Athelney Share Discussion Threads

[paulfred1] 20/3/2019 10:52

Pohl is clearly damaging this company and can't run the fund from Australia. Gresham House has a great reputation. The current board gets my vote. https://www.investegate.co.uk/athelney-trust-plc--aty-/rns/board-letter-to-shareholders/201903200700114129T/

[charo] 20/3/2019 07:26

So if Mr lawman was not truly independent as a chairman,how is he truly independent as a director.

[topvest] 19/3/2019 20:35

I'm not sure that geography matters too much. Technology can overcome!

[mw8156] 19/3/2019 08:59

agree with last three posts and am minded to vote with Pohl and Moore for my few shares but concerned that Pohl, who has an excellent record in Australia, outperforming rising markets and marginally underperforming falling, will be based in Brisbane, is 64, so am concerned as to how he will manage the Trust from there; would have thought Manx Telecom would have been an ideal holding for the Trust instead of or in addition to Kcom, but can't see any sign of it in the accounts, have asked for clarification as to how Pohl will manage from Australia from the company secretary: looks as though the new Directors are charging up all sorts of travel and consultancy fees which this tiny trust just can't afford so an orderly wind-up is the best solution, failing which Pohl and Moore IMHO. Moore is a very experienced expert in investment and Investment Trusts, has just ?retired from 7 investment so should have the time available and above all be able to see fair play.

[charo] 19/3/2019 08:33

RB has put his personal position ahead of his duty to investors.
Board out of its depth.

[topvest] 16/3/2019 14:39

A very sensible letter from Dr Manny Pohl, albeit a little late. I'm comfortable that Pohl and Moore are a much better proposition for Athelney Trust. Pleased I have changed sides.

[rooky4] 08/3/2019 09:10

No further mention of a tender, conveniently forgotten?
Previous support by vote for tender showed that many shareholders want out - very difficult to call but I guess this group will go with Pohl now. Any more muddle with Boyle and the discount could widen a lot.

The strategy of "stability" and particularly "expansion", together with "Robin Boyle continuity" unfortunately just doesn't hold water - if there was demand then there wouldn't be a discount, and any potential new investors will take a look at the past year and run a mile.

Should have been a wind-up and distribution at NAV when Boyle first flounced out, Athelney was dead then.
Now just prolonging the agony at financial cost to the shareholders.
Only other option is that Pohl can make some use of the corpse, but it is difficult see the shareholder benefit there unless the discount and spread can be cut down.

[mw8156] 07/3/2019 16:28

can't claim to be the pope (Infallible) and have made plenty of errors, companies going bust or negligible value, over the years so will consider any views and only filter offensive comment....

[quepassa] 07/3/2019 06:51

this is what bottomvest wrote recently on the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust bulletin board:

"Think this share is going to get crucified in 2019. It's on a 10% premium, so you can take it to a 10% discount without any effort. The FANG stocks are now in bear territory, so there is a 50% chance they will go down 80% and and 80% chance they will go down 50%. I think this investment trust is probably heading for under a £1. "


Price of SMT today has rebounded to just shy of £5.





...better filter bottomvest like everybody else has

[mw8156] 06/3/2019 22:41

it's all a point of view so won't censor/ filter #

[quepassa] 06/3/2019 21:36

just filter bottomvest like everybody else has

[quepassa] 06/3/2019 21:36

just filter bottomvest like everybody else has

[mw8156] 06/3/2019 21:08

Minded to do the same for my few shares, though still thinking about it,
don't know what the long-term future of the Trust will be whatever the outcome- it will be on the small side even if the manager has kindly volunteered a lower annual fee.
Small trusts should have the advantage of more flexibility when investing in microcaps and small cap stocks, compared with the likes of Henderson Smaller IT that's forced to invest in mid-caps due to its size.

[topvest] 06/3/2019 20:45

Yes, but Boyle was offered a cash exit at close to book value and rejected. Whilst I like Boyle and have enjoyed Athelney Trust, the best outcome now is an exit for value investors and leaving the company to head in a growth direction. I've voted for Pohl this time.

I do like Boyle and I do like Gresham House (I hold their shares as well from when it was an investment trust), but I think Pohl will block it. So, I'm going to back Pohl and Moore. Its worth noting that the current Board are quite inexperienced in such matters. Moore is better calibre in my view.

Its a real difficult decision as all the options have positives. That being said, this is a monumental bust-up for a company of this size. Pohl and Boyle are to blame. It needs one to back down or definitively lose. I gave Boyle a second chance, but I don't think that he deserves another! Remember...it was Boyle who went AWOL in the first place.

[mw8156] 06/3/2019 19:56

From the annual report it looks as though the top 5 shareholders have 49.93% so neither Emmanuel Pohl nor Robin Boyle can directly acquire further shares without jeopardising the investment trust status though their respective supporters could,
do think the best outcome would be an orderly winding-up of the Trust and distribution of the assets. The main beneficiaries of the turmoil thus far have been 'our learned friends' whose fees have already reached 42000 with more to come, no doubt.

[topvest] 05/3/2019 21:07

Yes, what a mess. To be honest Boyle has made a pigs ear of all of this. Reminds me to retire with dignity in a few years, rather than having to be kicked out of the door kicking and screaming!

Pohl is not going to back down and will win eventually in my view. He's not a loser, and will get what he wanted in the first place which is a UK investment vehicle. No doubt he will buy some more shares or something to get himself over the line!

So the new strategy of getting Gresham House involved seems another dead-end to me. I'm inclined to change sides and switch to Pohl this time as Boyle's time has run-out as far as I'm concerned. Boyle's strategy just seems pointless. You either continue or get cash back at NAV. A half-in half-out Boyle / Gresham strategy doesn't seem right. At least the dividend is still good, for now!

Need to read the documents more clearly, and that's another thing...the documents they have been putting out are less than clear. Received a garbage letter from the Company Secretary today that is not needed for a UK listed investment trust & could have been posted with the annual report to save money. No stamp addressed envelope either. I'm losing my patience!

On a positive note, Pohl seems to be making relatively good adjustments to the portfolio and is compensating for Boyle's weak spot of investing in companies exposed on the wrong side of structural change and technological obsolescence.

I will post again when I have more than 5 minutes to read the annual report.

[mw8156] 05/3/2019 09:27

cost thus far of all the board upheavals last year is £90000, nearly 5p a share, plus relatively poor investment performance and not settled yet as there are competing resolutions in the forthcoming AGM. Want to expand the trust to a 50-150m outfit, all well and good, but who will commit funds with last years' background? immediate response is that I regret the removal from the Board of Simon Moore by a very narrow majority who seemed determined to act as an independent Director who would rein in and stamp out any excesses on the expenses field,
Will have to study the annual report and resolutions therein carefully when it comes.

[topvest] 06/2/2019 21:21

Well it appears that Pohl has been removed from the Board but is still the fund manager. He has a point on technological obsolescence - Boyle was very poor on this with investments in HMV and Debenhams both springing to mind.

[charo] 06/2/2019 12:52

pohl quoted on todays rns.wtf who is running this company board rudderless.

[rooky4] 02/2/2019 10:47

According to the annual report, the shareholders agreement just gives the right of first refusal for Pohl to buy Boyle's shares at NAV, and then only to take the Pohl stake to 29.9%.

E C Pohl & Co don't have to buy, even if Boyle decides to sell. But it is probably enough to put off any other management group from a taking over.
I would expect Poyl to be able to build a controlling stake in the market over time at less (perhaps a lot less) than NAV.

Meanwhile the directors should represent all the shareholders....

[topvest] 01/2/2019 22:01

Yes, trouble is there will be no bid unless the two major holders agree beforehand. I think Pohl will come back and won't be interested in anyone having his UK stock market vehicle. He seems that sort of person, building a chain of mini investment vehicles. Boyle has now lost both for himself (and more importantly for all those that were backing him) and should take the money. Actually markets are bouncing back and so that might help Boyle to see that now is the time to get out at net asset value. That's what I would do now if I was him, but I'm not!

[mw8156] 30/1/2019 10:08

If i was Emmanuel Pohl, would let the small shareholders stew for a few months expecting the shares to drift to a large discount before launching an offer: this is a debacle:
there are always others looking to expand their assets under management eg JP Morgan Smaller Cos Trust and no doubt other trusts.

[topvest] 28/1/2019 21:18

Yes, I think the support for Boyle is now dissipating. We were loyal shareholders for many years, but this is not the way to 'retire', particularly when he could have exited for cash. He seems to have lost the plot a little. I think Pohl will probably move in for the kill and surely has the firepower to make an offer for the shares he doesn't own and are willing sellers.... thereby hoovering up enough shares to get re-elected. A merger with Gresham House Strategic that I also hold doesn't really make sense to me, and I don't think that would be a particularly good outcome. I do already hold that one but its a different strategy. I think Robin's strategy will probably out-perform growth over the next few years, but he's only got himself to blame for resigning. He should have fought from within, rather than resigning and trying to be a comeback kid. In my view, something will happen fairly quickly.