Watchstone Share Discussion Threads

[dalesiders] 28/2/2017 09:38

Barristers warned over law firm Slater and Gordon’s rising debt
REBEKAH CAVANAGH, Herald Sun


VICTORIA’S top barristers have been warned not to do business with Slater and Gordon unless paid beforehand amid concerns about the embattled law firm’s rising debt.

List A Barristers, which represents almost 80 commercial barristers, sent a memo to its members on Tuesday “strongly̶1; recommending work requested by Slater and Gordon “only be undertaken once we hold funds”.

In the email, seen by the Herald Sun, List A Barristers senior clerk and executive director David Andrews tells its members: “I strongly recommend that if you have any unbilled work you have undertaken on instructions from Slater and Gordon, you prepare and send an account forthwith.

“I recommend even more strongly that any new work offered to you by Slater and Gordon or ongoing work requested by the firm only be undertaken once we hold funds in OUR trust account.

“It is far preferable that we hold trust monies rather than the firm doing so.”

The warning comes as Slater and Gordon faces increasing financial pressure and is at the mercy of its lenders, with their share price yesterday plunging 22 per cent to just 9.8 cents.

The company revealed earlier this week, in releasing its financials for the six months to December 31, its debts exceed its total assets by $126 million.

Its cash flow is also $11.4 million in the negative.

Shareholders have been worryingly watching the business closely after its share price collapsed from an all-time high of $7.85 in April 2015.

The decline came following the purchase of its UK business in March 2015, which led to a loss of $1.02 billion the next financial year.

The firm has been given until May 26 to plunder a deal with its bankers on a restructure plan. If unsuccessful, it could be made to repay a $738 million loan within 14 days.

Mr Andrews would not discuss the email when contacted by the Herald Sun last night.

“I’m not going to talk about that,” he said.

Slater and Gordon spokeswoman Kate Van Poelgeest said the firm would not comment on “rumours sourced from leaked memos”.

“Slater and Gordon has enjoyed strong relationships with Australia’s leading barristers for many decades, through good times and bad and we expect to continue to enjoy those strong relationships for many decades to come,” she said.

[rogthepodge] 28/2/2017 00:42

and daley, please stop stalking me, you saddo

[rogthepodge] 28/2/2017 00:41

Redde is a brilliant business

[dalesiders] 28/2/2017 00:30

Good business model this REDDE thingy.

Sure fire winner

[rogthepodge] 28/2/2017 00:17

it is the morning

well you know my view (above)

but pleased for you, that you get so much vicarious joy from others
discomfort Tom

[ionlypostafterbbms] 28/2/2017 00:17

Remember this idiot from Quindell?

squire007

25 Feb '17 - 11:54 - 2780 of 2804

Got some SGH at 15c ..... :-) thx

You're welcome.

[dalesiders] 27/2/2017 23:25

I wonder if a couple of us could form a consortium to acquire the former Quindell assets off Slater & Gordon. I think a bid of £637 would be around the right sort of price tag. I'll chuck in the first £50. Then we could appoint Numbnuts to run it while we short our own stock after doing a bit of death spiral financing.

[rogthepodge] 27/2/2017 17:37

Andy

suggest you research the history of Redde

how it was famously attacked by Simon Cawkwell

got into a heavily indebted mess with poor cashflow

and rose from the ashes

same sector as SGH

credit hire and legal services

now one of AIM's top yielders, and 20 fold share price rise

don't you think that possibly a fall from 800c to 12c might be factoring in some dilution?

SGH is owed a huge amount in fees. The banks need experts to collect these. Doesn't it make sense for the banks to allow SGH to collect its debts? They have lent so much, they need SGH as much as SGH needs them.

[dalesiders] 27/2/2017 09:45

I feel your pain Numbnuts.

[andy] 27/2/2017 08:26

Rog,

You seem to have faith in everything because something once happened with Redde, a miraculous recovery, and you are firmly of the belief that it will happen every time.

Looking at the figures for SGH, it looks very terminal,debt for equity is perhaps the only way out now, they owe a lot of money which becomes the banks' problem of course, but the solution, if it s debt for equity, will wipe out existing holders like yourself.

[rogthepodge] 27/2/2017 01:04

yipee!

you'd better stay up all night Tom, in case it drops any further

I went through all this with Helphire (now Redde), a few years back

P.S. I see you have migrated onto Hot Copper, under yet further aliases

busy boy

[ionlypostafterbbms] 27/2/2017 00:47

Off 22% to 12.5 cents & dropping on increasing volume.

[rogthepodge] 27/2/2017 00:08

I'm very very pleased for you Tom

[lydnem] 26/2/2017 13:50

I havent followed CTAG, but it appears that you have been posting on there

Are you denying that you lost money on QPP and SGH?

[rogthepodge] 26/2/2017 13:43

if it was true, it would

[lydnem] 26/2/2017 13:38

Truth hurts eh numb nuts!

[rogthepodge] 26/2/2017 13:28

Lydnem

behave!

[lydnem] 26/2/2017 13:18

numb nuts

So you lost a shed load from buying QPP at £6 and holding despite the warnings fro TW, then you lost another shedload on buying SGH at AUD 8 because TW said to short them, then you lost what was left on CTAG because TW was a bear

Ever get the feeling you are not cut out for this game?

[rogthepodge] 26/2/2017 12:59

Andy

If you read my posts you would note how many times I have made clear that I know nothing about CTAG, and care even less. I was on that thread to highlight the modus operandi of a certain blogger.

I have always taken the view that a bad company will go down, without concerted high-volume blogging and deployment of numerous false aliases.

A certain person has come to believe that the word 'fraud' is a quick route to profit, and that the more frequently you say it about more and more companies, the quicker the profits arrive. In my opinion.

I don't know how people who cynically try to dupe small investors, can sleep at night.

[andy] 25/2/2017 21:20

rog,

I rather fancy his track record is a little better than yours!

Are you still a fan of Cloudtag?