour, with the busiest periods being after work on weekdays between 6p.m. and 11p.m. Block bookings in advance One reason this business is so attractive is that the vast majority of revenue comes from league competitions and block bookings, which thanks to high levels of demand are typically booked at least ten weeks in advance and therefore provide a high level of predictability to future earnings. Some readers might be surprised that 5-a-side leagues have such pulling power but figures from the Football Association reveal that this is now a major industry involving 23,500 affiliated small sided teams and an estimated 190,000 players. And to make it more realistic there are also promotion and relegation issues to play for, just like in the professional game. Loyalty to individual teams also provides stickiness to revenues. For example, if a player is injured or moves away, there are always reserve players ready to breach the gap. We also believe that in the event of an economic slowdown, a player is more likely to give up his £40-£50 a month gym membership than forego a football game for the sake of a fiver. Rising pitch utilisation One of the most important management indicators is average pitch utilisation and the latest results showed this had improved from 75% to 79%. This reflects both the maturing of recently opened sites and also concerted attempts to increase demand at off-peak times. For example, Powerleague organises children's parties and coaching schools to encourage young boys and girls to participate, while there is also a dedicated sales team addressing the market for corporate events, providing bespoke packages comprising exclusive use of sites, professional player appearances, catering, presentations and event management. Ancillary services The remainder of Powerleague's profits come from ancillary services, such as bar sales (13% profit), which fell slightly in the period because of the distraction of the World Cup and because of the trend towards healthier lifestyles, which has seen players replace alcoholic drinks with energy drinks. However, this cloud has a silver lining as vending income (3% profit) saw useful sales growth thanks to a run on non-carbonated health drinks. Aside from a few fitness centres, sponsorship (4% profit) is the other main source of ancillary income. This side grew 62% from a low base and while not yet a major contributor, is still useful in raising its profile, as sponsors include blue-chip names such as Nike, Microsoft Xbox, Budweiser and Lucozade. Big expansion push The main reason for buying Powerleague now is that it is embarking on a major new expansion program with capital expenditure expected to ramp up from £4m this year to £9m next and with gearing just 43%, its balance sheet should cope comfortably. Part of this investment is being earmarked for the ongoing refurbishment of the older sand filled turf pitches, which still account for 50% of the estate and converting them into new fifth generation pitches, which use rubber crumb fillings made from recycled tyres. This is designed to provide a more realistic playing surface and prevents the notorious burns that players used to get from falling on the old astro turf. The customer reaction has been excellent with the five centres refurbished last summer generating an average 8% increase in income and 36% return on investment. Five new openings However, the majority of capex will go on developing new sites with Powerleague on course to open five in the next 12 months. This includes school sites at Milton Keynes and Cardiff, due to open this summer and autumn respectively and one in the City of London, where a planning decision is due this April. A further two sites are in lawyers hands. Encouragingly the pipeline is extremely healthy with 30 individual sites at various stages of negotiation and this reflects its flexible criteria for site selection. Generally speaking it needs a catchment area with a minimum population of 250,000 within a 15-20 minute drive, strong transport links and ideally no existing competition. It's prepared to do property deals in both the public sector and with private landlords and will consider both small and larger sites with fit-out costs ranging from £0.6m to £1.9m. Break-even quickly One reason why Powerleague is aggressive in its approach to new openings is that its economics are extremely favourable. With the help of a massive marketing push at the pre-opening stage, including promotions such as free games in the first week, new openings are EBITDA positive (cash break-even) within the first full month, while after three years, EBITDA margins typically reach 25%. Crucially, margins across the group are a very respectable 32.1% and this is largely thanks to Powerleague's ability to negotiate cheap rental deals with its school landlords, the average being just £29,000 a year. In return, school pupils are given free use of its facilities during school hours. Importantly, the majority of Powerleague's leaseholds enjoy strong security of tenure with the average term length being 64 years and rents will only increase in line with RPI every 3-5 years. Staying on the subject of property, Powerleague is hoping to engineer a windfall through gaining planning to develop a London leasehold site while one of its two freeholds, its eight acre head office site in Paisley, near Glasgow, could also eventually be developed. Competition benign Usually we would be cautious about the risk of Powerleague's success attracting new competition but barriers to entry are high given the long lead times and planning hurdles required to develop new sites. As one of the first companies to enter this industry, Powerleague is also head and shoulders above existing competition, with nearest rival, AIM-listed Goals Soccer Centres, 375p, only having 21 sites, followed by JJB Indoor Soccer and Playfootball.net with six each. The remainder comes from small independents and council-owned sites, which are typically under invested. Huge discount to Goals With the backbone of a seemingly recession proof business exuding strong cashflows and a high visibility of earnings, shares in Powerleague have the potential to generate substantial gains over the next few years. Based on latest forecasts for earnings of 3.8p this year, rising to 4.6p next, the prospective PE falls to an undemanding 17.5 on 1 July, which looks very good value compared to Goals, which trades on a whopping PE of 33.5 times. Buy. * The writer has a holding |
Posted at 11/7/2006 08:12 by cupasoup2006 Slap - I was just making the point that if we are interested in the 5-a-side soccer business as an investment, Goals seem to have a more profitable model, a more conservative depreciation policy, a higher growth rate etc. Powerleague, as far as I can see, have been about a lot longer so Powerleague are not really catching up, but rather GOALS appear to have overtaken.As investors, we should be impartial and consider the facts, this seems to be what the markets have done, hence the share prices. |
Posted at 07/4/2006 17:14 by slapdash It was on INVESTORS CHRONICLE ONLINE today....Small world story.... saying how they publicised their new site in the City... probably explains the rise... Slapper GOAL/POWERLEAGUE COMPARISON Incredible that Goal are worth £100m while Powerleague are worth £70m.. i.e. Goal almost 50% more valuable. But take just 5 minutes to look at both websites.... Powerleague has loads more sites, has a better website and has, I believe, a better balance sheet.... forward rating for next year for Powerleague only about 16 times..... for Goal it is 30.5 times.... Growth is all very well but Goal is coming from a lower base so it is easier to have a higher earnings growth rate... |
Posted at 13/3/2006 14:01 by dgh11 growthcompany investor has a two page write up this monthd |
Posted at 07/3/2006 09:48 by merroth slapdash - would be great if you could post the article here for those of us who don't get IC.IF they are saying GOAL is overvalued then I can't explain this mornings trading - 19 trades, 18 buys and 1 sell so far! All Private investor small amounts and all just after market opening - looks like PI's buying in based on a tip - wonder who's been doing the tipping! |
Posted at 06/3/2006 23:27 by slapdash look just read the investors chronicle online and it confirms all my views...Goals is desperately overvalued and Powerleague isn't. That is simply an undisputable fact... Slap |
Posted at 04/1/2006 07:20 by frances2 good work slapperCompany Website: (Investor Relations section includes prospectus) Competitor also listed This has been written up by Allnewissues.com and the Investors Chronicle. Both arguing it is a buy - the former at the issue price of 44p and the latter after the finals when the price was 66p. Also tipped by Small Company Share Watch as one of their 06 naps. So should be interesting. Looking at it now your first question might be why should I buy something so highly rated? Firstly as the rating falls to about 17 times in 06 then about 12 times in 07. So for the next calender year (from 1st January) the rating is only about 14.5 times. Secondly, the company appear to be conservative and would rather set achievable forecasts then ones that are difficult to meet. Thirdly, there is a strong asset backing. The key, though, is obviously the story behind the stock. That is to roll out five-a-side football centers to major connurbations. Given the World Cup in 06 and how football crazy our country is these are almost guaranteed to be successful. Five pounds per person to be in a league team and then you can use the changing rooms and go the bar afterwards etc. There are also high barriers to entry given that it can take years to get planning permission to build one of these centers. So there you go growth which should generate high returns on capital and which is protected by barriers to entry. A great growth stock. It may seem pricey but in six months it will be on a forward calander P/E of only 12. It should beat expectations and has great asset backing. Lastly, remember the gym roll-outs of the 90s or the coffee shops. These were successful but suffered from satuaration and crashed in 2003 along with the rest of the stock market. Powerleague should be different given the barriers to entry but has the potential to be no less successful. Let us say they have 30 sites now why shouldn't they be able to have 90 when the market reaches maturity. Sounds like a concept stock - well less a concept then the gym/coffee shop roll outs as football has been around for ages and is immensely popular. So no lifestyle change requried here. Buy for low-risk growth and hold in my view. Slap |
Posted at 20/12/2005 16:25 by slapdash Company Website: (Investor Relations section includes prospectus)Competitor also listed This has been written up by Allnewissues.com and the Investors Chronicle. Both arguing it is a buy - the former at the issue price of 44p and the latter after the finals when the price was 66p. Also tipped by Small Company Share Watch as one of their 06 naps. So should be interesting. Looking at it now your first question might be why should I buy something so highly rated? Firstly as the rating falls to about 17 times in 06 then about 12 times in 07. So for the next calender year (from 1st January) the rating is only about 14.5 times. Secondly, the company appear to be conservative and would rather set achievable forecasts then ones that are difficult to meet. Thirdly, there is a strong asset backing. The key, though, is obviously the story behind the stock. That is to roll out five-a-side football centers to major connurbations. Given the World Cup in 06 and how football crazy our country is these are almost guaranteed to be successful. Five pounds per person to be in a league team and then you can use the changing rooms and go the bar afterwards etc. There are also high barriers to entry given that it can take years to get planning permission to build one of these centers. So there you go growth which should generate high returns on capital and which is protected by barriers to entry. A great growth stock. It may seem pricey but in six months it will be on a forward calander P/E of only 12. It should beat expectations and has great asset backing. Lastly, remember the gym roll-outs of the 90s or the coffee shops. These were successful but suffered from satuaration and crashed in 2003 along with the rest of the stock market. Powerleague should be different given the barriers to entry but has the potential to be no less successful. Let us say they have 30 sites now why shouldn't they be able to have 90 when the market reaches maturity. Sounds like a concept stock - well less a concept then the gym/coffee shop roll outs as football has been around for ages and is immensely popular. So no lifestyle change requried here. Buy for low-risk growth and hold in my view. Slap |
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