Avanti Capital Share Discussion Threads

[growbag] 11/9/2003 10:35

Someone is dumping a few this morning. Any connection with the news about Aspinalls - since Aspinall is an Avanti director. I read he wanted to take his gambling outfit private (Times). Not sure why this should affect Avanti, but only connection I can think of. Results in the next few weeks. NAV should be up.

[growbag] 11/9/2003 00:37

Anyone know which venues specifically? Some 15 in total is my understanding. Mainly London?

[dubbsie] 09/9/2003 13:41

They only took on the profitable venues

[utsushi] 08/9/2003 13:04

Jeff H

In my opinion the acquiring and running of the cavernous Hammersmith Palais signified the beginning of the end fot the old POA, i remember when this co used to blame their poor corporate results on the performance of this outlet.

I would imagine the rent is enormous, the joint has zero ambiance and takes an enormous amount of people to fill it up as well as run it...

[younasm] 05/9/2003 19:38

man1, you might be right. I didn't check when they previously announced their results.

Interim results were three months after half year, so it makes sense to expect full year (30/06/03) results at the end of September, maybe even early October.

No idea why it takes them three months !!!

[man1] 05/9/2003 09:58

Why next week , last two years results being out the begining of oct.

[younasm] 04/9/2003 21:09

Are they going to announce full year results next week ?

[jeffian] 04/9/2003 15:54

Clubs/Managed Pubs/Late Nite 'Venues' = High Fashion/High Investment/High Risk (today's 'In' place is tomorrow's dump). I would hazard a guess that the only thing Aspinall and Bilton know about clubs is as customers (probaby ligging) with an It-girl on arm. Good luck!

Regards, Ian

[man1] 04/9/2003 13:35

well i really thought that po na na would have give us a bigger lift, the figures look quite good to me.Doesn't appear to be a high risk investment either after ditchng all the non profitable clubs. Here's hoping for more news soon.

[man1] 04/9/2003 13:35

well i really thought that po na na would have give us a bigger lift, the figures look quite good to me.Doesn't appear to be a high risk investment either after ditchng all the non profitable clubs. Here's hoping for more news soon.

[pachandl] 29/8/2003 00:34

Growbag - VEO!!!!!!! Now that really takes me back to the halcyon days of the tech bubble. I really thought it was a good idea too - unfortunately it only worked on paper. I agree with your share price predictions - unless some of AVA's existing investments suddenly spark into life. What ever happened to Videonetworks - I thought they were trying to cut a deal with BT last year. Another lost investment probably - no wonder the AVA board finally took the plunge with PNN (decent turnover and returns).

[growbag] 29/8/2003 00:23

not me. just the ordinary shares.

[mart] 29/8/2003 00:19

Hhmm. A couple of tick-ups. Maybe all is not lost. Anybody into warrants?

[growbag] 27/8/2003 14:12

I guess we wait, and wait. Got to give this at least two years. Most people holding this stock have averages quick a bit higher than the current shareprice. Mine is 4.5p and I hold a shedload. Others have averages at 30p+ form the heady days of the DotCom era. Nothing to be done, but wait.

I hate to say it, but from what I've read, the management seem to have cut a pretty decent deal with Poo Na Na - only taking on the previously profitable outlets, and not buying the loss making ones. Cheap at £6-8m.

Things could start looking up - never happened before with ECI/AVANTI. Remember the days of VEO - Virtual European Office (stuff nightmares are made of).

There are also a couple of decent looking investments in the portfolio as well.

I am hoping this one can reach 4p by year end, and 8p the year following. Not much of a return given the length of the holding - maybe 4 years now.

[vatteton] 26/8/2003 17:43

Where do we go from here ?

[ron64] 23/8/2003 00:39

stuart70

Thanks for the info

[growbag] 22/8/2003 13:30

Blimey! Something happened. Avanti made an investment. Not much action on the shareprice though. Aaargh. Still, at least the money is working a bit harder now.

[stuart70] 22/8/2003 09:47

Ron64

The Po Na Na in Edinburgh is one of the busiest night spots in town, especially just now with the International Fringe Festival being on and being open till 3am every night for 4 weeks.

The Club is also renowned for it's massive queue's to get in at weekends and strict door policy ensuring a quality clientele only, this club is very popular with young professionals.

SMF

[utsushi] 22/8/2003 09:02

Presumably David S Phelps will do to Avanti the same as he did to Po Na Na Group, can anyone tell me what happened to the share price of Po Na Na after the date that he joined the board as a Director...??

[ron64] 22/8/2003 08:08

Stuart70

What's the place like is it very busy or not

[stuart70] 21/8/2003 16:40

Visit the Po Na Na in Edinburgh regularly, does that mean I can get on the guest list now?

LOL

[dubbsie] 21/8/2003 10:10

One of their investments:
Business Serve plc Releases Results for 2002-2003 Financial Year 07/05/2003 15:44:35
by Business Serve News Desk
Lancaster, May 7, 2003 Business Serve plc, one of the UK's leading e-business partners for the SME market, announced today its preliminary un-audited financial results for the year ending March 31st 2003.

Revenue for the company topped £8 million, up 46% over its March '02 results and reported a profit for the first time in its 3 year history (in excess of £250,000 before goodwill.) This performance on the back of strong unitised sales, increased volume in its wholesale business, successful acquisition strategies and diligent cost control suggests that the business is financially poised to meet its future growth targets.

"This is an excellent performance," says Chris Baron, Business Serve's Finance Director. "Any business demonstrating this rate of growth over such a short period of time can be justifiably proud, but in an industry that has seen so many fall by the wayside since the burst of the dotcom bubble, it is a remarkable achievement."

"We have always known that the path to profitably is one fraught with casualties and I, along with the rest of the board, are delighted that we have been able to execute in a manner which has lead to this great result," said Simon Cleaver, Business Serve's Managing Director. "Our entire business has been transformed over the past two years. We have minimal debt, we have rationalised the business through significant operational efficiencies and we will continue to allocate resources in an effective manner to increase shareholder value. Our cash position is strong and we will continue our acquisition strategy as long as the targets meet our set acquisition criteria. I am grateful to the entire Business Serve team for its efforts in helping us achieve this result and look forward to making '03-'04 our best year ever."

Business Serve presently boasts a 35,000 strong customer base primarily composed of SMEs from within the UK. "We are finding that though there is still much doom and gloom within the global IT sector, our customers are utilising their Internet related tools to a far greater degree" says Martin Molz, Business Serve's Unitised Services Director. "We employ 175 staff in three locations across the UK. This in itself differentiates us from the handful of competitors our size in that we are able to provide a high level of personalised support not just in the provision of customer service but in helping our customers make better choices when considering their e-strategies. We very much believe that this strategy will lead to even greater earnings over the next few years."

Business Serve acquired four firms in the past 15 months, all of which were successfully integrated into Business Serve's operating platform and have played a significant roll in expanding the firms network and overall service capabilities. "We now peer at numerous points throughout the UK and Europe including LINX, LoNap, MaNap and have partnered with firms such as Your Communications, Neos, Telia and Level3. These mutually beneficial relationships have resulted in a major enhancement in our services as experienced by our customers," said Tim Longton, Business Serve's Operations Director.

Significant investment in new product development and staff development seem to be paying off as well. Business Serve's management team suggests that the SME market is becoming more and more educated about what they want from their investments in e-business and that the firm is working to match that level of sophistication through staff development and training. Business Serve's value proposition based on hosting, connectivity, and optimisation is unique as very few ISPs offer all three components all of which can be argued to be essential to any firms' e-strategy.

For more information on Business Serve plc, see www.businessserve.co.uk

[dubbsie] 21/8/2003 09:44

Looks like an excellent deal and the shares already trade at a discount to net asset value and cash.