European W. Share Discussion Threads

[samuelhogg] 13/7/2009 19:59

Are there any other wine stocks or even a wine fund?
Samuel

[piedro] 10/6/2009 12:52

[ShareScope chart]

[piedro] 08/6/2009 11:34

4. TERMS OF THE LOAN NOTE INSTRUMENT
The Loan Notes will pay interest quarterly in arrears on 30th September, 31st December, 31st March and 30th June in each year at a rate of 8 per cent. per annum. with the first payment being made on 30th September 2009. Any capital or interest which is not paid when due will attract additional interest at a rate of 2 per cent. per annum, which will be compounded on a monthly basis. A minimum subscription of £50,000 is required to subscribe for the Loan Notes.
The Loan Notes are capable of being converted at the discretion of the Loan Note holder at a price of 10 pence per Conversion Share between the period commencing on the third anniversary of the date on which the relevant Loan Notes are issued (as evidenced by the date on the certificate issued in respect of the Loan Notes) and ending on the fifth anniversary of such date (the "Exercise Period").

[piedro] 08/6/2009 11:32

2. DETAILS OF THE PLACING
The Company proposes to raise approximately £1,100,000 (before expenses) through the issue of the Loan Notes at £1 per note (''the Placing Price''). The expenses of the Placing are estimated to be approximately £20,000.
The Company has, conditionally, procured subscribers for the Loan Notes at the Placing Price. The Placing is conditional upon, inter alia, upon Resolutions 5 and 6 being duly passed at the Annual General Meeting. The Placing has not been underwritten and there can be no assurance that it will proceed, or that the total amount sought under the Placing will be raised.
The Company has received commitments from Nigel Wray, Paul Brett and Richard Balfour-Lynn (each being non-executive directors of the Company) to subscribe for £389,840, £249,260 and £126,060 Loan Notes respectively (such Loan Notes being equivalent in percentage terms to their existing shareholdings in the Company of 35.44 per cent., 22.66 per cent. and 11.46 per cent. respectively).

[piedro] 08/6/2009 11:28

1. BACKGROUND TO AND REASONS FOR THE PLACING
Since 2005, the Company has added 100 acres of land under vine with third party growers and, in 2008, the Company acquired 115 acres of prime land in Kent of which 75 acres were planted with vines in May 2009. As a result of these vineyards coming on stream the Company will require significant increases in working capital to fund the increased supply of grapes. The Company intends to raise £1.1 million (before expenses) through the Placing of the Loan Notes.
Any funds raised through the Placing will be used to fund the working capital requirements of the Company, principally, through providing additional working capital to purchase the increased supply of grapes, the acquisition of winery equipment to process them, the improvement of the car park, access road and other facilities at Chapel Down Winery and investments in developing exports and marketing materials.

[chutes01] 06/6/2009 22:03

19 - 21p, no free shares so any purchase moves them up, a director told me a few months ago when price was 15p that English Wines was 'a no brainer'.
As the climate changes, southern English grapes will be the new Champagne region, look at the market cap of the Co. only around £7 Million, the directors hold most of the shares including the serial stake builder Nigel Wray.
DYOR, strong buy ahead of a bonza summer grape crop.

[traderabc] 06/6/2009 09:15

shares up over 10%

What price are they now trading at?

[chutes01] 05/6/2009 22:38

News out today, fund raising to aid expansion, shares up over 10%, Nigel Wray sticking in more funds, looking very good.

[chutes01] 05/6/2009 00:11

Still going up on tiny volume buys.

[chutes01] 29/5/2009 11:56

This is one to watch over the summer, bonza grape crop and demand very strong, nice tick up today on £5k purchase.

[piedro] 28/5/2009 23:35

May 20, 2009
English Wines Reports Excellent Start To 2009 Grape Growing Season
Charles Wyatt
Here is a note just put out by Frazer Thompson, chief executive of English Wines. It is just the sort of thing shareholders in this PLUS listed company need if they are to maintain an interest in shares which have not shown much movement of late. And anyone else who watches the progress of wines made in this country will gain a bit more knowledge of the subject.
"Whilst talk of green shoots in the economy may seem a bit premature the vines havent been paying any attention to our economic maelstrom and have started their journey towards wine excellence in all our supplier and owned vineyards. From Hampshire in the west to Suffolk in the North vineyard owners and managers are toasting a great start to the growing season.

Buds have burst all over England's wine growing region and we'll all be doing what we can to get the best possible fruit and good yields. In tough economic times you can probably understand how frustrating it is for us to have demand continuing to exceed supply as a result of the growing international reputation of our wines and two low quantity harvest in 2007 and 2008. Our apologies for being out of stock of some of your favourites if you are a fan of Flint Dry (ready end of May) or English Rose (see later) but we're just as disappointed.

Spring has been spectacularly beautiful down here in Kent and our vineyards are looking stunning in the May sunshine. For our lucky friends with vine leases, your Bacchus vines are doing very well. Thriving in the May sunshine and overlooked by a mighty oak and a dozen of our neighbours' Alpacas.

And already the rune readers at the Meteorological office are declaring that this will be the best summer for many years. Whilst I'm rarely accused of cynicism, the subliminal message of good times ahead seems a little too obvious. Statistically the omens are good, but some people do have famous last words.

"They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist. . . ." General John Sedgwick, Union Commander died 1864

"I've had eighteen straight whiskies, I think that's the record . . ." Dylan Thomas, poet, died 1953

"He's probably just hibernating. . . "Walt Miller, Alaskan tourist, died 1982

"We can't have another summer as wet as the last two" Frazer Thompson, 2009


... a bit confused as to which parts are of Charles Wyatt and which from Frazer Thompson ... and no clues as to where the original 'note' is to be found... !!!

[piedro] 29/4/2009 10:44

23rd April 2009
ENGLISH WINES GROUP PLC
Audited Final Results to 31st December 2008
English Wines Group Plc (`The Company' or `English Wines') is pleased to
announce its final audited results for the year ending 31st December 2008.
RESULTS FOR THE YEAR
The Group made a pre-tax profit of £105,995 compared with a profit of £157,543
in the previous year.*
Gross profit is up 6% at £1,110,166, a gross profit margin of 48% an increase from 42%.
Overall turnover has fallen 6% to £2,337,041.
The low harvests in 2007 and 2008 have contributed to a 17% decrease in the volume of wine sold. However this was substantially offset by the 8% increase in the average selling price (excluding duty) of wine sold.
This has been somewhat unfortunate at a time of increasing demand for Chapel Down wines, but we have continued to grow our brand profile and quality presence.
Costs have been well managed in a year of increasing raw material and fuel prices. Overall, cost of sales are down 14% principally due to the reduction in wine sold whilst the underlying average cost per bottle is up 1%.
Administration and marketing expenses are up 10% on a like for like basis at £905,201. This is due to higher marketing costs, mainly due to PR activity and marketing support associated with the national retailers.
OPERATIONS
We continue to make good progress on our key targets:-
- Pricing continues to move forward resulting in an 8% increase in average selling price (excluding duty).
- Volumes are being managed to be in line with expectations and maintaining supply to key customers.
- Strong support from D&D (formerly Conran) restaurants, Ramsay Holdings,
known Gary Rhodes, Selfridges, Fortnum and Mason, Konstam, Roast and other
well premium accounts is driving improved awareness and brand profile to our target audience.
- Strong support and interest from key National accounts including Waitrose, Sainsbury and Marks and Spencer with further development opportunities as supply increases.
- Overheads continue to be well controlled
- Press coverage continues to stimulate demand ahead of our ability to supply.
- We continue to seek and attract new growers to supply premium grapes from the most suitable land.
PARTICULAR HIGHLIGHTS IN 2008
We opened "Richard Phillips at Chapel Down" in July. A very high quality
contemporary restaurant reflecting the Chapel Down brand values has been
launched successfully to critical acclaim. This development with Chef Richard
Phillips and his highly professional team significantly enhances the brand
experience at Tenterden which we believe is vital for the brand's long term value.
The acquisition of Kit's Coty is now fully complete and has given the company 116 acres of almost perfect land to plant premium grapes for sparkling wine. We have planted the first 75 acres this year which we expect will start to bear fruit in October 2010.
We have continued to invest in high quality equipment and people. A new labelling and capsuling machine has enabled us to enhance the brand presentation and our high profile has enabled us to attract further talent to the winery as well as the restaurant.
We have despatched our first orders to Hong Kong and we expect further developments in export over the coming year.
RISK AND UNCERTAINTIES
Harvest failure;
The risk of harvest failure is partially mitigated by the spread of contracted
vineyards across the South East of England.
Credit risk;
The group's credit risk is primarily attributable to its trade debtors. Credit
risk is managed by running credit checks on new customers and by monitoring payments against contractual terms.
OUTLOOK
The 2007 and 2008 harvests were affected by the adverse summer weather
conditions. However, although yields were lower than expectations, the fruit was
of high quality, with very good to outstanding white and sparkling wine to come.
New acreage added since 2005 (of 125 acres) is expected to become fully
productive in 2009, enabling us to sell more premium wines from 2011 onwards.
We continue to be approached by existing and new growers seeking to plant more vines for us and demand for our wines from quality sustainable accounts continues to be strong at premium pricing. Therefore, the Board's view is that the medium to long term prospects of the company remain excellent.
Paul Brett, Chairman

[piedro] 09/3/2009 14:45

16.02.09
Director Shareholding
The Company announces that Paul Brett, Non-executive Chairman of the Company, has today purchased 12,000 ordinary shares of English Wines Group plc at 12.5p per share. Following this transaction Paul Brett holds 9,589,780 ordinary shares in the Company or 22.66%.
Following this announcement, the Directors are now directly interested in
29,457,946 Ordinary Shares which represent 69.60% of the issued share capital of the Company
The Directors of the issuer accept responsibility for this announcement.

[piedro] 19/1/2009 11:23

19/12/08
Shareholding Notification
The Company announces that Paul Brett, Non-executive Chairman of the Company, has today purchased 3,300 ordinary shares of English Wines Group plc at 14.5p per share. Following this transaction Paul Brett holds 9,577,780 ordinary shares in the Company or 22.63%.
Following this announcement, the Directors are now directly interested in 29,445,946 Ordinary Shares which represent 69.57% of the issued share capital of the Company
The Directors of the issuer accept responsibility for this announcement.


This is getting ridiculous.
Why would a Director with 9.58m shares buy such a small amount?
It does not inspire me with confidence.

[piedro] 15/12/2008 10:49

... WOW !!! ...

12/12/08
Director Shareholding
The Company announces that Paul Brett, Non-executive Chairman of the Company, has today purchased 3,800 ordinary shares of English Wines Group plc at 13p per share. Following this transaction Paul Brett holds 9,574,480 ordinary shares in the Company or 22.6%.
Following this announcement, the Directors are now directly interested in 29,442,646 Ordinary Shares which represent 69.56% of the issued share capital of the Company
The Directors of the issuer accept responsibility for this announcement.


... another £500's worth ...

[piedro] 30/10/2008 16:55

... very sloppy this company....

If they put forward the farm image it would be acceptable but for the heroes of Rivington Street Holdings, they could at least calculate the % right - I make that 0.0429%

[piedro] 30/10/2008 16:48

24/10/08
Directors Dealings
The Company announces that Frazer Thompson, Managing Director of the Company, has today purchased 4,166 ordinary shares of English Wines Group plc at 12p per share. Following this transaction Frazer Thompson holds 18,166 ordinary shares in the Company or 0.4%.
Following this announcement, the Directors are now directly interested in 29,438,846 Ordinary Shares which represent 69.55% of the issued share capital of the Company.


... £500's worth from the MD ....

[piedro] 30/10/2008 16:38

sharestriker,

On the 23 Oct there was a trade of 90,000 shares @9p - presumably sold

[sharestriker] 24/10/2008 08:51

why the drop?

[piedro] 16/10/2008 22:49

Anna Faelten,

I have put the link in the header.

Not living in the heroes world of Rivington Street Holdings, I would feel more comfortable and confident with my investment in this company if there was less public relations show and more on the planting and production side.

Annual and Interim Reports repeat the same vague phrases about more farmers interested and more acres planted, but there seems to be a deliberate intention on the part of the Directors not to publish these figures. - IMHO

[sharestriker] 16/10/2008 15:12

if you invest do you get 20% off your wines?

[anna faelten] 16/10/2008 14:45

Link to youtube: Frazer Thompson from English Wines, presenting on Trading Places on the 15th of October:

I should declare that English Wines is a corporate client of RRH, for whom I work, and that RSH owns shares in EWG.

Anna Faelten
Rivington Street Holdings

[piedro] 29/9/2008 16:05

23/09/08
INTERIM RESULTS
English Wines Group plc, announces its un-audited interim results for the six months ended 30th june 2008.
SUMMARY
* Pre-tax profit of GBP14,408 compared with a profit of GBP13,057 in the comparative period*
* Turnover up 1% at GBP1,106,820
* Gross profit up 15% at GBP501,782
* Administrative expenses up 19% at GBP457,427
* Average selling price (excluding duty) up 12%
* Overall volumes were down 2%, however sparkling mix increased to 31% from 27%.
* Continue to achieve new brand building premium listings
* Increase in future supply as new premium vineyards start to produce and we attract new growers.
...
Demand for our wines continues to exceed our ability to supply. However, a low volume harvest last year (2007) and a cautious approach to this years harvest means that we are smoothing our stock and therefore we do not expect to show volume growth this year...