in for a few today fingers crossed |
DBay continue to buy and are up above 28% with 16.45m shares:
With Artemis now at almost 15% the two of them own 43% between them. |
RNS - DBay have just bought more than 1m new shares - they now have 16.37m shares, or almost 28%...they'll have to put in a bid soon at this rate! |
Hadn't bothered reading the RNS re the new NED appointed whilst I was on hols until now. Very interesting indeed.
Not only is he a representative of DBay (who now own more than 26%), but "His background includes several years at Havas SA where he was a member of the Executive Committee and was Worldwide CEO of Marketing Services based in New York".
My earlier comments about CRE being sold/subject to corporate action are even more valid after this appointment. |
RNS - DBay have bought almost another 600,000 shares - they have more than 26%...
DBay and Artemis now own almost 41% between them.
If I was a betting man I'd say CRE will be sold within a reasonable period of time. Their blue chip client base - with an average retention time of 20 years - will be a tempting morsel. |
Madengland
"With so many separate companies bought, previously led by entrepreneurs who are long since gone with payouts, and a philosophy of paying top dollar to the top brass (for achieving very little), "
got my vote
difficult sector imo for investors......the stars at creating ideas and slogans etc.....know who they are....and why work for X per year when they can set up on own and get much more...they dont need to build factories or invest millions in R & D (except for the digital section perhaps)....so they can extort the mega salary they want, reduce company profit or can leave....with risk that clients impressed by them might also leave.... |
So that probably means £1.50 :-) |
With so many separate companies bought, previously led by entrepreneurs who are long since gone with payouts, and a philosophy of paying top dollar to the top brass (for achieving very little), it's hard to see how Creston will bring in the talent to generate any buzz at the level that counts. When your strategy is to buy revenue generated by people behind desks, don't be surprised when the desk alone generates little leadership or revenue. I suspect this is no short haul and with a softening economy some painful decisions needed. Heading to 50p or lower. |
So Dbay wanted some blood, and took the non exec chair out, putting one of their men on the board to "observe". The strategy is not working then, it's official. Time BB went also. These should go lower I'd expect |
Cheers MaG - I concur! |
Maybe at 80p, or if BB actually delivers any results. Certainly not at 106p |
This was it
CRE doesn't make sense - it's market cap is £60m and it comprises of 30 operating units (29 agencies and an HQ)
This means the value of each agency is about £2m (tiny)
It employs 900 staff so rev/employee is about £67k
Cello's rev/emp is double Creston
Someone tell me where the value is! |
Not sure what your question was.I would love to see the ratio of directors renumeration to sales per employee.My suspicion is the much lauded "synergy" strategy invented by Don "no returns for shareholders but plenty for me" Elgie and then continued by Barrie "no change here then" Brien is an illusion.Clearly only the BOD benefit. The shareholders pay, the employees load around with not enough work to do most of the time, probably lacking clarity of strategy and motivation/inventive. |
Can someone answer my question above please? |
 With DBay and Artemis now owning 40% between them I suspect CRE may become a bid target before too long given their fantastic - and longstanding - blue chip client base.
Forecasts have now settled at consensus of:
year ending soon (31/3): 11.1p EPS, 4.3p dividend
next year : 11.95p EPS, 4.55p dividend
News of a new partnership:
"2 February 2016 - 10:41am | posted by Stephen Lepitak
Creston agrees partnership with Ariadna Group helping it grow into LatAm
Creston Unlimited and Latin America-based Ariadna Holding Group have agreed a partnership to allow both to grow their international standing.
The agreement between the two marketing communications groups will enable them to make the most of each other's local expertise for existing clients across the UK, US and Latin America, with joint pitches being enabled across global opportunities.
Creston Unlimited, which owns agencies such as Nelson Bostock and TMW, shares major clients such as Diageo, Nissan, Toyota and Unilever with The Ariadna Group already. The pair also hold relationships with German network Serviceplan as well.
Barrie Brien, chief executive of Creston’s Group, reiterated the partnership lets the company grow into the Latin American region and said that it was "thrilled".
Juan David Pinzon, Ariadna Holding Group’s president and chief executive , added: “After a successful European partnership with Serviceplan, we’re extending our service offering across the UK and US with Creston Unlimited. As a specialist in Latin American marketing, this enables us to take our most successful campaign ideas global. With a similar dedication to unlocking the power of technology to meet client challenges, Creston Unlimited is the natural partner for Ariadna.”
The Ariadna Group, which offers a range of marketing services such as creative, media, tech and strategy, was founded in 1999 and has 350 staff across 10 countries.
Last week, Creston announced a number of new client wins within the group, including contracts with Vodafone, British Airways and Weetabix. " |
Good point..
..one risk always exists for such companies with big fixed costs...stumble and profit gets nailed due to X expensive staff without work for Z weeks
Value of agencies within Creston.....Ive no idea on that....long history of Creston buying agencies at high prices....(imho USA acquisitions were an absolute disaster....arguably gross or willful negligence imho )
and closing some badly performing ones.....and using up the cash generated..
---
Bit strange imo that your turnover per employee value is so low when 50% or so of turnover is in digital sector !!!!...(operating campaigns via internet and social media should allow a few skilled digital workers to manage high value campaigns..imo..)
---
I assume that last MD is enjoying spending the 6M he made at Creston.... |
CRE doesn't make sense - it's market cap is £60m and it comprises of 30 operating units (29 agencies and an HQ)
This means the value of each agency is about £2m (tiny)
It employs 900 staff so rev/employee is about £67k
Cello's rev/emp is double Creston
Someone tell me where the value is! |
personally have tucked a few TMMG away instead, cheaper rating IMO and at least they deliver! or so far anyway,....DYOR... |
Always nice to have friendly owners! |
RNS - Artemis have bought another 1.12m shares, and are now up to 8.64m, or 14.7%:
DBay and Artemis now own 40% of the shares between them.
I just wonder if they'll begin to agitate for a sale of the company given the strength of their combined position. |
Good luck Riv, I will buy if they drop further but hope they don't. Never really one for Hoping to see a share go down. |
The two latest forecasts average at what will soon be a historic 11.1p EPS, with 11.95p EPS to March'17.
The dividend yield of more than 4% should also nicely support the share price:
2016 2017
Date Rec Pre-tax (£) EPS (p) DPS (p) Pre-tax (£) EPS (p) DPS (p)
N+1 Singer 27-01-16 HOLD 9.50 10.90 4.40 10.17 11.50 4.70
Edison 27-01-16 None 9.50 11.30 4.20 10.50 12.40 4.40
Liberum have a new 150p target price (down from 170p): |
yes worth IMO a closer read. I think more could come out in Q1 calendar 16 IMO given that statement it just reads very nervously.....compare to CELLO however which I am invested in and I know which one I would rather be in....good luck, will wait and see how CRE unfolds Q1 before making any decisions, have been in and out before but a serial disappointer IMO... |
Riv, commiserations on this one, it is as you say typical Cre. Maybe the strategy that BB has tried to flog under different words than Elgie just does not work. At least the purchases of late have been better prices than some of Elgies deals. Is this price reaction over done? Not sure, think this could now drop further. I may buy then but purely as a trade as oppose to having any faith in management. |
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