Hss Hire Share Discussion Threads

[rumbers2] 30/8/2017 19:45

I totally agree with your analysis Graham but one other factor in the equation is Toscafund, who have been fervently buying both SDY and HSS long-term, and from memory have at least a 20% stake in each. They have the support of one or two other major institutional shareholders too such as Schroders who last year supported Tosca in their bid to oust Speedy's Astrand. That's another 10% of the shares tops but combined gives them quite a lot of voting clout.
Tosca will be fighting tooth and nail for a merger or takeover because If HSS goes to the wall they will lose an absolute fortune.Remember too Tosca now have their own guy David Shearer at Speedy to help facilitate the changes they desire.

[grahamg8] 30/8/2017 17:54

Got excited thinking Standard Life/Aberdeen were big buyers on the drop in price. But it is all due to their merger.

Would Speedy buy HSS? Perhaps the better question is 'why would Speedy buy HSS?' If one of your competitors was in big trouble how do you take advantage. Well I think the last thing to do is launch a rescue take over bid. Drive your rival into the dust with a spate of special deals, cherry pick the major accounts. Wait until said competitor goes bust then pick up spare equipment and selected branches at a knock down price.

Unfortunately I have rather more shares than I want right now. If a white knight is unlikely can HSS save itself? Some vicious pruning needed before the business bleeds to death.

[rumbers2] 30/8/2017 10:29

Speedy Hire could make an opportunistic bid for HSS, analyst suggests

Neil Wilson, senior market analyst at ETX Capital said while Steve Ashmore (HSS Hire Chief Executive) is trying to turnaround the business, conditions remain challenging and investors are losing patience.

The analyst added that perhaps it may be time to revive talks for a merger with Speedy Hire, which has made a recovery following a troubled few years with pre-tax profit of £14.4mln last year on a 12% increase in revenues.

In its latest trading update Speedy said full-year results would be well ahead the previous year.

“Diverging fortunes could bring the two together after a failed attempt back in 2015,” said Wilson. “An opportunistic bid could work, particularly with the market cap of HSS temptingly low.”

[pugugly] 30/8/2017 09:21

jonwig: Thanks - I had not had time to cover the small print when posting above - Had been looking far more at teh business model which still seems broken - hence comment re receiver.

[jonwig] 30/8/2017 09:11

PUG - Negative tangible assets (£54m), though they say they have considered the loan covenants and are reasonably certain that they can continue as a going concern for the forseeable future.

The key might be the £134m of senior secured notes which looks to me like a debt-for-equity swap if H2 doesn't show a marked improvement.

I can't find any short interest here.

[rumbers2] 30/8/2017 09:08

I think Toscafund were the only buyers supporting the share price over last year with their persistent purchases. What on earth is there plan now? Maybe they are still buying.
What percentage do they own now?

[pugugly] 30/8/2017 08:14

Negatives really kicking in - Firesale for whole company must now be a possibility or is the UK over supplied in this market place and best for competitors to let go bust and possilby pick up a few key outlets from the receiver -

Still very much a bear.

[grahamg8] 30/8/2017 07:59

Well I wasn't expecting much but those H1 results look about as bad as they could get. They seem to be grasping at straws to find any hints of hope.

[pugugly] 02/8/2017 07:39

More bad news for the sector today. So what read across to HSS-


The HSS dog ought to have been put down but virtually no trade action - anyone any thoughts on residual value ?

[pugugly] 22/5/2017 09:36

HSS Hire Group plc ("HSS") is pleased to announce that Steve Ashmore will join the Group as Chief Executive Officer on 1 June 2017.

" 19 October 2016 Brammer plc ("Brammer" or the "Group") Directorate Change
Brammer announces that Steve Ashmore has stepped down from the Board as an Executive Director with immediate effect."
A very blund statement - No thanks - no kind words - etc - anyone know how the man is regarded in the industry ? Certaily has had an interesting history.

Certainly had not been at Brammer for long - but the sink may have been sinking before he joined and there was nothing he could do to save it.

" 8 March 2016 Brammer plc Appointment of New Executive Director

Brammer plc, Europe's leading distributor of quality industrial maintenance, repair and overhaul products ("MRO"),is pleased to announce the appointment of Steve Ashmore as an Executive Director of the Company with effect from 4(th) April 2016. Steve joins the Company's Board as Regional Managing Director with responsibility for our operations in UK, Ireland and Iceland.

Steve has considerable operational and commercial experience and has held a variety of leadership positions throughout his career including, most recently, Managing Director of Wolseley UK, the UK operating company of Wolseley plc, having been appointed to that the role in 2010.

[jonboy9] 03/5/2017 19:02

Been in this shower since the IPO. Certainly hope there is a merger with speedy hire on the horizon so that I can only lose half my money rather than the 3 quarters currently.

[effortless cool] 27/5/2016 14:08

Seems directors can't get shot of shares quick enough?

[rumbers2] 25/5/2016 10:34

From Motley Fool:

Shares in equipment hire firm HSS Hire Group (LSE: HSS) fell by more than 5% this morning, despite the firm’s assurances that Q1 trading was in line with expectations.

I suspect that investors selling the shares are concerned about the group’s debt situation. The firm announced the appointment of a new chief financial officer today, alongside news that its net debt rose from £218m to £234m over the last three months.

Based on the firm’s 2015 results, this means that HSS’s net debt is worth more than the £183m value of its property, plant and equipment. The firm’s net debt of £234m is also nearly 20 times this year’s forecast profit of £12m.

These figures suggest to me that HSS could find it difficult to repay or refinance its borrowings. A rights issue or placing to make the firm’s debt more sustainable is a definite risk.

For this reason I don’t think HSS is an attractive buy at the moment. The shares could have further to fall.

[rumbers2] 13/5/2016 09:22

Aside from the usual merger speculation there was a rumour last December that HSS was fighting off the predatory attentions of Ashtead.
Any bidder for Speedy would not come cheap. Toscafund would probably want close to the March 2014 peak of 83p before agreeing to any deal.

[gasman10] 13/5/2016 08:11

Speedy by my last calculation were 51% owned by funds if you include Tosca's holding. I think 51% of hss is still in private hands with equity group. Tosca buying on behalf of someone else or just speculative accumulation??

[rumbers2] 13/5/2016 07:36

Yet Speedy's share price is languishing. It's abysmal.It announces it's full year results next Tuesday - when things could get a bit lively!

[gasman10] 13/5/2016 06:18

Yes because of the Tosca fund buying and not dead rumours of a merger with Speedy. People are loading up thinking that Tosca funds buying of both hss and speedy might have something to do with it.

[battlebus2] 12/5/2016 20:16

Incredibly these are back over the £1 mark.

[wikroberts] 19/2/2016 08:02

Yes, maybe everyone who posts here lies. Maybe even the moderator of this board was making his trades up. Maybe the moon is made from green cheese.

[blondeamon] 17/2/2016 14:53

Odd that you believe what anyone posts on a the biggest troll-forum in the world and not a website that tracks official data from the biggest funds in the market. But whatever rocks your boat.

[wikroberts] 17/2/2016 13:56

Odd that you think that the shorttracker site is fully accurate, despite its disclaimers.

What we know for certain is that shorters posted on this board, and this share offered ample opportunity for them to profit from June to December. From here I believe that they have nothing to gain, and a lot to lose.