Raven Russia Share Discussion Threads

[catsick] 26/9/2016 11:36

There is a lot of upside here on tonights debate, if the witch has a spazmodic fit and pukes out green globules on live tv then trump wins and russian stocks go to the moon ... If the witch performs well then its all priced in anyway ...

[catsick] 08/9/2016 10:32

Looking like there is a small chance now that trump wins, if he does and we get a reset of relations with russia then rus will look excellent

[topvest] 30/8/2016 21:15

I have these on my watch list to ADD more. Couldn't quite take the plunge today; the revenue drop and dividend cut put me off. Think we are close to the bottom though so will keep watching. Below 30p would do it!

[bench2] 30/8/2016 14:59

Were the equity or 12% Pref holders offered any of the new 6.25% Conv Pref by way of rights ?

[catsick] 30/8/2016 13:48

Interims look ok, the rot has stopped in the underlying macro situation , if only these monkeys could pay themselves a fair incentive fee we would be looking golden !

[catsick] 13/7/2016 14:32

Been buying some more of these, Russia is stabilizing and now this company which owns assets yielding 12-14 percent can be bought at 40 pct discount to nav, quite levered but each asset is financed with non recourse debt so the group is very safe if a few assets dont perform, medium term there is great leverage on reducing finance costs.One thing i find crazy is in the 120 page annual report despite mentioning currency risk all over the place they fail to mention the usd rub rate they use in the balance sheet or change year on year, this is needed to predict the impact this year of the improving ruble strength.

[montyhedge] 23/6/2016 07:20

They bought back 450,000 of the 12% pref yesterday, that's the one to buy.

[catsick] 23/6/2016 01:09

Good volume today, this is starting to catch up with much improved sentiment on the russian economy, next stop 50p , etalon is another uk listed russian prop company listed in uk that is worth a look,I hold both ...

[catsick] 15/6/2016 13:24

Think we will see this trading higher, there has been excellent newsflow recently from etalon the other uk listed russian real estate play, seems like prices are firming , interest rates falling and the panic abating, may take a while to feed through to raven but the situation on the ground is improving, if oil can stay at the 50 dollar level and the ruble hold its gains a grind up to 50p should be achieved by year end

[grahamburn] 28/5/2016 18:05

Rather a "knocking" item from the Business Commentary column in The Times today on Raven's new options packages.
__________________


Business Commentary

Black marks all round at Raven

Alistair Osborne


Things must be tough in the Anton Bilton household. The executive deputy chairman of Raven Russia and his model wife, Lisa B, have been forced to cut the asking price of Tyringham Hall in Buckinghamshire. Or that, at least, is the shocking news from some media reports. Yes, £5.5 million off and now just £12.5 million.

So how lucky for Mr Bilton that Raven’s shareholders may soon be making up the shortfall. On June 15, at the Guernsey AGM, they will be asked to approve a new “retention scheme” for Mr Bilton and three other directors of the investor in Russian warehouses: chief executive Glyn Hirsch, Mark Sinclair and Colin Smith, all Guernsey residents.

And at least it’s a simple plan: each will get three lots of 150 per cent of basic salary just for sticking around until 2019. That’s right: three times £820,000 for Mr Bilton, based on his £547,000 salary, regardless of performance, just for not leaving. And all at a group now worth only £220 million after a 42 per cent share price dive in 12 months.

It gets worse. The first payment arrives the minute shareholders approve the new policy. And while Mr Bilton and Mr Hirsch must take the money “in listed securities of the company”, that could be higher-ranking preference shares not aligned with ordinary investors. Not that they’ll be short of cash: the policy also provides an annual cash bonus of up to 75 per cent of salary “wholly at the discretion of the remuneration committee”.

Who chairs it, you ask? Another Guernsey resident, Christopher Sherwell, 68, who does sound a bit of a pushover. The problem with the last bonus scheme only agreed in 2014, he explains, is that it didn’t pay out, what with Vladimir Putin invading Crimea and then a mix of sanctions and the plunging oil price doing over the rouble. And the company “requires, at the very least, valid motivational targets”. What’s more, directors have gone from Putinesque expansion to a “defensive strategy”, largely consisting of sitting back and collecting the rent. So the previous targets now look a bit awkward.

Yes, the management, together for a decade, has a fan club. Invesco, Schroders and Neil Woodford’s eponymous fund hold more than half the ordinary shares and have just backed a £105 million preference share issue. Yet there wouldn’t be a change of policy if events in Russia meant the directors were now coining it. The company says 60 per cent of investors have “confirmed their full support” for the policy. Given the bad precedent it sets, they must be Raven mad.

[igbertsponk] 23/5/2016 10:52

Woodford effectively financed this company since day one. Some of us have done rather well out of it ta.

[tyranosaurus] 20/5/2016 13:22

If Woodford bought some then it`s time to get out.
WPCT is full of disasters and his other one is not exactly racing upwards.

[igbertsponk] 18/5/2016 17:04

Woodford bought them from the Raven Russia EBT. See RNS's.
Looks like the EBT sold them to get the cash to reinvest in the new Prefs.

[cragside] 18/5/2016 16:42

Look at the volume yesterday. 72m sells, but no effect on price.

[catsick] 18/5/2016 16:10

Hmmmm woodford really likes ! He must have bought from another insto seller no way to do that in the market

[cwa1] 17/5/2016 07:34

Just for the record, the detail is here:-

[catsick] 17/5/2016 07:26

Think this is looking ok, placing of the new debt seems to be on fair terms and the ruble is looking much more stable, the other big russian prop co etalon has recovered well and I think we see some moves higher here too now

[kenny] 14/4/2016 17:23

They do not sell any shares in the market -- what makes you think they do?

[igbertsponk] 14/4/2016 09:22

They can't dump that many on the market without massively hitting the price you numpty. Its not how institutions work.

[kenny] 13/4/2016 17:31

Invesco hold 215,146,927 ordinaries. At 1:40 that would equal 5,378,673 shares that Invesco could tender.

Let’s assume they buy 2m shares in the market at an average of 34p (today’s volume was over 1m). They then tender those 2m shares at 40p - which equals a profit of £120,000 for doing not very much.

Just for the record, I hold no ordinaries and have no intention of buying any. However, I have a large holding in the preference – RUSP.

If you disagree with the above analysis, please post how it is incorrect otherwise I will assume that your earlier post was made in haste.

[kenny] 13/4/2016 16:51

Be wary of interpreting this bounce as permanent. Just as likely to be big holders who are buying up shares which they intend to surrender in the 1:40 at 40p buy back.

Particularly Invesco which holds about 29% and has not surrendered shares in the last two buybacks. However, this would not stop them buying shares in the market at well under 40p and then participating in the buyback up to such number of shares that would leave their prior holding unchanged.

A handy profit for the big holders - in effect bringing down their base cost on the main holding.