Watkin Jones Share Discussion Threads

[spellbrook] 13/9/2016 07:12

The Group also announces that it is today holding an analyst site visit. The primary objective of the event is to provide analysts with the opportunity to view two of the Group's London-based developments and to meet the Group's management team and learn more about the long term growth potential of Watkin Jones. During this visit, no new material information will be made available.

Mark Watkin Jones, Chief Executive Officer of Watkin Jones plc, added: "Today's site visit provides an excellent opportunity for a City audience to experience first-hand two of our developments, one of which is completed and the other currently under construction, as well as gain an insight into our business as a whole."

[alan@bj] 12/9/2016 23:13

I'm interested to see what the CE's view of future demand is.

[jaws6] 12/9/2016 22:03

I hold these.

[alan@bj] 12/9/2016 08:50

Final results are out on Wednesday for a peer, Empiric Student Property. Approx double the market cap of WJG.
JW - are you invested there?

[tomps2] 09/9/2016 15:19

Here's the video of WJG presenting and Q&As, from Mello July 16:

[jaws6] 09/9/2016 09:42

I think David is right about QED saga. He had hard time asking QED board at so many meetings and I was there to see him argue which they did not like. I made money in QED but after long time.

Laffin is good but let's hope WJG price does not do what QED did first to drop ?

main thing is some Co will not talk to us as small PI , so we do need some one to ask them hard question if we got them 1 to 1 and I have seen David did with them on last WJG meeting. he did ask some good questions last time in Q& A which is on video some where.

[quepassa] 09/9/2016 07:30

It depends when you bought Quintain! It did reach 10p and lower so an eventual take-out at 141p wasn't so bad.

Admittedly they never paid a dividend unlike WJG who will pay a dividend and where the family shareholder structure should give the Company a big incentive not only to keep paying a dividend but also to want their wealth to augment by seeing a steady growth in share price.

I do not wish to comment about individuals but it is noted that Quintain were doing a lot with student accommodation and the new and interesting field of PRS when Laffin was there.

Let's trust that Laffin brings with him a good knowledge, experience and a contact base in those fields which can but help and open more doors for WJG who are also growing their activities in these areas.

ALL IMO. DYOR.
QP

[davidosh] 08/9/2016 16:29

Did you have any personal experience of Simon Laffin at Quintain ? Overall I think investors did very poorly out of Quintain and they delivered very little by comparison with the director remuneration over the last 15 years of QED.

[jonwig] 08/9/2016 10:50

It's safe to assume they are always wrong. They are guesses based on mid-price, the LSE doesn't report the direction of the trade.

[quepassa] 08/9/2016 10:44

The ratio of BUY/SELL volumes for WJG on ADVFN today are wrong!

I know that for a fact.


QP

[quepassa] 08/9/2016 09:41

The read across from the post-Brexit strength of Barrett Homes is a very positive signal.

Seems that certain foreign investors are now targeting much cheaper homes as investments. By buying 5x £200k units compared to 1 x £1m, they save something like £60-70k in Stamp Duty.

Demand for cheaper UK housing unabated.

The Private Rental Sector is set for exponential growth as a new asset class.

Student accommodation is a tried and tested formula where there is a great need for additional units and where there is a keen and eager institutional investor base.

For those who invested in Quintain Plc, they will be familiar with Simon Laffin who joined WJG a while ago and who adds a lot of sectoral experience.

Good yield.

Not yet on the radar.



Have been accumulating.


ALL IMO. DYOR.
QP

[jonwig] 08/9/2016 09:09

Alan - that's right. And when it comes to 'Build to Rent' (their other project area), they can act as managing agents for whoever buys the block.

[alan@bj] 08/9/2016 08:17

Fresh Student Living is a wholly owned subsidiary of Founded Living, which itself is a wholly-owned subsidiary of WJG. Fresh provides management services for student accommodation. My understanding is that WJG sell the property on to investors, and (if required) Fresh manages the property. The WJG Offer Document states that Fresh has contracts in place to manage 12,500 beds over 45 developments by September 2016, up from 8,300 beds and 32 developments when the document was written.

[2vdm] 08/9/2016 07:56

alan,if that's the case, I thought that WJG's model was to sell on its developments normally prior to building them, hence its low risk/strong cash position?

[alan@bj] 07/9/2016 21:05

It would be more pertinent to refer to Fresh as a wholly-owned subsidiary rather than a sister company.

[spellbrook] 07/9/2016 19:56

Student property specialist Watkin Jones, via agent PlanningSphere, has submitted an application for a site to the rear of Argos on Midland Road. Bristol-headquartered architects' practice Stride Treglown has designed the scheme, which comprises a four-storey building featuring 115 studio apartments.

The flats would provide self-contained student accommodation with kitchen, dining and living facilities in the rooms. They are expected to appeal to postgraduate, international and later year students.

The accommodation would be managed by Fresh Student Living (Fresh), a sister company to Watkin Jones, which is currently responsible for about 15,000 beds across the UK.



hxxps://www.insidermedia.com/insider/southwest/student-flats-proposed-for-bath-riverside-site

[jonwig] 07/9/2016 12:38

Flagon - yes, the share price is too low. (I would say that, wouldn't I?)
I think I've already suggested that some employees may be selling shares, but the major ones are locked-in for two years.
There has been no notifiable selling by major institutions.
The rational thing to do would be to add while stocks last!

[spellbrook] 07/9/2016 12:26

Watkin Jones Group ‏@Watkin_Jones 4h4 hours ago
Our Student Accommodation in Edinburgh has achieved Practical Completion!
Well done to all the team involved!

[shanklin] 06/9/2016 17:00

A pre-close statement in November? Sounds 1 or more months late or 10-11 months early!

The web-site also mentions they published an interim pre-close statement on 07-Apr-16, so hopefully a FY one by mid-October should be possible even if I have no idea why it would be called a pre-close one.

[alphabeta4] 06/9/2016 13:20

@davidosh

Used to be around the end of September unless it's changed from the time when I went David!

[wygyr] 06/9/2016 13:18

Thanks for that jonwig.

[jonwig] 06/9/2016 12:14

From the website:

November 2016 Full Year Pre-Close Trading Statement
January 2017 Preliminary Results for the year ending 30 September 2016
February 2017 AGM

Not more specific.

Soon, I'll ask them to consider holding their AGM nearer their home: Chester? Manchester? Bangor, even

[wygyr] 06/9/2016 12:07

Anyone know when the next set of results are due.

[davidosh] 06/9/2016 11:01

Just in time.....surely all the students need to be moving in next week ?