Ducat Ventures Share Discussion Threads

[maestro.] 10/10/2004 18:46

short this dog to oblivion now!

[maut too] 10/10/2004 10:41

lol at your fashion sense and colour blindness dreamer old fruit ...I own no cheap suits - white or shiny - last time I attended an agm my wife tells me I wore a casual blue grey Italalian silk/linen suit that is the opposite to shiny ... crumpled maybe but that's the idea:-))



Bonus row rocks Durlacher board
Ben Laurance, Mail on Sunday
10 October 2004

HE controversy that led to the ousting of Durlacher chief executive Christopher Stainforth threatens to embroil non-executive directors of the mini-investment bank.


His departure last week was spurred by shareholder protests about extra payments of £392,000 shared between the Old Etonian and some of his colleagues.

The bonuses were paid for work they did when Durlacher asked investors for £10 million through a share issue last spring.

Investors were not told that part of the cash was going into executives' pockets.

The payments came to light last month when Durlacher issued results - though Stainforth had wanted them kept out of the profit-and-loss account.

Now, major shareholders are demanding to know exactly who approved the bonuses, and who knew that they had been made.

Durlacher refuses to discuss the affair and will not even confirm that Stainforth received part of the money, though he has admitted this himself and is thought to have pocketed £200,000.

But finance director David Liddell, who joined after the fundraising, told Financial Mail last week that he thought the payments had been approved by the three non-executive directors who make up the remuneration committee.

Insiders at the firm now say the payments were approved only 'informally' by the committee. It is not clear whether approval was given by the three members, or by only one or two directors.

And, astonishingly, one report says that the full board was not shown a record of the bonus payments, or of them having been approved. It was only recently, when directors were discussing drafts of Durlacher's figures for the first half of this year for release on September 23, that the full board learned of the bonus payments, according to a source.

At least two of Durlacher's biggest shareholders are now demanding more information about how the payments came to be made. 'It is a matter of principle,' said one of the fund managers* concerned.

The suggestion that the bonuses were approved by the remuneration committee has thrown the spotlight on Durlacher's three non-executive directors. The key figure is chairman Tony Caplin. He is paid £76,000 a year for his non-executive role and also chairs the committee.

The other non-executives who make up the committee are Tory MP Howard Flight and Jack Wigglesworth, former chairman of the Liffe exchange.

Documents last year gave Flight's pay as £25,000. When fund managers wanted to voice their concerns about Stainforth, Flight was their first point of contact. Wigglesworth, 63, is paid £75,000 for his part-time role.

Meanwhile, the position of high-profile socialite Zoe Appleyard, with Durlacher since 2002, is to be reviewed by the bank's new chief executive, Simon Hirst, who took over from Stainforth. Appleyard says she is working on a specific 'collaborative arrangement.'

Appleyard, 31 this week, resigned from Durlacher in June. Since then, she has been employed as a consultant with the firm. She received about £25,000 of the £392,000 spring bonuses. Appleyard said: 'I raised money for Durlacher for which I was remunerated under the terms of my contract'.

Durlacher has been in talks to forge an alliance with highly regarded biotech investment expert Jeremy Curnock Cook. He heads Bioscience Managers, which provides corporate finance advice and runs an investment fund.

[day_dreamer] 06/10/2004 08:56

The only thing which is foolhardy is a person who follows
your tips maut too :

You record is a disaster...how many shares have you tipped
from large prices that have gone to 0/1p now ?

ps...talking to a friend about the Tad AGM, apparently you are
in your late 50's..with grey receding hair and wore a cheap white shiny
suit and this is how you spend each day...arguing on the internet...sad..

Gravy

[maut too] 06/10/2004 08:50

I am surprised you can short such a low cap illiquid company. With the wide spreads and recent falls and bounce it would seem unwise to short - risk is on the upside and with the substantial cash available it seems foolhardy

[michaeld] 06/10/2004 08:46

Time will tell whether the new team are any good at venture capitalism etc; I'm holding.

[mautstwo] 06/10/2004 07:31

Durlatcher, Durlatcher, nope still can`t find that share, perhaps the spelling is that of a 12 year old.

[maut too] 06/10/2004 07:20

Difficult to judge whether they are overpaid or not yet ... clearly this isn't like a Building Society but if they do what they say they can do and are capable of doing we could see a very big return .Look ar EvG for instance .. it is a punt however - high risks and very high rewards - I think we have seen the bottom

[dmhzx] 06/10/2004 07:11

So goodbye then 'not guilty' Stainforth.

All we need now is whiter than white little tramp Charlie Caplin, and tweedle dum & tweedle dee to go, and we might have a company worth investing in.

Mind you even then a loss making outfit paying huge sums to its board members that is still capitalised far above it's total turnover,doesn't look like a very good bargain

[mautstwo] 05/10/2004 17:36

Time to buy Durlatcher

is that `fun`er` menal` spelling

[maut too] 05/10/2004 17:23

I think the shake up has been good overall and maybe impressed on the board they will have to start delivering in a meaninful way

Stainforth quits at Durlacher
5 October 2004, Daily Mail

CHRISTOPHER Stainforth, chief executive of broker Durlacher, has quit with 'immediate effect' after disgruntled investors called for his head.


His departure follows reports that criticised him and his appointment of socialite Zoe Appleyard, whom he recruited to line up corporate finance deals.

Shareholders are fed up that Stainforth has not cut costs as promised. His pay-off is likely to be around £500,000.

Director Simon Hirst takes over as chief executive, while his twin brother Julian takes over as head of corporate finance. The company refused to comment on the reshuffle.

Appleyard's lawyers say she resigned in June but remains a consultant to Durlacher.

Old Etonian Stainforth, who was accused of misleading investors during the Blue Arrow scandal of the late Eighties, joined the company in 2002 when it was worth just £4m and in danger of going bust.

The shares rose 8 1/2p to 78 1/2p on his resignation, valuing the group at £15m.

[mautstwo] 05/10/2004 17:14

`Time to buy Durlatcher `

never heard of them.

[michaeld] 05/10/2004 16:41

Healthy looking trades again today and even some of the apparent 'sells' look as though they might have been buys? Maybe the city likes the Hirst Bros?

[michaeld] 05/10/2004 16:32

I have no complaint with short term buying and selling day-dreamer but large scale shorting relative to a Plc's size can have a detrimental effect on that company and its long term shareholders, especially if several large shorter's are acting in concert. A share price slide can lead to long term shareholders panic selling or 'stop lossing' which further precipitates the slide and can lead to a loss of confidence by suppliers , customers and shareholders etc in severe circumstances (is it about to go bust?). It is also a dangerous practice since say for example the company announces a deal that doubles the shareprice and creates a stock shortage before being suspended? I suppose if you are doing it through CFD's you're protected from that?
Please could the party's involved in the feud on this thread stop it because it is highly irritating to other posters?

[day_dreamer] 05/10/2004 14:03

You should adopt your own words and stop posting on the Tadpole
thread as it's common knowledge you have sold out, you contradict
yourself in every possible way, you stop posting rubbish on the
tadpole thread and i will leave you in peace on all of the threads
that you post on mauty.....easy way out for you ?

Gravy

[mautstwo] 05/10/2004 12:19

NILDES - 5 Oct'04 - 12:39 - 80796 of 80797


Just to clear up an confusion regarding maut too/TT and myself as I don't normally post here.

1. He is not a friend or a former friend

2. He is a liar, cheat and a crook

[troutisout] 05/10/2004 11:51

I always thought it would be nice to read a story about DUC which doesn't mention 'nearly in FTSE100, dot-com riser and faller' or that the CEO was involved in the 'Blue arrow affair',although acquited.
Well at least now one of those can be dropped by journalists.

[mautstwo] 05/10/2004 11:37

maut too - 5 Oct'04 - 09:44 - 171 of 174


Thanks michaeld ... (s)he does seem a little strange and I have notified advfn

[maut too] 05/10/2004 11:15

if we can get back to duc - i note a delayed 100k buy and an f trade 100k buy - more director interest maybe?

two mm's have recently ticked up