Gvc Share Discussion Threads

[srpactive] 17/11/2017 09:20

L

They want to close them all and turn them into accommodation.

Homes for people and the internet for gamblers via gvc.

[loganair] 17/11/2017 09:18

In my local town centre there are two Corals and a Ladbrokes and therefore I can see if the company is taken over there will be a good number of the retail outlets closed, maybe at least 1/3rd of them.

I understand that the average lease length of Ladbrokes/Corals retail shops is only 3.6 years.

[noujay] 17/11/2017 09:15

Well I hope it hits a tenner for you woodhawk but usually it seems to me that if there's real substance to "rumours" then prices tend to react fast and aggressively from the off.

[srpactive] 17/11/2017 09:11

Bit of movement at hgm if anyone interested, dyor.

[woodhawk] 17/11/2017 09:05

Early days yet, Noujay. PFC is currently up 5% after only an hour. And GVC only took off in the last hour last night.

[noujay] 17/11/2017 08:52

Quiet here too, no doubt a few over at Petrofac wondering why it hasn't hit £5 yet

[mylands] 17/11/2017 08:47

So much for the high priced after hours trades last night pushing the share price up this morning. The exact reverse appears to be happening. Once again attempting to read the tea leaves has proven to be a waste of time, although a bit of fun!

Still, we are holding around the 910p mark and with the market down on the day that's pretty good in my book.

[loganair] 16/11/2017 22:19

Are we reaching the endgame for the Ladbrokes Life?

Ladbrokes Coral was understandably keen to accentuate the positives from this week’s third-quarter trading statement saying it represented “another positive period” for the group as a whole and adding that the digital performance was “strong.”;

This is true to an extent but it doesn’t convey the whole online picture. Yes, parts of the business are doing very well indeed; Ladbrokes Australia, for instance, enjoyed continuing revenue growth of 50 percent while sports-betting at Eurobet.it was up 36 percent.

From there, though, the sliding scale of the figures starts to take on a more negative aspect and also poses questions about the twin brand strategy employed by the business since the merger was completed a year ago.

The Coral.co.uk business fared OK in the period, up 13 percent overall and Galabingo.com also grew 10 percent, although the overall Gala operation saw revenue growth come in 3 percent up with the company blaming a £1m jackpot payout on Galacasino.com for the lacklustre top-line number.

The picture becomes murkier still when it gets to the Ladbrokes.com business where net revenue was down 9 percent thereby offsetting the Coral gains.

The company came up with a pick-and-mix menu of reasons behind the backwards step.

Variously, the numbers have been affected by changes in its marketing efforts with the focus turning to improved returns on acquisition and retention (which indicates the degree to which the company was buying players this time last year); the operation suffered as new product and feature enhancements were suspended in the first half as the Ladbrokes.com operation was transferred to the ‘one digital platform’; and finally there was a “significant reduction” in affiliate marketing activities over the period (with the looming verdict of the Competition and Markets Authority decision likely to be playing a part here).

The problem for the Ladbrokes Coral management team is that these explanations don’t do much to convince that the brand is able to compete with the market leaders in the UK. As was demonstrated last week by the results of the twin goliaths of the UK market, Sky Betting & Gaming and bet365, the growth at the top is far outstripping that of those further down the ladder.

Both Ladbrokes and Coral are falling further behind even as they attempt to play catch up. Hence, the question whether the corporate entity has the wherewithal to be able to keep pushing its own twin brand strategy in the face of these competitive pressures.

At the time of the merger it was clear that for all intents and purposes this was a “blue takeover” with the Coral management holding the whip hand and the old Ladbrokes being subsumed within the new organisation. This included the notable closure of the Ladbrokes old head office in Rayners Lane in favour of a move to the new Coral HQ in Stratford, east London.

While it was Ladbrokes’ Jim Mullen who got the chief executive post in the merger, much of the rest of the top management and board were from Coral. This includes the financial director Paul Bowtell, Andy Hornby, the chief operating officer, and chairman John Kelly who was previously chief executive at Gala Coral when that was founded in 1997.

Review will not be kind:

Meanwhile, the company awaits the verdict of the government’s triennial review which Paul Leyland, partner at gambling consultancy Regulus Partners, suggests could deal a significant blow to the business.

“Our concern remains that a DCMS review toward the negative end (below £30) remains both likely and of greater disruption than the industry is expecting,” he said. “Further, if this disruption is impacting a weaker underlying business than recent momentum might suggest (including Ladbrokes online marketing), then its effect could be substantially compounded.”

The rationalisation of the retail business that will necessarily take place following the review will move Ladbrokes Coral in a new direction once again, possibly into the arms of an acquirer with GVC looking like the most likely candidate.

The latter business has itself been pursuing a multi-brand strategy with some success and there are obvious reasons to think it would continue with the same strategy were it to buy Ladbrokes Coral.

The success of the name in Australia, meanwhile, will mean the Ladbrokes name will certainly live on somewhere around the globe. But in the UK things are looking bleaker.

A new corporate entity might see the Ladbrokes name disappear from the listed space while substantial post-review shop closures might make a dual high-street brand strategy less appealing. In such circumstances it is possible to envision a new owner deciding it was time for the Magic Sign to vanish in a puff of smoke and, no doubt, a welter of recriminations from old company hands.

[srpactive] 16/11/2017 22:12

Well I think hgm at 210p, is very likely, dyor.

[garycook] 16/11/2017 22:01

It only needs 888,GVC,HGM ITV,and PFC,take overs,for the 5 Card trick,and I will be a Millionaire Rodders.

[srpactive] 16/11/2017 21:54

Well done all, you are all very good.

[garycook] 16/11/2017 21:12

Me too.Purchased 5,600 Shares in PFC,and 3,300 in 888.Looking forward to tomorrow.Could be Xmas come early.

[coxsmn] 16/11/2017 20:48

Woodhawk's on a roll!

[woodhawk] 16/11/2017 20:38

Look like I'm already in for a big score with PFC tomorrow!! GVC too would be the proverbial icing on the cake!! All I need now is a bid for GSK.....

[trentendboy] 16/11/2017 20:31

All kicking off in the sector. No doubt corporate action will kick off soon.Was tempted to open a bunch of sector spreadbets but missed it

[coxsmn] 16/11/2017 20:26

Very large late buys £6m+.

[woodhawk] 16/11/2017 19:48

mylands,

Yes interesting - didn't notice the other Conditional trades also at 916p after-hours.

Let's see what tomorrow brings... will we end the week with a bang (or a bid)?

Off-topic - but I know, like me, some of you are into them - 600p bid rumoured by Telegraph for PFC (50% premium on current price)

[mylands] 16/11/2017 19:39

Woodhawk

Not the UT but the price it and other large after hours trades were done at. All at 916p well above the closing market price. That's very unusual and shows the market wants the stock and is is prepared to pay over the odds.

[noujay] 16/11/2017 19:30

I would suggest that given Lads is likely to suffer to at least some extent he doesn't want GVC dragged down in sympathy, as let's face it this wouldn't be the most stunning deal he could potentially do on the face of it unless it goes for an absolute song which it won't.GVC does have plenty of debt plus a committed dividend policy so at least some portion of any large deal will be in shares, therefore no benefit to being caught in a drag as it compromises their value against potential other targets.Likewise Lads CEO has suggested they have their own plans which I think is positive.Just thoughts anyway.

[woodhawk] 16/11/2017 18:55

Why the excitement about a UT trade, mylands? I was surprised at the price, but I'm no expert.

But I'm intrigued. Does Kenny actually want out? Turkey is sold to clear the decks then he says the way is open for a bid... just after he has said that EBITDA will double organically in 4 years anyway...

He also implied in his quote that is wasn't necessary to sell Turkey off to placate Lads - because it could have been resolved anyway ("“Turkey was an issue that I feel we could have resolved (with Ladbrokes),)”.

So, if it wasn't sold as a sop to LADs nor presumably anyone else (lesser than LADS), then it was done to facilitate a bid for GVC.

So, is he actively now fishing for a bid?

[mylands] 16/11/2017 18:48

Fest

That looks very much like a sign that something is about to be announced and its leaked into the market at the close. Exciting times!

[woodhawk] 16/11/2017 16:44

Priced at 916p?

[festario] 16/11/2017 16:36

What about THAT for a UT !

[srpactive] 16/11/2017 16:17

M

Thinking about the US awarding states the power to online,
the more I feel PS are coming for gvc, and very soon imho, dyor.