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| Share Name | Share Symbol | Market | Stock Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debt Free Dir. | DFD | London | Ordinary Share |
| Price Change | Price Change % | Share Price | Last Trade
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.00 | 0.00% | 175.50 | 01:00:00 |
| Open Price | Low Price | High Price | Close Price | Previous Close |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 175.50 | 175.50 |
| Top Posts |
|---|
Posted at 08/10/2007 13:28 by bigbobjoylove The TimesOctober 7, 2007 DebtMatters LAST week was a bloodbath for shares in debt-adviser groups. DebtMatters put itself on the block after it warned that competition and the hardening attitude of banks to individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs) had in effect scuppered its business model. DebtMatters shares dived 73% on Monday. Shares in the rival Accuma plummeted 23%, those of market leader Debt Free Direct 29% and Debts.co.uk's stock fell 21%. Debt Free Direct shares are down 65% from a year ago. Accuma has lost over 92%. Debt Free Direct tried to put on a brave face, arguing it did not share concerns that IVAs were becoming unprofitable. IVAs, where borrowers can write off a substantial portion of debt in return for set repayments, have boomed in recent years. They do have a role, but right now the industry looks decidedly shaky. Some banks have refused to use IVAs. The Insolvency Exchange has made big changes to the criteria used by practitioners when they recommend IVAs. The British Bankers' Association is screwing down the costs that IVA providers can charge. There are similarities with the showdown a few years ago between accident-management groups and insurers. The IVA industry will be hoping that it, too, can reach a compromise, regroup and rebuild, but it will be a long slog. I have warned before that shares in debt advisers are hugely risky. Last week underlined that the IVA market is toxic. Any investor foolish enough to have hung on should get out swiftly. |
Posted at 17/9/2007 11:47 by shrewd_n_sharp I have started to look at their website and have seen the following excerpt, which is interesting."We invest through Hanover's managed Funds, and through Single Purpose Vehicles in special situations. Our investors are professionally-manag So would it not be fair to say they are managing through a fund, and not as a focussed management team? i.e. DFD is just one of many investments? Have to be corrected. "Hanover typically invests where underperformance can be attributed to company-specific operating and management issues, rather than to market or sector weakness. Often these situations are created by some combination of inadequate capital, unsuccessful acquisitions, misallocation of resources, loss of shareholder confidence or ineffective restructuring." So perhaps they also see this as a special situation/turnaround |
Posted at 13/9/2007 11:15 by shrewd_n_sharp sat69 - no, absolutely not. Simon posts under hiw own name and is big enough to do so. He has made his personal fortune backing his beliefs. I am not in his category. Unfortunately.I have given you my valid reasons though. I have even shown you where to get the information to see with your own eyes, I could hardly be more helpful. My argument is factual, not one of spite. Nor do I believe are his motives one of spite, but alerting people who may now have that depth of investment knowledge. As for "going bust" we are not at that point yet, but it may happen if the company does not convert a higher percentage of that profit into cashflow. Surely, you can understand that if the company's expenses are exceeding its cashflow is a dangerous situation. So far it has only managed to fund this expansion by getting investors to part with their money in the open market, diluting their share value in the process. Now that the market does not have the appetite for it, if the directors don't put more of their own money in, and if people don't buy the shares at the next listing then this company could be in trouble. |
Posted at 17/8/2007 07:14 by sat69 RNS Number:2963CDebt Free Direct Group PLC 17 August 2007 DEBT FREE DIRECT GROUP PLC HANOVER SHAREHOLDING AND PROPOSED APPOINTMENT OF NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Debt Free Direct Group (DFD), the leading debt advice and solutions company, is pleased to confirm that Hanover Investors (Hanover) is now a significant shareholder with a stake of 18%. |
Posted at 14/8/2007 18:28 by sat69 LOL Don! - Those are clearly buys at 291p/292p, but alas, my pockets are not that deep! The amazing thing is that it may well be the case that it is not the company doing their share buyback, as the total they were going to buyback was only 4.5 mill, whereas the total traded today comes to over 7 mill shares. Is somebody stakebuilding? I'm expecting an rns release either tomorrow or Thursday - that should clear up who is behind the two massive buys.Simon, the buying is probably ahead of the generous 3p divi (which you will be paying and I will be receiving tomorrow!) and also short sellers closing their positions ahead of the share buyback of 4.5 million shares, which is still to take place. Not forgetting that the selling has clearly been overdone, so punters are simply buying into a company at a very cheap price! I expect you are still sitting on a tidy profit and you can still afford to keep your short position open. That profit is slowly being eroded away, and I truly believe will become a loss unless you close your position quickly. Mind you, I don't expect an experienced investor like your goodself to take my advise. However, I do promise I will not say 'I told you so' when I'm proved right in the very near future! sat |
Posted at 25/6/2007 15:35 by aatw5295 Do you not think the previous results of other debt companies has already been factored into the share price of DFD, debts co uk etc etc IMO its the simple case of too many shorters for the share price to gather significant pace. Are the investors to nervous to wait for a solid return or do they have too little faith in the comapany and indeed sector and therefore take profit when its available. Must admit todays drop is a bit of a suprise though, intraday or not. needsless to say IMHO |
Posted at 25/3/2007 12:20 by g1ll1s I wet to master investor 2007 yesterday (24/03/07) and spoke with TW regarding his shorting of this stock. He has a friend who had a bad experience with an IVA company and I think his shorting is more personal than maybe logical. He also said that there are IVA companies that are mis-selling and there will be a scandal in the future quite like the mis-selling of endowment mortgages. I tried to persuade him that DFD are the market leaders and are pushing for regulation, but he still seemed to be convinced that all IVA companies are the same and that they should be advising more bankrupcies instead of IVA's in many cases. Also thought the banks are not going to budge in their stance against IVA companies, but I think they will at some point have to negotiate the fees with the IVA companies because of the larger amount of people who will be getting into debt. |
Posted at 24/3/2007 08:56 by sat69 Just realised why we had the drop on Friday guys. They are announcing their interim results on Monday 26 March. Nervous investors selling because of the expected bad news. My guess is that we will have a big rise, as the bad news is already in the price. I'm expecting a good forward looking announcement stating the measures taken place to increase sales are already showing early signs of bearing fruit.Sure to see a big swing on Monday (hopefully upwards) sat |
Posted at 27/1/2007 09:49 by pork belly The IndependentDebt advice firms go into meltdown By James Daley Published: 27 January 2007 Investors in debt management companies hit the panic button yesterday, after one of the sector's leading operators issued a shock profits warning. Shares in Accuma, which specialises in organising Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs) for people who can no longer pay their debts, slumped by more than a half while shares in other quoted debt advice companies also fell sharply. Debt Free Direct (DFD), the largest company in the sector, followed Accuma's lead, issuing its own profits warning after the market had closed. IVAs are agreements between borrowers and creditors, which allow individuals to write off a substantial proportion of their debts, without having to go into bankruptcy. The agreements must be approved by 75 per cent of creditors, by value, for them to become legally binding. A number of lenders, including HSBC, have expressed concerns that customers are being pushed into IVAs when they are unsuitable, and have threatened to block many of the agreements. Accuma warned investors that its profits would come in below expectations, because a small but increasing number of creditors were failing to approve its IVAs. The company also said it had suffered from increased competition, adding that a poor marketing strategy in the first half of its financial year had also added to its misfortune. An hour after issuing its statement, it released another revealing that its finance director had quit. DFD echoed Accuma's comments in a more detailed trading update issued half an hour after the market closed. "It is clear that creditor comment in recent months has impacted on confidence in the valuation of IVA stocks. It is difficult to measure whether this has led to any loss in consumer confidence, as some commentators have predicted. Whilst we are not strong supporters of that view, it is apparent that changing creditor criteria for acceptance of an IVA is having an impact." The company went on to say, however, that it expected "peace will break out" in the market over the coming months. "The difference between the 'good', the 'bad' and the 'ugly' debt advisers will become more apparent and the 'good' will prosper," it added. Its shares are expected to fall again sharply on Monday morning, when its other rivals will be expected to provide their own updates to the market. Accuma's statements spooked investors in companies across the sector yesterday, heightening fears that lenders have begun acting on their threats to put the squeeze on the IVA industry. Last year, the British Bankers' Association mystery-shopped a number of lenders, discovering that many customers were being told they could "walk away" from 75 to 80 per cent of their debts using IVAs. As a result, the trade organisation organised emergency talks with the industry to try to raise standards. Eric Leenders, an executive director for the BBA, said: "We have absolutely nothing against IVAs whatsoever. But we have to be clear that if you were to go to the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS), which is a not-for-profit organisation, they would say that IVAs are the appropriate tool in just 3 to 5 per cent of cases." The CCCS is set to launch its own IVA service in April, which could add to the woes of its profit-making competitors. Furthermore, the OFT launched an inquiry last week into advertising standards in the sector. |
Posted at 27/1/2007 09:34 by maxk Debt advice firms go into meltdown By James Daley Published: 27 January 2007 Investors in debt management companies hit the panic button yesterday, after one of the sector's leading operators issued a shock profits warning. Shares in Accuma, which specialises in organising Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs) for people who can no longer pay their debts, slumped by more than a half while shares in other quoted debt advice companies also fell sharply. Debt Free Direct (DFD), the largest company in the sector, followed Accuma's lead, issuing its own profits warning after the market had closed. IVAs are agreements between borrowers and creditors, which allow individuals to write off a substantial proportion of their debts, without having to go into bankruptcy. The agreements must be approved by 75 per cent of creditors, by value, for them to become legally binding. A number of lenders, including HSBC, have expressed concerns that customers are being pushed into IVAs when they are unsuitable, and have threatened to block many of the agreements. Accuma warned investors that its profits would come in below expectations, because a small but increasing number of creditors were failing to approve its IVAs. The company also said it had suffered from increased competition, adding that a poor marketing strategy in the first half of its financial year had also added to its misfortune. An hour after issuing its statement, it released another revealing that its finance director had quit. DFD echoed Accuma's comments in a more detailed trading update issued half an hour after the market closed. "It is clear that creditor comment in recent months has impacted on confidence in the valuation of IVA stocks. It is difficult to measure whether this has led to any loss in consumer confidence, as some commentators have predicted. Whilst we are not strong supporters of that view, it is apparent that changing creditor criteria for acceptance of an IVA is having an impact." The company went on to say, however, that it expected "peace will break out" in the market over the coming months. "The difference between the 'good', the 'bad' and the 'ugly' debt advisers will become more apparent and the 'good' will prosper," it added. Its shares are expected to fall again sharply on Monday morning, when its other rivals will be expected to provide their own updates to the market. Accuma's statements spooked investors in companies across the sector yesterday, heightening fears that lenders have begun acting on their threats to put the squeeze on the IVA industry. Last year, the British Bankers' Association mystery-shopped a number of lenders, discovering that many customers were being told they could "walk away" from 75 to 80 per cent of their debts using IVAs. As a result, the trade organisation organised emergency talks with the industry to try to raise standards. Eric Leenders, an executive director for the BBA, said: "We have absolutely nothing against IVAs whatsoever. But we have to be clear that if you were to go to the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS), which is a not-for-profit organisation, they would say that IVAs are the appropriate tool in just 3 to 5 per cent of cases." The CCCS is set to launch its own IVA service in April, which could add to the woes of its profit-making competitors. Furthermore, the OFT launched an inquiry last week into advertising standards in the sector. |
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