Lakehouse Share Discussion Threads

[diduno] 10/9/2018 12:04

Just noticed that the newly established Mapps Group, which I feel certain will incorporate Matts FM - if not now but at some point in the future - changed its address 03/09/2018 to Academy Place, Brentwood. This is a Lakehouse office address.

This appears to be good business for the Mapps Group. Not only does it get what appears to be an extremely good deal on buying Lake's Contracts and Property Services divisions including Fosters, it gets accommodation thrown in. I wonder if it also includes meals?

[knowhow77] 21/8/2018 10:55

Diduno thanks for all the warnings of doom we are all grown ups and make our own investment decisions based on what we believe in and I believe the current B O D are doing just fine under what were difficult circumstances !! If your that downbeat about lake why not sell up and move on to other opportunities

[kemche] 20/8/2018 19:01

My high level sources inform me that the subsidiary has been sold to Mapps Group. Obviously I cannot reveal my sources but they have been 100% accurate in the past.

[knowhow77] 20/8/2018 18:37

Diduno must be a disgruntled former employee always sniping away looking for something that isn’t there you need to move on the bitterness is killing you

[vfast] 20/8/2018 13:11

You don't state facts, you speculate and twist any news that the company comes out with.

The company has made mistakes in the past under the old management team however that is now being addressed by Bob Holt and the new team.

If they over paid for Foster's can't do anything about it now however the new team has stated they will concentrate on Compliance and Energy Services activities where they see a profitable future.

I don't care who Mapp's are or the people behind the company, good luck to them, I hope they make a success of the business.

Nice to see Bob Holt buying 100,000 shares on Friday.

[newtothis1] 20/8/2018 09:29

My point is that you are for some reason, using this as a malicious gossip site to bad-mouth this particular stock, presumably with the intent of devaluing the stock. Why?

[diduno] 19/8/2018 11:33

1newtothis - I'm sorry to have to tell you that your information source is misleading. Whilst Lake may well claim that it was they who first notified police of a fraud, is this the fraud currently being investigated by police? My sources tell me that it isn't.

Furthermore, Bob Holt has previously stated that Lake was not complicit in the fraud and that it was just a few rogue staff. This begs the question were these rogue staff, who I am informed were senior managers responsible for £millions of work, not managed or supervised by their superiors or directors? If so, what were they looking at in order to permit, what appears from Hackney Mayor's correspondence with other authorities, to be an extremely serious fraud take place.

Moreover, if these managers were staff of Lake, is the company not ultimately responsible? Lake cannot simply wash its hands of corrupt staff and claim they did not form part of the company together with all the other staff it employs and credits for their professionalism.

Taking into account the above, how or why was Lake allowed to float on the stock market shortly before news of the fraud was publicised? Were the relevant authorities aware of the reported fraud and had the company, as it claims, reported it to police before or after the flotation? Either way, a lot of investors have lost a lot of money based on the float price of 89p and I think these questions should be addressed.

Whilst we are all aware that past performance is no indicator of future performance, it is my belief that, in this instance, it will be.

With reference to the sale of Construction, Property Services and Fosters to the Mapps Group, it must be accepted that this private limited company was only established in June of this year. It has absolutely no track record or even phone number or email address listed, although it is claimed to be backed by 'sector specialists'. Who are these specialists? Are they related to Lake?

Inewtothis and vfast should simply ignore my posts if they believe them to be of no value.

[cerrito] 17/8/2018 17:01

I have to say my heart sank when I saw a Trading Update on an August Friday afternoon which generally means very bad news.
I took this as broadly positive and good that the deal had been put to bed pretty quickly and let's hope that indeed no further impairments will be needed.
I do not see much happening to the share price till we get the next financials.

[vfast] 17/8/2018 15:39

Sale of the Construction and Property Services divisions has been announced. I can’t see any real financial gain for the company however they can focus on the Compliance and Energy Services side of the business where they state it is profitable.

Bob Holt, Executive Chairman of Lakehouse, said:

"I am delighted with the sale, which will allow the Group to focus on its Compliance and Energy Services activities. Both are businesses where we have strong market positions, which help underpin more predictable and profitable revenue streams.

I believe that Lakehouse Contracts and Foster under the private ownership of Mapps Group will do well.

I want to thank the staff of Lakehouse Contracts and Foster for their professionalism during what has been an uncertain time and wish them all the best for the future."

[vfast] 15/8/2018 19:31

diduno

It is your constant negativity and doom and gloom for well in excess of 2 years.

I except the company does have issues however I believe they are working through them and will come out the other side in a better position.

What connection did you have with the company?

[vfast] 12/8/2018 22:15

Still at it diduno.

You've been claiming since April 2016 that you have knowledge form a reliable sauce.

All in good time Tippers all in good time….remember that one?

Absolutely pathetic.

Your assumptions/speculations never come to anything.

Grow up and get a life and move on.

[diduno] 10/8/2018 10:28

I do know the background of the subcontractor but at this stage do not consider it right to disclose it just in case the information passed to me is wrong, although I am confident it is not. To my knowledge the subcontractor has limited exposure to construction and a specialist exposure to property services and will, I think, require the services of Fosters.

If what I have been told is correct, it doesn't look a particularly good fit considering that it subcontracted to Lake for its work in Hackney, and what jsmith1982 states in his post of 07 August seems to hit the nail on the head.

[whoneedslottery2] 09/8/2018 19:05

Diduno - do you know the background of the specialist subcontractor? Will they need Construction, Property Services and Fosters? Sounds like a bold move and a statement of intent.

[diduno] 09/8/2018 10:55

I think you are absolutely right jsmith1982.

I have been informed by an industry source that the 'sector specialist' in place to take over Construction & Property Services is actually one of Lakes subcontractors, one of those that worked on the Hackney Contract for Lake. If this is correct, it makes one wonder how the contract could have resulted in the problems reported unless, of course, the problems were not connected with this specialist?

I realise that this all seems somewhat obscure, but that is the information passed to me from a source that has, in the past, been 100% accurate. Time will tell.

[jsmith1982] 07/8/2018 13:23

Its worth bearing in mind that 'Construction' and 'Property Services' are two distinct business units, the police investigation was only ever linked to the Property Services business (excluding the Fosters business).

My expectation is that the new owner will take on the business for a minimal price with Lakehouse Plc underwriting any risk on specific items which remain outstanding.

The original Lakehouse business with have a zero net book value and the Foster business has already been impaired (the £30m loss last year) so in theory the impact of this transaction will be mainly professional fees etc, and will be an exceptional item in the accounts.

I would be very surprised if any cash changed hands, which means the remaining group is left with the same debt burden but on a smaller base.

[diduno] 04/8/2018 11:02

New management is that under Bob Holt. Previous was that under Stuart Black.

Yes, what about all the bad debts? I believe that Lake worked almost exclusively for local authorities and/or government bodies. Presumably they are withholding payments due to problems with works and/or charges for such. Whatever, how would a new owner of Construction & Property Services fare in negotiating payments for works for which he had no input? Moreover, if new owner has no connection with Lake, who in their right mind would pay good money for such a company? Surely a sector specialist would not wish to tarnish its reputation?

[whoneedslottery2] 04/8/2018 10:36

Which management are you referring to diduno?

Sector specialists ? What about all the existing bad jobs and debts ?

[diduno] 04/8/2018 10:23

jsmith1982 is correct inasmuch as Construction & Property Services performed well up until new management of Lake took over. However, the downturn in performance not only coincided with that, but also with news of the metropolitan police arresting and interviewing some of the company and Hackney Council staff in connection with a fraud. Indeed, Lake's chairman admitted what he referred to as 'rogue staff' within the company. I not only believe that investigations centre on Construction & Property Services, but also that they are still underway which makes me think it cannot be an insignificant matter. Moreover, was it this that led to a change in management?

We should also be reminded that Hackney's Mayor wrote to a large number of Local Authorities warning of the performance of Lakehouse and one of its subcontractors. I find it curious that Lake is now 'offloading' Construction & Property Services to an unnamed sector specialist, whoever that may be, with the explanation that historically it has been a drag on the group's performance.

[jsmith1982] 03/8/2018 09:05

"Property services and construction, which have historically been a drag on the group’s performance", these were the businesses that provided the platform for the IPO in the first place. The Construction business was sound up until recently and Fosters was making £5-6m EBIT until it joined the group....unfortunately poor management has led to these under performing, hopefully new ownership will allow them to flourish. We'll have to wait to see if the remainder of the Group will do the same under the current leadership.