Billington Share Discussion Threads

[battlebus2] 21/10/2016 13:08

Hi Extrader, yes we would all like to know the same. Why are they happy to take 212p when a while back they could have got closer to £3. Try emailing the co.

[extrader] 21/10/2016 12:51

Hi guys,

I'm trying to get a handle on the EBT angle, which seems to be artificially depressing BILN's share price and therefore may represent a buying opportunity.

This all appears to have kicked off back in Jan 2016 with the flwg RNS :

07 January 2016

Billington Holdings Plc

("The Company" or "Billington")

Trading by Employee Benefit Trust

The Company confirms that it has received notice that on 6 January 2016, Bedell Trustees Limited as trustee of the Billington Holdings ESOP Trust disposed of 700,000 Ordinary Shares for nil consideration, accordingly Bedell Trustees Limited, as trustee of the Billington Holdings ESOP Trust, now holds 645,869 Ordinary Shares representing 4.993% of the total issued share capital of the Company.

At the same time, the Company has received notice that on the same date, Bedell Trustees Limited, as trustee for the Billington Holdings Plc Employee Share Ownership Trust has acquired 700,000 Ordinary Shares in the Company, for nil consideration, and accordingly now holds 700,000 Ordinary Shares which represents 5.412% of the issued share capital.

The Company is aware that Bedell Trustees Limited, as trustee for the various Billington Employee Trusts, has restructured its shareholding to facilitate the introduction of a number of new employee share option arrangements and any future option arrangements that may be established in the future.

So it appears that :
- prior to 7th Jan the Trustees for the then-existing ESOP(s) held 1,345,869 shares in the co, representing a hefty 10.405% of total shares;
- post 7th Jan 'oldESOP' held 645,869 / 4.993% (significant ? as now below 5%) and 'newESOP - 'PLC' - held 700,000 / 5.412 % of the capital.

The options under the 'old ESOP' had all vested by 1/1/2005 and as at 31/12 2015 there were per the A/R no options outstanding.

It's not clear (to me at least) from the RNS s released recently which ESOP has been selling down (old, new or a combination) and whether it makes a difference.

The major shareholders, apart from the ESOP(s), are Gutenga Investments PCC (49.9%) and Tarom Foundation (11.2%), the latter in turn owned 49.77% by the former. Both seem to be ultimately Liechtenstein Anstalt type companies, represented on BILN's Board by NED Alexander Ospelt.

Whoever is behind the 2 Anstalts already effectively controls the company, I'm curious why they apparently want to reduce the ESOP stake, to the (short term ?) detriment of the share price.

Any ideas as to what might be going on ?

ATB

[scotchbroth] 21/10/2016 10:56

EBT not on the offer this morning. Perhaps finished selling for the time being?

[meijiman] 18/10/2016 15:07

Yes the Billington management love to shoot themselves in the foot.
Blam blam -wow that's painful
Let's do it with other foot as well.........
blam-howl.............

[scotchbroth] 18/10/2016 12:36

This stock only going one way (down) as EBT mostly always on the offer with up to 50,000 shares. All buys being absorbed by EBT, while any sell orders push the price down. Crazy own goal.

[battlebus2] 12/10/2016 19:12

Not sure what to make of it all, I've never been involved with a share that's selling their EBT it's usually the other way round.

[martinthebrave] 12/10/2016 18:47

If the share price starts to retrace back up I will rejoin you. The good news being that I won't need to do any research before buying!! What I don't like is not being able to work out why it keeps dribbling down when the fundamentals seem solid. On current trend I will be re-entering sub £2 by Christmas......

[meijiman] 12/10/2016 16:44

Yes its a classic conundrum. The last update was the great but the share price is under pressure. May reflect switching to biggger exporters. EBT can't be helping.

[rhomboid] 12/10/2016 16:40

Hi martinthenotsobrave

..sorry couldn't resist the cheap shot.

I can understand why you've cut & run (!) but my view is cheap quality companies always ultimately perform and you can never pick the point at which they take flight.

If we reconvene in 12 months I'll pay a £100 to your favourite charity if the shares aren't trading at least 25% higher.

Good luck either way!

[meijiman] 12/10/2016 16:34

Yes its a classic conundrum. The last update was the great but the share price is under pressure. May reflect switching to biggger exporters. EBT can't be helping.

[martinthebrave] 12/10/2016 16:01

Sorry Guys, today's fall is due to me bailing out. I bought in ahead of the interims last month. Everything looked great including the update but the share price has continued to fall - at least in part due to the persistent sells from the EBT. I like this company but in the short term there is probably better places for the cash. I will keep the RNS feeds on. Good look to you all. Martin

[battlebus2] 06/10/2016 14:13

I've no idea either S.J., could be they will dispose of them all so it could take a while at this rate. Not sure on the rules but is it possible for an inst to buy EBT shares or can they only be sold back to the market?. They won't mind todays price as I seem to remember them buying at around £1. Still not sure why they are selling unless they've decided no employees will be reward via shares from the EBT.

[sailing john] 06/10/2016 13:32

Clutching at straws here but, do you think 3% is important?
If so just another 9k or so to go
I guess we shouldn't worry about short term price driven by EBT trades. I assume they aren't trading for profit so must be some sort of requirement over next ? years
Not really my area of expertise - I have to say
SJ

[battlebus2] 06/10/2016 13:15

Another measly 3k sold, it's laughable really, i'd take 50k at £2 :))

[meijiman] 05/10/2016 09:08

Well I'm not selling -but disappointed that the share price does not reflect the excellent underling progress of the company.

[battlebus2] 05/10/2016 08:58

That's what concerns me because the broker is W.H.Ireland who have a great track record and should have been able to place the stock....

[battlebus2] 05/10/2016 08:50

Why given the outlook is no one interested in taking the EBT's remaining shares?

[meijiman] 05/10/2016 08:39

Maybe its because the company is shooting itself in the foot...........

[sailing john] 05/10/2016 07:56

Yes and rather surprising given a strong 1H with EPS of 11.7p
And the following headlines which couldn't be more positive!

· Strong order book providing visibility into early 2017.
· Strong, robust cash balance.
· Positive contribution from all divisions which are operating at or above budget.
· Good early progress made at the Shafton site in the initial six months following its acquisition.
· Market conditions remain positive.
· Billington continues to invest in training and skills development to support the strategic growth of the Company.

[battlebus2] 04/10/2016 11:14

Disappointingly we are still trending lower.....

[martinthebrave] 22/9/2016 17:09

Hoping for a bounce off 246p. It did it once today at the death and needs to move up tomorrow or we may head back to 220p. Solid hold though.

[meijiman] 22/9/2016 08:31

The EBT has messed up what was a strong set of results. I agree with you rhom that it appears amateurish......but as you say its given you the chance to get in at a lower price.

[rhomboid] 22/9/2016 07:25

I've bought a very sizeable holding here as I've taken advantage of the EBT sale, This is a single figure PE , 20% of M/cap in cash, growing company with improving margins and the Acq of Shafton benefits yet to feed through. I like it a lot , if the EBT was not selling clumsily I woundnt have had this opportunity.

[steelwatch100] 22/9/2016 03:27

Just some thoughts:

+ the EBT's look to be holding about 8% of share issued capital (down from 10.5%), which given the lack of shares in circulation is high. Long term this selling off will be good for the Company and shareholders alike.

+ the impressive effective cash increase of 5.3m in period combined with the record current order book, the positive earnings growth looks set to continue.

+ The new CEO still seems to be driving this company forward nicely.

+ Overall a positive outlook