Lakehouse Share Discussion Threads

[diduno] 02/11/2017 10:01

Does Napoleon 14th have any substantive evidence of what Bob Holt is saying to prospective clients or is what he says pure hypothesis on his part?

It appears from the the link below that Mears also had a 'rogue employee'. A member of staff made allegations of corruption although they turned out to be unproven/unsubstantiated.


However, from the Hackney Citizen article it appears that Mr Holt is accepting that such 'rogue employees' existed at Lakehouse, although there is no indication of at what level within the company. The higher up, I would think the more serious this will be for Lakehouse.

It must be accepted that Lakehouse plc is responsible for whatever criminal activity, if any, the rogue employees got up to. Undoubtedly we will find out in due course but it does appear to something rather serious to have been under investigation for 3 years and continues to be under investigation. Should this turn out to be a serious fraud, Lakehouse plc will, I would suggest, ultimately pay the price in terms of compensation and loss of reputation etc. Mr Holt will be unable to prevent whatever fate, if any, awaits Lakehouse.

[hybrasil] 02/11/2017 08:51

Bob Holt has his hands full here and at totally

[napoleon 14th] 31/10/2017 10:54

Trendwatch has a full page write-up on LAKE.
Headline is "The man who made MEARS a £0.5bn firm now heads Lakehouse".
They mean Bob Holt OBE, whose standing is beyond dispute, & who is probably saying to prospective customers - "Forget the past; we're cleaning up on that.
Now I'm in charge, this company is going to change without delay".
His comment in the last RNS - "With a clear growth strategy and enhanced balance sheet, the Group looks forward to the future with considerable confidence."
I suspect he can do it.
Thinking of buying.....

[diduno] 29/10/2017 10:35

The link below from Hackney Citizen confirms Lakehouse appointment for the £5m installation of communal heating to 703 flats. Evidently Lakehouse was the only bidder and Hackney awarded it the works in order not to lose funding.

However, Hackney confirms that the fraud it reported to police in 2014 relating to a £9m contract managed by Lakehouse is still ongoing. It is clear from the article that Hackney expects the investigation to result in prosecution. It also appears that Lakehouse concedes it had 'rogue employees' whatever that actually means. Does it mean junior or senior members of staff being complicit in the fraud? Considering that it has so far taken 3 years to investigate and remains ongoing, it appears to be a rather sophisticated fraud that one cannot imagine junior members of staff having the ability, access or knowledge to undertake.

hxxps://www.hackneycitizen.co.uk/2017/07/31/grenfell-hackney-rehired-lakehouse-5m-contract-despite-fraud-probe/

[igoe104] 02/10/2017 16:26

They don,t sound desperate too me, they seem very confident about the future.


We are delighted to announce today the successful award of the significant landmark contract with Aberdeenshire Council, which endorses our strong reputation for delivering excellent service in local council residential property maintenance in Scotland. In addition, we are pleased to be able to update on the continued progress being made in our strategic growth divisions of Energy Services and Compliance. The new contract wins meet our stated objective of focusing on continuing to grow organically the Lakehouse Group.
With a clear growth strategy and enhanced balance sheet, the Group looks forward to the future with considerable confidence


Stockdale comments.

Lakehouse has announced the disposal of its profitable, but non-core Orchard energy consultancy, which we believe has the benefits of further focusing the group and significantly cutting net debt. It has reiterated FY17 guidance. Our forecasts for FY18 and FY19, by implication, need to be cut to reflect the disposal of the Orchard, which contributed £2.5m to PBT in FY16. The trading statement also announces a number of encouraging contract awards. We retain our Buy recommendation and 75

[ntv] 02/10/2017 11:09

selling the most profitable part of the business sounds like things are desperate to me

[igoe104] 09/9/2017 07:53

Everwarm are mentioned here, just shows the potential of electric car chargers.

[igoe104] 09/8/2017 13:15

Good to see a mark up, hopefully some common sense is getting back to share price after the torrid couple of months or so.

also good to see a lot of talk about electric cars around at the moment, especially as one of lakehouse subsidiaries everwarm is one of a handful of companies that installs electric charging points.

[cerrito] 18/7/2017 13:37

Another headwind for Lake is the metering business; I knew that take up was slow and indeed I have dragged my feet having one involved and the following FT article yesterday put it in focus for me

Not clear the profitability of Providor but as this from their March 7 2017 RNS indicates this is an area where they are active
Quote
Lakehouse, the asset and energy support services group, is pleased to announce the award of a major contract with Scottish Power ("the Contract"). The Contract commences on 1 May 2017 and requires the installation of some 400,000 meters, comprising both smart meters and "business as usual" installations. The Contract is anticipated to be worth £39m over its four year term.
The Contract covers the West Midlands and is in addition to the Group's £37m domestic smart meter contract with Scottish Power across Northern Scotland, Wales and North West England, announced on 2 August 2016.
The Group considers its metering business, Providor, to now be a leading contractor in the roll-out of smart meters on a nationwide basis, placing it well for future growth.
unquote
ref damo88/826
Remember this is what Lake said in the prelims quote we saw considerable success to that effect during the year including a five year fire alarm and emergency lighting systems for the London Borough of Kensington Chelsea unquote which suggests that their role was limited.

[diduno] 18/7/2017 09:12

I share PUGUGLY's thoughts but hopefully not his looks! No, I do not believe either of us is paranoid. The bad news just keeps on coming. I am informed the Hackney Fraud investigation is far from over with more bad news expected over the coming months. (See Hackney Mayor's letter in Evening Standard)

With all of this in the company's locker, how on earth was it allowed to float? Should the fraud investigation reveal any corruption on the part of Lakehouse, I wouldn't be surprised to see the authorities take action over this. Watch this space.

[cerrito] 17/7/2017 23:28

Evening Standard brings up issue of 2010 fire which burnt down a Lewisham primary school Lakehouse were refurbishing

[pugugly] 17/7/2017 11:12

No news or update from the company - In view of the rumours in the market this is to me a worry - message received is that they may have substance - Thoughts or am I being paranoid ??

[damo88] 12/7/2017 20:51

My contact tells me that lakehouse were responsible for the fire risk assessment on the tower and not just the fire alarm system

If correct, this is a much more significant risk For the business

[duncan doughnut] 08/7/2017 09:54

I sold on Thursday. I should have reacted sooner to the fall but felt it was a short term thing. Live and learn!

[diduno] 08/7/2017 09:45

To expect that Lakehouse has not sought legal advice would be extremely naive. The fact that there has been no injunction against the Evening Standard does, I think, speak volumes.

The information passed to me suggests that the Hackney fraud is more extensive than vfast states and involves a large number of people. Indeed, the Standard lists 10 people that police have called in. I am told that at least 3 senior Lakehouse employees have been dismissed and their superiors have since left. It cannot, at this point at least, be viewed that any of these are guilty of criminal offences. Only time will tell should the frauds allegedly perpetrated result in criminal charges and convictions.

It is, however, confirmed that police are investigating and that being so, I think investors should be prepared for the worst.

Like jbfnfn, I suspect there may also be an attempt to buy the company on the cheap.

[jbfnfn] 07/7/2017 20:36

Harwood now appear to be over 15% (RNS 6/7). Up from 14.5 % (RNS 1/6)

What if any is the significance of this?

Any Christopher Mills watchers on the board?

Could there be an attempt to take LAKE private on the cheap?

[vfast] 07/7/2017 18:56

I would like to think Lakehouse will seek legal advice regarding the Evening Standard.

ES appear to be targeting the company implying the Grenfell fire is all down to Lakehouse. The Grenfell tragedy has nothing to do with the company.

The fraud is relating back 2014/15 and Lakehouse is not implicated but 2 ex-employee which have been sacked are being investigated along with ex-employees from the subcontractor and people from Hackney Homes.

[bobo18] 07/7/2017 13:00

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/fire-alarm-at-grenfell-tower-was-never-meant-for-residents-q5m8rxqj5Interesting....

[pugugly] 07/7/2017 11:39

Cannot find todays article but reposting link to 9th June if not already posted. Bribery one.

May be available later on line - Nothing for 7th yet available that I can see.

Cerrito - Could you give a heads up on main points of today's article

[cerrito] 06/7/2017 23:49

Evening Standard ran another negative article on Lake today

[vfast] 05/7/2017 16:57

Lakehouse have stated they did not install/design the fire alarm system however they were responsible for the maintenance.

And from all available information the fire alarm system worked as it was design to do so.

From news articles that I have read when the fire alarm sounded residents were told to stay in their apartments which could be argued in hindsight might not have been wise advice.

Until all the facts are known people and the media will always speculate and jump on anything regardless whether it is true or false to try and create a story.

It is a shame for this to happen because it does not serve any purpose for the people who have lost their life’s and for the residents who survived this terrible tragedy.

[diduno] 05/7/2017 15:38

We should be mindful that Lakehouse did not install the cladding at Grenfell Tower. I think it has had more than enough bad publicity already re Hackney Homes which, as I pointed our earlier, it appears not to refute. Whether or not the alarms they maintained in Grenfell worked, will presumably be decided by others in the future if it is at all possible.

[aishah] 05/7/2017 14:09

Small Cap Value Report (from Stockopedia):

Lakehouse (LON:LAKE)

It's always very difficult when there's been a disaster like the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

Everyone thinks about the human consequences first, and making sure that the politicians & civil servants ensure that something like this can never happen again. That's what matters most.

It's bound to have economic consequences for companies in the sector, which also have to be considered.

LAKE put out an RNS last night, which goes into some detail about various negative press stories recently. Apparently one of its subsidiaries maintained, or assessed the fire alarms in Grenfell Tower.

I think this share is best avoided. Even if the company is blameless, that doesn't always matter, as people primarily want a scapegoat. Also it has a very weak balance sheet.