Cenkos Securities Share Discussion Threads

[speedsgh] 19/12/2018 15:58

Not sure what 'current market expectations' are. Whilst welcome news, a bit more detail would have made the announcement more meaningful imo.

Trading Update -

The Board of Cenkos Securities plc is pleased to report that since the announcement of our interim results on 18 September 2018, revenues have improved. Accordingly, the profit before tax level for the year ended 31 December 2018 is expected to be in excess of the current market expectations.

[tomboyb] 19/12/2018 15:55

RNS trading statement -

Against market sentiment v positive -

[lord gnome] 12/12/2018 08:39

Thanks. I had missed that. I have been a DGOC shareholder since flotation so I was very pleased to see CNKS involved.

[speedsgh] 12/12/2018 08:36

Cenkos have also announced that the current FD, Philip Anderson, is on his way. Anderson was the first appointment of former CEO, Anthony Hotson, after he took the reins in 2017. Anderson's departure is therefore perhaps unsurprising.

Directorate Changes -

The Board of Cenkos Securities plc today announces that Philip Anderson, Chief Financial Officer, has indicated his intention to step down from the Board to pursue other interests and will leave the Company on 31 March 2019.

A process to appoint a successor will commence.

The Board would like to thank Philip for his commitment and contribution to the Company and wish him well in the future.

[speedsgh] 12/12/2018 08:30

Confirmation of completion of Smith & Williamson acquisition...

Acquisition of business -

Cenkos Securities plc is pleased to announce that further to its announcement on 1 August 2018 the Company has completed the acquisition of the Nominated Adviser and Corporate Broker business of Smith & Williamson (the "Business"). Following the completion of this acquisition 12 clients of the Business have transferred across to Cenkos. A team of 6 have also joined Cenkos' Corporate Finance department.

[lord gnome] 12/12/2018 07:55

Very good appointment at DGOC announced this morning. Big mandate with a growing company.

[speedsgh] 11/12/2018 08:50

Loss of mandate. Canaccord Genuity have been appointed Nomad & broker to Michelmersh Brick Holdings (MBH) replacing Cenkos...

Appointment of Nomad and Broker -

[speedsgh] 11/12/2018 08:48

Cenkos have replaced Strand Hanson as Nomad to Landore Resources (LND) and become sole broker (they were previously joint broker alongside Strand Hanson)...

Change of Adviser -

[speedsgh] 11/12/2018 08:46

Further to post #2988, GCP Asset Backed Income Fund (GABI) have successfully raised gross proceeds of £13m in their placing against a target of £10m+. Cenkos acted as placing agent.

Result of Placing -

[lord gnome] 07/12/2018 15:05

Had a few more today - just a few mind. Couple of larger trades went through and then the MMs started to move up, so I guess that was a small overhang cleared. With a £36 million mkt cap of which £22 million is cash / near cash, any improvement in trading should see these moving up smartly. I am rather hoping that our activist investor will also 'encourage' management.

[speedsgh] 05/12/2018 08:48

Cenkos are acting as sole broker on a £10m+ placing for GCP Asset Backed Income Fund (GABI).

Proposed Placing of Ordinary Shares -

The Board of the Company, which invests in asset backed loans, today announces a placing of new Ordinary Shares ("New Shares") targeting gross proceeds in excess of £10 million (the "Placing") to satisfy investor demand...

...Cenkos Securities plc ("Cenkos") is acting as the Company's sole Placing Agent in relation to the Placing.

[speedsgh] 28/11/2018 10:14

Will Rogers (PDMR, Head of Investment Companies, Corporate Finance) has sold 50,000 shares raising £35k...

PDMR Shareholding -

28/11/18 Will Rogers sold 50,000 @ 70p = £35,000
23/4/18 Will Rogers sold 23,828 @ 108.5p = £25,853
11/4/18 Will Rogers sold 35,000 @ 104p = £36,400
27/9/17 Will Rogers sold 24,034 @ 120p = £28,840
10/7/17 Will Rogers bought 50,000 @ 98.75p = £49,375
16/5/17 Will Rogers (SIPP) sold 30,000 @ 100p = £30,000
10/4/17 Will Rogers awarded 83,262 @ 97p = £80,764

[quepassa] 27/11/2018 08:26

Sector hotting up, for sure.

Today's FT. Page 18, important column headed " Macquarie in early-stage discussions on deal for Liberum".

The FT column talks of serious interest by foreign buyers in the sector and further consolidation ahead such as strongly rumoured talks between Santander and Peel Hunt.

The FT article writes " Several broking executives told the Financial Times that they had received - and rejected- approaches from City and foreign companies this year. But there have been more concrete stirrings in recent months".


ALL IMO. DYOR.
QP

[topvest] 26/11/2018 16:41

All very small, but better than nothing I suppose. Running out of time to land anything of size in H2 by the looks of things. A bit of a rubbish year for them.

[tanneg] 26/11/2018 15:20

MedaPhor,announces that it is proposing to raise £5.0 million (before the deduction of fees and expenses) through the conditional issue of 58,823,530 Placing Shares at 8.5 pence per Ordinary Share. In addition, the Company is proposing to raise up to approximately a further £2.1 million (before the deduction of fees and expenses) through an Open Offer via the issue of up to 24,219,354 Open Offer Shares at 8.5 pence per Ordinary Share.

[speedsgh] 19/11/2018 11:21

Empyrean Energy (EME) announced on Friday that they had raised just over £1m in a placing. Cenkos are their Nomad/sole broker so were presumably involved?

A £1 Million Placement -

[speedsgh] 19/11/2018 09:19

Agreed re MPL business. Unfortunately Cenkos find themselves in the position of 'beggars can't be choosers' at present. In the longer term they really need to be distancing themslves from companies like MPL.

[topvest] 17/11/2018 07:44

A low quality piece of work at the end of the week.

Not sure that this sort of business improves the Cenkos brand, but its a fund raising at least.

[lord gnome] 14/11/2018 09:57

Clearly something went very wrong under Hotson and Durkin has a lot of ground to make up. He does, however, carry a fair bit of baggage with him e.g. Quindell. I will hope for success, but I won't be buying more shares just yet.

[speedsgh] 14/11/2018 08:35

Another loss of mandate that has slipped under the radar. Cenkos were previously Nomad/sole broker to Science in Sport (SIS) who have today announced a placing of c£29m. However it seems that within the SIS Half Year Report released on 19/9/18, they announced that Liberum had been appointed as Nomad/sole broker with immediate effect.

By my count Cenkos have now lost 4 mandates since August: Verseon Corporation (VSN), AA (AA.), Science in Sport (SIS) & Frontier IP Group (FIPP). The only new mandate in that period would appear to be the appointment as joint broker to Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd (FOG).

With less than 2 months to run in the current FY, 2018 would appear to be shaping up to be a forgettable one for Cenkos. By my estimates they have raised roughly 50% of the amount raised on behalf of clients by this time last year.

Looking forwards it feels like Jim Durkin has quite a job on his hands to turn performance around. However, as a co-founder he knows the company initimately which should hopefully work to his & the company's favour. Aimho

[speedsgh] 09/11/2018 11:39

88 Energy Ltd (88E) have raised c£5.56m from investors in both Australia & UK. Cenkos acted as Nomad/sole broker for the UK portion of the placing...

Result of Placing -

[speedsgh] 09/11/2018 11:36

Loss of client. Flowgroup (FLOW) have appointed administrators & Cenkos have resigned as Nomad...

Appointment of Administrators -

[speedsgh] 06/11/2018 09:31

Former chief Jim Durkin makes comeback at Cenkos -

City stockbroker Cenkos Securities announced a big board shake-up on Monday, with the return to the helm of its former chief executive and major shareholder, Jim Durkin, as well as the immediate departure of its chairman.

In an unexpected comeback, Mr Durkin will become chief executive “once regulatory approval has been received,” just 18 months after he stepped down from the small and mid-cap broker.

The Liverpudlian, who still has a 9 per cent stake in the company, will replace former Bank of England economist Anthony Hotson, who joined the group in August 2017.

The Aim-listed broker had announced Mr Hotson’s departure in early October, just weeks after it reported a 90 per cent drop in pre-tax profits, blaming Europe’s new Mifid markets rules and a dearth of initial public offerings.

As part of the shake-up, Cenkos also said on Monday that chairman Gerry Aherne would retire “with immediate effect”, but gave no further details. Mr Aherne, a fund manager who was previously an executive director at Schroders Investment Management, has been chairman since May 2012.

A person with knowledge of the situation said Mr Hotson, who had no previous experience in the City’s clubby small and mid-cap broking industry, had stepped down due to a combination of “pressure from the board” as well as “feeling the need to do the right thing” in light of the group’s poor performance.

More unexpected, is the return to the helm of Mr Durkin, 58, a founding shareholder who was chief executive of the brokerage between December 2011 and July 2017.

He announced his retirement weeks after the company steered the return of logistics group Eddie Stobart to the stock exchange in a £550m float — but had also posted a four-fifths fall in full-year profits for 2016.

Several people involved in the industry said Mr Durkin, a seasoned dealmaker who has worked in the City for more than 35 years, was motivated by the fact that he has a stake in the company.

“He is the rainmaker,” said one senior broker from a rival group. “[He] does people.”

One person close to the company noted that Mr Durkin was in charge when the company was hit by a £535,500 fine from the UK financial watchdog in 2016 over its sponsorship of Quindell, the ailing insurance company now called Watchstone.

“He was at the helm for years and there weren’t the controls in place,” the person said. “The problem is nobody wants to do the job.”

Cenkos said on Monday that Mr Durkin was “not involved” with Quindell. “It was back-office failings that Mr Durkin successfully worked hard to remedy with the [regulator].”

The appointment comes as others in the broking industry — including rivals Numis, Panmure Gordon and Arden Partners — have also suffered poor performances under tricky market conditions. Some experts expect IPO business to dry up altogether in the run-up to the UK’s exit from the EU next March.

This year, Cenkos has come under pressure from activist investor Crystal Amber Fund, its fifth-biggest shareholder, which has called for the management to undertake a strategic review with a view to selling all or parts of the group. The shareholder also complained at the time that it considered Mr Aherne was not engaging with them.

Crystal Amber founder Richard Bernstein, reiterated his call for Cenkos to look to sell: “There is a tremendous opportunity for Cenkos to be the lead consolidater in an industry crying out for consolidation. But in order to do so it needs good leadership.”

[topvest] 05/11/2018 19:20

Very good news that Jim Meakin is back in my view. Cenkos have seemingly lost the ability to close big deals since he left. I'm more confident that they can recover now.

[keith95] 05/11/2018 18:27

I grabbed a few today ....