Business Direct Share Discussion Threads

[dr agon] 02/3/2005 12:36

up we go!!!!

[badday] 28/2/2005 22:37

I was happy to buy this under 60p, and I should be happy with the rise, but I wanted to get more! And like everyone I get worried I'm now paying bull market,but it does look an interesting company for the med/long term.

The company launched on AIM in September 2004 at 52p per share, which valued it at £15m. Only 25% of the shares are in issue so it can be a very illiquid share. Now valued at circa £20m
What makes BDG different from other everyday delivery companies is that it has been developing what is called its 'Parcelxchange' service. Essentially a kind of ATM for parcels, or as the company put it, 'an intelligent outdoor locker system'. Currently many operatives and engineers of servicing companies have little, or inadequate access to deliveries in the field. Chief executive Tim Houston says Houston 'We have early mover advantage in this market and have a very profitable model.' He reckons BDG's system is far superior to rivals, which require engineers to go to busy depots or take deliveries direct to the boot of their cars, which can be more expensive and less secure. BDG was admitted to AIM after completing successful trials with Exel, and its German manufacturer Afga.
BDG earns rental income from its lockers, which is paid quarterly in advance. It will also earn from providing the logistal support, collecting and delivering products to the lockers.
BDG already have agreements in place with Texaco to use its 1000 forecourts to site their secure lockers. Whats more it is currently building mass right now. At present there are 195 sites providing 2,600 lockers. This increased from the 171 sites and 2300 lockers in late August 2004. The company is presently running at 100% capacity and is manufacturing more unit to meet demand. They are planning to establish a further 7400 lockers at 521 sites. The next 500 units are due to be installed early 2005. The minimum required sites 250n0, are expected to be operational by mid 2005. The strategy is to have 700 parcelxchange sites with 10,000 lockers.
As for clients, well, it looks most impressive. They have only been able to market the system since the Third quarter of 2004 and currently are able to list, Siemens, TNT and Exel as customers. Orange has an initial requirement for 200 lockers, whilst British Gas with its 7000+ field engineers has just completed successful trials. Customer sign up looks impressive too. Around 15n0 at present with a further 10 to sign in the next Three months. Many of the presently installed sites are running at 100% capacity, in response to demand the roll-out of these sites will also commence in Northern Ireland from Q1 2005.They also plan to expand into Europe in 2005, and judging by their list of partners they look capable of achieving of this. Indeed The company also has an exclusive agreement with a major logistics company, which could prove to be very lucrative, that allows it to test this system with its clients in Asia. Naturally enough Chief Executive Tim Houston is confident:


Houston believes 2005 will be a breakthrough year for BDG and he admits he does not expect it to be an independent company in three to five years time if his growth plans come off. As well as the business to business model, ParcelXchanges could be used for business to consumer purposes such as parcel deliveries.


BDG also look to have completed an excellent deal with the administrators to buy Concorde couriers (14.01.05) giving it instant infrastructure, of a kind that the company said could have taken years to build. The deal was agreed mainly in shares and the management of Concorde have stayed on. (They went bust due to failure to pay from a large client.) Concorde couriers brings with it access to clients such as Xerox, St Ives, Cable & Wireless, and Reed Employment.

At the time of the trading statement 20.01.05 the company reported interim results will be released 21 March 2005. Tim Houstoun, Chief Executive, said: "I am delighted to announce that, following our successful flotation in August, much work has been done to ensure that Business Direct has the infrastructure in place to take advantage of the strong client demand that we are now seeing. We have signed a new manufacturing agreement, significant progress has been made with developing our estate, and we are confident that 2005 will see a much stronger trading performance."

The company has had minimal exposure. It has been tipped by Citywire at 52p, but until now didn't feature on the ADVFN bulletin boards.










I have bought, a fair few for me, and will hopefully see this one bought out for ££ in the next few years.

Good luck

[lasata] 25/2/2005 17:59

Citywire Tip: Business Direct should deliver

Published: February 2005
By Graeme Davies, Investment Correspondent

With shares in logistics company Exel in focus on rumours of a bid from US giant UPS, the wider sector is under scrutiny and Citywire has unearthed a tiny logistics technology outfit that could find itself in demand.

Valued at £16 million, Business Direct Group (BDG) floated last August but has yet to grab investors attention as its shares have traded between 42.5p and 53p. However, according to management its business is poised to take off. Shares were unchanged at 50.5p on Friday.

The company only came to market once its intelligent locker system had passed through trials with Exel and German manufacturer Agfa in 2003.

It has devised a series of what chief executive Tim Houston calls 'ATMs for parcels' which are secure lockers based in easy to reach locations used mainly by field engineers for the likes of Siemens.

An engineer calls head office for a part, which is delivered to Business Direct then shifted on to the nearest ParcelXchange, where the delivery driver scans in a bar code to confirm delivery. Once delivered, the system sends a text message to the engineer to say the package has arrived.

When the engineer arrives he has to insert a card and personal identification number before accessing the locker. He has to scan the bar code again to confirm it has been taken, thus telling the system the transaction is complete. BDG's system also allows engineers to return goods under the same system.

Houston told Citywire: 'We have early mover advantage in this market and have a very profitable model.' He reckons BDG's system is far superior to rivals, which require engineers to go to busy depots or take deliveries direct to the boot of their cars, which can be more expensive and less secure.

BDG has attracted clients such as Siemens, Orange, Exel and TNT and has also completed a trial with British Gas, which has 7,500 field engineers. Clients are charged rent on each locker a quarter in advance and with more and more clients signing up such revenues will grow.

At the end of 2004 BDG had 195 ParcelXchanges numbering 2,600 lockers. To provide minimum UK-wide coverage, the company needs around 250 Xchanges, which should be in place during the first half of this year. Management strategy is to build this to 700 sites with 10,000 lockers in the UK, which would cut down the average travel to locker sites to three miles.

BDG will expand into Northern Ireland in the first quarter of this year and has plans to move into Eire and Holland and Belgium later in 2005. BDG has also struck a deal with a major logistics company to license its technology for use across Asia, which could send revenues surging.

Last month BDG acquired Concord Couriers from the administrators for a knock down fee, which could rise to £2 million subject to performance. This provides the company with a ready-made operational and administrative infrastructure for services it was previously outsourcing.

Houston believes 2005 will be a breakthrough year for BDG and he admits he does not expect it to be an independent company in three to five years time if his growth plans come off. As well as the business to business model, ParcelXchanges could be used for business to consumer purposes such as parcel deliveries, and the company has even been approached by a major supermarket for home shopping purposes.

Citywire Verdict:

BDG certainly has first mover advantage and there are certain barriers to entry which may deter rivals from entering the market and make it a tempting takeover target once the business is proven.

There are risks, such as bigger rivals entering the market and forcing prices down to unsustainable levels, but this appears unlikely and rivals such as TNT and Exel appear more inclined to use BDG's services than to try to replicate them.

BDG's system can be scaled up very easily with little extra cost which allows for expansion into Europe this year as revenues grow in the UK. If it can begin to make inroads into the business to consumer market as well, then the utilisation rates of its lockers will rise and with it revenues will rise exponentially.

It is a risk to buy in to such an early stage company, especially one with such a small free float as around 25%. Houston has been approached by City institutions that want to buy into the company, but has so far resisted as the company is well funded and he has not needed to issue more shares, thereby diluting the holdings of its early stage investors.

However risk-takers should take a punt on a long term view. BDG is a growth stock with a strong product and the aim of building towards a takeover by a bigger rival. Long term buy.

[dr agon] 25/2/2005 16:14

just noticed that bdg had no thread so i thought id start this one off,been flying of late,take a look.

LONDON (AFX) - Business Direct Group PLC, owner of the ParcelXchange
intelligent locker distribution system, said it expects a "much stronger"
trading performance this year, as it predicted pretax losses for 2004 to meet
forecasts.
In a trading statement ahead of full-year results the company said it agreed
with Bank of Scotland a 3 mln stg lending facility to help it meet demand for
its lockers.
The AIM-listed group also announced the appointment of Brendan Cull as
Finance Director.
Business Direct added it has signed a manufacturing agreement for the next
phase of 500 ParcelXchanges, with first units expected off the production line
this month, slightly ahead of the previously advised schedule.
At the year-end, Business Direct said its estate stood at 195
ParcelXchanges, equating to 2,600 lockers, compared to 171 sites and 2,300
lockers at the end of August.
"This has put the company well on the way to achieving its next important
milestone of having 250 sites in place, a level that represents minimum
nationwide UK coverage during the first half of 2005," the company said.
Orders are encouraging, it said, and expects expects at least another 10
customers to start trading during the next three months, equating to a further
300 lockers.
Business Direct expects to report preliminary results on March 21.
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as usual dyor

regards