Sureserve Share Discussion Threads

[gr20287] 27/5/2002 18:47

Park PLace columbia picked up 2% of the Co at 55 pence today. Any one knows who is behind this Company?
Are they putting some more pressure on the directors to agree a deal on buying the company? Seems a hefty premium to pay compared to last week's closing price if a deal is close to going through

[simonevans] 05/5/2002 16:19

Jeff H - I agree with your comments. The directors are not really interested in shareholder value if you ask me - they are more interested in "their value". I've watched this one for a while - the directors have put out lots of negative trading statements and even if parts of the group are doing well (e.g. Strada) played it down. Not surprisingly the share price has dropped...then.... wait until the London restaurant market is turning and offer a pathetic offer to other shareholders. They can sell off or float the individual bits and make more money...for themselves. Not a great deal that small shareholders can do but watch I'm afraid. Personally, I wouldn't touch Luke Johnson with a bargepole again...suggest others follow my lead!

[akcampbell] 30/3/2002 23:31

Jeff H. I use Stocktrade. To dispose of a large holding you have to watch the trades going through and judge if there is a big buyer in the market. If you can see a series of medium to large sells going through without the price moving that's usually a good indication you might be able to deal in a big amount.

If it wasn't for Park I doubt I would have been able to sell my Signature at the 37p bid price. Seymour Pierce were showing 8.5p-9p and I ended up paying 0.25p outside the offer for what I wanted. Haven't had much luck since switching. Bought more at 8p and now hold 1,475,000 or 0.2% at an average price of 10p.

I thought the interim results looked OK. The slowing rate of like for like sales decline was encouraging. The medium to long term value case for Signature is shown by the fact they appeal to institutional investors and experienced retail investors in spite of having a tiny market capitalisation. That bodes well for future recovery.

Good luck with Signature. I think you are onto a winner long term. Try the banana beer next time you are in the Upper St Bierodrome!

[jeff h] 26/3/2002 18:23

Intrinsic Value declared a notifiable stake today......
this is the outfit which was (up to about 6 months ago)
co-founded and managed by a certain Mr Luke Johnson.

Can't see the prospects being that bad in the light of
the above.

[jeff h] 11/3/2002 01:41

I tried out the Strada on Upper St, Islington last Thursday.
We got there just before 6pm and I was disappointed to find
it nearly empty!... although every other address on that side
of the road seemed to be a bar or a restaurant.

I had Pollo Funghi...which was chicken,mushroom,roast potatoes
in a delicious creamy sauce. My mate had pizza and enjoyed it.

The service was excellent and we were given a complimentary bottle
of mineral water (they did not know I was a shareholder).... the
bill with a bottle of Italian lager each was under £25 and that
was before I got my 20% shareholders discount !

I'd definitely go again, and am pleased to say that by the time we
left shortly after 7pm the place was filling up nicely.
Popped in to the Bierodrome further up on the same road and had a
Belgian beer each... a decent crowd in there as well.

For those of you interested there is a recent posting on the iii
board singing the praises of the Clapham Bierodrome.

[santangello] 25/2/2002 13:37

Ticked up today, I see.
Results soon.........does somebody know something we don't ?????
Are the MMs looking for stock ?

Santangello

[jeff h] 17/2/2002 20:00

AKC... which broker do you use?.. and how do you go about
disposing of a large stake?

I'm surprised you didn't keep say half if you are still
a fan...the other stock you must really rate....Seymour
Pierce?

I'm unsure about the Johnson connection....after all Osmond
sold out after meeting up with him.

I'm here for the medium term whatever happens, and I'll take
the rough with the smooth

Thanks for all the posts and info you've provided AKC... it's
been appreciated

[akcampbell] 17/2/2002 14:55

I sold my 0.5% for a £6,500 profit about 1-2 weeks ago at 37p. I think it was snapped up by Park at 37.5p. I still rate Signature a strong buy but the other stock I held had slumped so I wanted to buy more and could only do that by selling Signature. Although I was 90% certain that the interim results in the first week of March would be fine I didn't want to risk losing my gains on the 10% chance of another profit warning. The reason I'm 90% sure there isn't going to be another profit warning is that The Sunday Telegraph journalist who recommended buying 3-4 weeks ago wouldn't have done so without chatting to Luke Johnson first and Luke Johnson wouldn't have given him the confidence to tip them if the paper was going to look stupid in March because he writes for them. I don't think the big investors who have been buying know anything other than this is a cheap stock and will bounce sharply if the London restaurant market recovers over the next 18 months. That's all I based my investment on.

[santangello] 15/2/2002 20:34

Yes, things are hotting up.......
Interesting couple of weeks ahead.
I may add, these levels seem static for now, large sells/buys not affecting the spread. MMs seem to want the stock, offering a little over the bid on large sells, so selling the overhang seems no problem.
If the bid moves up but the offer stays flat, I will add.
The reason why is easy to work out...don't you agree ???

Another curry this Wednesday perhaps ????

Santangello

[jeff h] 14/2/2002 19:19

I was starting to get concerned about the number of companies
reporting poor results in the London area..... PizzaExpress,
Regent Inns,Coffee Republic,Giardino etc, and then all of a
sudden some major shareholding buy activity..Park Place Columbia
and Flemings run by 'shrewd operator' Martin Hudson increasing
his stake by 1%, and I doubt if the 125k buy today is included
in either of the above.

These boys know more than the rest of us mortals on this board
.... things starting to hot up

[santangello] 11/2/2002 23:37

Looks like a large SELL after the bell Jeff.......
Pizza Hut down sharply, I didn't see the figures.

Short term, I'm still a little nervous before the results.

[jeff h] 10/2/2002 20:55

Another Brokers Forecast :-

Investec Henderson Crosthwaite REDUCE

....Pre Tax EPS Div

2002 £3.8m 5.55p 0
2003 £4.4m 6.7p 0

... it's better than the last brokers forecast (£3m and £4m)
I cant understand how they can have a reduce recommendation
when they are forecasting almost 20% profits and eps increase

In my opinion for what its worth I expect about £3.5m for 2002
and at least £4.5m for 2003. I say this on the basis that :-

- loss making Belgo sites eliminated
- Ivy/Caprice/Sheekey all doing well
- opening of more and continuing success of Strada
- better performance from the mid group of restaurants, such
as Daphne's

PizzaExpress report tomorrow and Dominos later in the week... I've
read the occasional snippet that Strada is proving a success...roll on
Signature results and then we can make a better stab at the likely
future figures

Good luck everybody

[jeff h] 05/2/2002 12:08

... well last year it was March 9.... we'll
probably a similar date this year.

See you Wed if you are on for it

[santangello] 04/2/2002 23:20

I know I can ask you over lunch this week Jeff and you will know the answer, but can I throw open to all the question of what the date the results will be announced is ?

santangello

[99] 04/2/2002 20:18

akcampbell & Jeff H, thanks for the feedback.

99

[akcampbell] 04/2/2002 08:04

Interim results are key. Best case scenario is that Christmas trading was stronger than expected and the November profit warning was overdone. Alot of companies warned in November because they were under pressure to update shareholders from the SFA. Most restaurant groups would have had a dire October. Trading may have picked up slightly in line with international travel from November onwards.

[akcampbell] 04/2/2002 08:00

You can get the article by searching for Signature Restaurants on www.independent.co.uk As Jeff H says it doesn't contain any new information. I can't see the price going up on the back of it. It said the earnings multiple was 4.5 whereas the forward earnings multiple is actually 8. It compared the earnings multiple to Ask Central and said it looked cheap. Problem is if you compare it to Chez Gerard it looks fairly valued. My view though is that it has more valuable brands, more growth potential and better management than Chez Gerard.

[jeff h] 03/2/2002 17:45

I have the full article, but didn't think it worth
posting as it contained no fresh news and gave a P/E
based on previous Forecasts, rather than the ones I've
previously posted.

Of far more Interest are the Interims which must be soon

[jeff h] 30/1/2002 12:17

Latest Forecast from Collins Stewart :-

2002 Pre Tax £3.0m EPS 5.1p
2003 £4.0m 6.8p

Recommendation HOLD. (No div in either case)

I think we will all have a better idea of the trading position
after the Interims are announced in a few weeks....personally I
think the above forecast is on the cautious side, but lets see what
the results and the Outlook brings

[akcampbell] 29/1/2002 19:32

I checked everywhere and couldn't find any mention of this rumour. People resurrect the Kintaro rumour every 2 months. My assessment based on what I read is that Kintaro is the front for a private offshore investor who doesn't plan to make an offer for the Group. If people don't say where they read a rumour they could be making it up or reading 4 month old article.

[santangello] 29/1/2002 10:57

Yep,
Please disclose your source !

[santangello] 29/1/2002 10:57

Yep,
Please disclose your source !

[boris600] 29/1/2002 00:38

I've just read rumours that Kintaro International may make an offer. Anyone else here this?