Leeds Share Discussion Threads

[deswalker] 19/2/2009 20:14

True Arthur. But if they can sell another bit of the business (yarns) then I'd suggest there's been some rather good progress made in the time since LDSG took its stake. Clearly the pension will be more in deficit but the company will at least be easier to value.

[arthur_lame_stocks] 19/2/2009 19:52

The problem with Dawsons remains the pension fund.

[deswalker] 19/2/2009 14:16

Following DWSN's good trading update (and share price rise) it's worth making the point that 1p on the DWSN share price equates to 2.2p on LDSG's NTAV.

6p on DWSN would cover LDSG's share price !

[jonak] 10/2/2009 01:07

Its a fair cop, Div'ner

[cg1953] 09/2/2009 23:48

its clear that both PG and JC have been a 'concert party' for some considerable time and it should have been investigated/prosecuted.
they could bid for ldsg now using the cash from its balance sheet, and maybe a little bit more.but they wont.
its a VALUE TRAP; i like that.

[the diviner] 07/2/2009 17:15

well call me crazy, but I think I may actually buy some more of these....
talk me out of it !

jonak,

you are Peter Gyllenhammar and I claim my 30p per share bid backdated by at least one year.

Realistically, with the two controllers now holding over 50%, no one else is likely to bid and since this pair have shown little desire to pay a fair market price for the rest of our shares the share price will continue as it has until matters are brought to a head.

I am left with 25,000 shares in LDSG and I am seeing how it goes with regard to these.

There is so much value around at present that it is hard to justify money being locked into the value trap that LDSG has become.

I lost over 33% of the money that I invested in LDSG but since I bought more shares in the large cap miners, with the money I salvaged from the LDSG sales, that loss has been recovered.

Regards,
TD

[deswalker] 07/2/2009 08:48

Arthur,

For some reason I thought you lived in Yorkshire but clearly not.

From what I can tell Scribona (JC 26%, PG 9%) cashed up its businesses last year and returned capital to shareholders so JC & PG are not totally averse to winding companies down and returning capital. Hopefully they'll do the same here.

Also Scribona are now reinventing themselves as a European Real Estate company, hence the deal with EET. Now whilst I'm not hopeful of getting anything back from our EET investment, there may be the possibility of Scribona being interested in Hemmers as part of their Real Estate portfolio ? That's my rather tenuos logic anyway. I'm probably grasping at straws :)

DWSN is a difficult one but the share price looks perky and our friend Battyman2 keeps telling us that soemthing is happening.

So my dream is ...

1) keep buying up shares until ...
2) DWSN sold at an okay profit to Chinese and then ...
3) Scribona buys out Hemmers and then ...
4) we all get 35p+ in cash and go home :0)

I know it's funny isn't it :0) but one needs to live in hope. In the meantime the buybacks are effectively buying very cheap € assets and earnings with sterling which has to be good news with current fx rates.

Is anyone else going to the AGM ?

Des

[jonak] 07/2/2009 00:33

well call me crazy, but I think I may actually buy some more of these....
talk me out of it !

[the diviner] 07/2/2009 00:20

I have been unloading LDSG shares, (at a loss), over the last few months.

At present the only choice that they give us is to leave at a loss and they appear to want us to sell as that drives down the share price

For me, the real problem with LDSG is that lack of a dividend. (Without a dividend we are effectively giving LDSG an interest free loan and at the same time we are risking the capital sum).

Right now there is nothing to drive the price north and I do not believe that the two controllers want a higher share price.

If LDSG shares do double in value over a 10 year period that would be the same as standing still and the way that it is going it could take 10 years before the Swedes make a bid.

[arthur_lame_stocks] 06/2/2009 23:03

Sorry Des I meant to add that I won't be going, it's a long way to Leeds for me and I don't expect it to be that enlightening for shareholders. I might well go to the DSN AGM though if you're into them too.

[arthur_lame_stocks] 06/2/2009 23:01

I'm not sure why Scribona & EET should affect us much? I think our EET investment is all but dead. Some action at DWSN would be good, but i'm not sure what they could do that would actually deliver value to DWSN shareholders, given the large pension fund.

If Hemmers is still profitable then we should benefit from the translation of their profits and NAV from Euros into Sterling so NAV per share could be pretty high, although I expect the net debt position to increase as well for the same reason. We can take some comfort in the fact that the cash in the UK which from memory is about 10p a share is ringfenced from Hemmers.

I guess it might be a good time to sell Hemmers, but how is it trading and would there be any takers in the current climate?

I think Gyllenhammar and Claesson have sailed a bit close to the wind at Leeds Group and they need to start considering the opinion of those who own the other 50% of the shares. I'm also a bit concerned that they have offered these shares as security on their personal debts. I wonder to what extent if any the company's policy, for example dividend policy is now dictated by their bankers.

One thing i'd really like to know is how they envisage all shareholders getting a decent return on their investment and when?

[deswalker] 06/2/2009 22:40

Arthur,

I'm going this year and was going to ask if you'd be there but clearly not.

For some reason I'm more upbeat about my LDSG investment than I have been for some time. Various goings on at Scribona & EET combined with possible DWSN corporate action and a now independent fully funded Hemmers makes me wonder whether some form of corporate action might be in the wings over the next 18mths or so. Hopefully the AGM will not dampen that feeling.

Today's RNS was a landmark. The two main shareholders now own 50.04% of the Voting Rights. 2.805mill shares to go if nothing happens first. The two main shareholders will then own 55.34% between them.

Des

[arthur_lame_stocks] 06/2/2009 21:24

So that's 400k shares bought in recently. Only another ~2.5m to go.

Is anybody going to the AGM. It looks like most people have given up on Leeds which seems to be what the Swedes want.

If anybody's going perhaps they'd consider asking the board some questions.

[deswalker] 02/2/2009 12:18

Cheers Diviner

[the diviner] 02/2/2009 12:02

Des,

I now hold only 25,000.

Regards,
TD

[bracke] 29/1/2009 20:56

Thank you for the correction Arthur.

[arthur_lame_stocks] 29/1/2009 20:48

bracke

Remember that it's 10% of the total shares in issue which includes treasury shares ie 3,450,658 + 29,649,342 so a total of 33,100,000. They were just inside this before the recent share buy back and I think they only have to cancel periodically.

[arthur_lame_stocks] 28/1/2009 21:57

So what does today's announcement mean? Is it just that Malcolm Wilson stepped in for the day, or is it a more permanent arrangement?

[bracke] 27/1/2009 11:32

"As a result of the above purchase, the total number of Ordinary Shares now held
in treasury is 3,450,658 and the number of remaining Ordinary Shares in issue is
29,649,342."
==============================================================================

I thought that the maximum that could be held in treasury is 10% of the total in issue. They are holding 11.64% and should be cancelling shares.

[arthur_lame_stocks] 26/1/2009 19:00

A buyback at last, I thought they'd given up.

[bracke] 25/1/2009 14:30

jonak

No need for such boasting. You will make the rest of us jealous!!

[deswalker] 22/1/2009 14:46

Thks Diviner. Details updated.

[the diviner] 22/1/2009 13:32

Des,

Over the last few months, I have reduced my holding to 50,000.

I decided to put that money elsewhere

Regards,
TD

[jonak] 21/1/2009 20:44

I declare LDSG was my best performing share of 2008
:-(