Christie Share Discussion Threads

[the anteater] 18/5/2012 09:26

Operating margins of 1.3% at last results is poor- lower margins than food retailing! If margins of say 7% can be achieved (which, I believe, is not unreasonable for this business) then share price could nearly double. Maybe their costs are just too high. It would be good if management start to give operating margin tagets- AGM on 13th June would be a good start.

[doodlebug4] 11/5/2012 15:29

Damn, I nearly bought some on Tuesday morning when the share price was 54p - he who hesitates is lost!

[the anteater] 10/5/2012 08:11

The article highlights that the management must start to turn the sales into profits. If management fails, then someone else should be given the opportunity-I agree that a potential bidder should pay a high price.

[fillipe] 08/5/2012 14:47

doodlebug4
7 May'12 - 13:34 - 360 of 360 Sunday newspaper tip;

Thanks for that info. I'd been wondering
what might be the reason for the uptick...and very pleased to see it! Thanks for that post....it all makes sense now.

I watch CTG on Level 2 and there's never much stock on offer...usually only in lots of just 2000 shrs and it's only when the share price hots up a little that more comes onto the plate.

Gl here
f

[doodlebug4] 07/5/2012 13:34

Sunday newspaper tip;

FINANCIAL TIMES
Occasionally, a glaring anomaly arises particularly with a small PLC that falls below most investors' and analysts' radar: private investor John Lee believes Aim-quoted Christie Group to be a classic example.

Christie has steadily developed over the years and is highly regarded within its two principal sectors: professional business services, covering valuing, buying, selling, financing a wide variety of businesses in the leisure, care, retail sectors; and stocktaking and inventory systems and services.

The stocktaking business – number one in the UK, number three in the world, with 11 offices and more than 1,000 employees – has roots going back to 1846. But new clients include Zara, Butlins, Tesco Pharmacy.

Total group revenue increased to £53m for 2011, split broadly equally between the two divisions. With directors and staff owning 65 per cent, marginal profitability and a recent dividend reduction, the shares have come back to 52p, giving a paltry £13m capitalisation. 'So I recently added more at 49p to my already sizeable holding,' says John Lee.

A trade buyer might value Christie at £1 for every pound of turnover – £50m-plus – or four times its present market valuation. But even a more conservative calculation makes a mockery of the present share price.

Indeed, the group floated at 145p in 1988, when it was considerably smaller.



Read more:

[dugganjoe] 07/11/2011 10:46

DTZ collapse

[ddahj] 03/6/2011 11:07

The instruction to sell the von Essen Hotels should be good for Christie. Profits should move up to £1.5m this year and hopefully back around £4m and more as the property market improves.

[jtcod] 10/5/2010 15:36

Hi Edmund

I too held them many years ago but the industry has been hit hard by the banking crises unfortunately. I am not sure similar volumes to 2007 will be seen again this side of a decade.

[edmundshaw] 10/5/2010 15:33

Interesting JT. I used to own this one and still keep one eye on it, for possible future interest.

Maybe one day...

[jtcod] 10/5/2010 11:57

Jones Lang LaSalle has now bought 'GLP Taylors' and more recently 'Pinkertons HealthCare'.




Healthcare is a primary sector for Christies, both in Agency sales and Valuation business. Saville's moved into the sector in a small way a few years ago but JLL's move into the sector will be more worrying imo. CTG have not faced genuine competition from a bigger fish before.

Christies still have the No1 brand in the Healthcare sector and it would not be easy for JLL to surpass CTG in the sector but this is the last thing Christies want to see given the economic climate and now holding depleted balance sheet assets of under £1m. As the sector eventually pick's up, JLL will be chasing for business equally as hard as CTG and their wherewithall to fund marketing in this sector is all the greater (should they decide to use it).

[jtcod] 06/12/2009 20:55

I agree. I said as much in post 349.

[dnfa1975] 06/12/2009 11:05

with no finance generally available, Cristies will be suffering as no one is buying businesses, let alone pubs!!

[jtcod] 06/12/2009 10:14

I hear that one of Christie Groups main competitors GLP Taylors was put into administration last week.

[jtcod] 18/11/2009 17:25

Just been running a rule over the company and I thought I would post here as fwiw I have a fair bit of experience in this sector.

Firstly I must say that I believe Christie Group is a great brand, (as is 'Pinders' their UK small business valuing arm.) The only problem is they trade in a cyclical sector with a typical long-throw business pipeline characteristic. I have seen a couple of big cycles over the last 20+yrs in the sector and one thing that stands out is that all players are heavily reliant upon bank lending. Essentially the banks haven't begun to lend properly again yet. A business transfer agent can take on 300 new pubs to sell but it means nothing if they cannot sell them because buyers cannot raise the funding.

What I think investors should perhaps consider here also is that the 18 months reporting to 6/2009, which has pretty much decimated CTG's balance sheet from £16m assets, has occured 'despite' a good pipeline of business running into that period. Busines Pipelines in the sector are on their knees right now and even in good times they take 9 months to build from a standing start. In bad times it could take 24 months to recover to meaningful levels.

Philip Gwyn is to be congratulated imo for not following the trend in the industry where others ran their balance sheets on empty even through the good times. However, in June 2009 the balance sheet equity was down to £1.3m which is next to nothing compared with a reduced operating overhead still more than 3x this amount 'per month'.

I believe Chisties will survive this market (probably imo after issuing more equity to improve the balance sheet and making a second significant reduction in overhead) and though I believe peak volumes are unlikely to be the same again inside 15yrs, I do believe CTG will gain a bigger market share over the next 2 years as competitors fall by the way side. This should compensate a little as they come out of this slump.

Right now new business transfer buyers in the marketplace are at very low levels also.

As ever all IMHO and DYOR of course

[ddahj] 23/10/2009 13:20

Christie have received a lot of instructions recently

[keane16] 27/8/2009 08:32

are they ISAble?

[cockneyrebel] 27/8/2009 07:56

Business bottomed on Mayday, all the bad in the price now imo

CR

[bell011] 05/8/2009 23:00

over 50% discount to nav; company taken all the relevant cost cutting measures. this share has so little liquidity could easily spike and re-rate further from here. would only take a few more buys.

[gyau] 05/8/2009 08:51

Good results from LSL

[gyau] 04/8/2009 22:12

Over 50p coming and loads of directors buying earlier this year.