Mears Share Discussion Threads

[rivaldo] 01/10/2010 07:36

Another earnings-enhancing acquisition.... http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201010010700086687T "Acquisition of Jackson Lloyd Limited ("JL") Summary of Acquisition · JL operates social housing maintenance contracts in the North West of England · Mears will integrate the business immediately and is expected to generate significant cost and efficiency savings · The acquisition is expected to be earnings enhancing for the year ending 31 December 2011 following the costs of reorganisation incurred in 2010 · Mears has acquired JL for £2.7m in cash and the repayment of £2.1m of net debt. Additional deferred consideration of up to a maximum of £1.0m is subject to performance criteria. Consideration is being satisfied from the Company's existing debt facilities · JL has an order book of in excess of £80m Mears is pleased to announce that it has acquired the entire share capital of JL for an initial cash consideration of £2.7m. JL operates maintenance contracts with customers predominantly in the North West of England. An additional deferred consideration is payable up to a maximum of £1.0m, subject to the achievement of performance criteria linked to contract retention and profitability. The consideration is being satisfied from the Company's existing debt facilities. For the 15 month period ended 31 March 2010, the unaudited accounts for JL report that the business generated revenues of £38.6m and a loss before tax of £3.8m. The last audited accounts, for the 12 month period to 31 December 2008, reported revenues of £31.5m and a loss before tax of £0.4m. Gross assets as at 31 December 2008 were £8.6m. The business has recently gone through a restructuring whereby overheads have been significantly reduced together with an increased focus on underlying operating margin. The completion balance sheet reports net liabilities in the region of £1.4m including a net debt of £2.1m which was repaid immediately upon acquisition from the Group's existing banking facility. Mears expects to generate further significant cost and efficiency savings. The Company will focus on delivering a quality service and maximising customer satisfaction which is typically key to enhancing profitability and ensuring contract longevity. The principal benefits of the acquisition are anticipated to arise in 2011 and beyond; it is expected to be earnings neutral for the year ending 31 December 2010 (before the costs of restructure) and earnings enhancing for the year ending 31 December 2011. The Group treats an acquisition with the same level of detailed focus as when mobilising new contracts and this process commences with immediate effect. In addition, the Group's operational support functions will be incorporated into the existing structures of JL. It is anticipated that the mobilisation and restructure will be completed before 31 December 2010 with an anticipated cost of £1.0m. Commenting, Bob Holt, Chairman of Mears, said: "The acquisition of the JL business fits comfortably into our social housing division and broadens our footprint in the North West of England. I am delighted to welcome a further 450 employees into the Group. We continue to seek to acquire businesses with the potential to meet the strategic objectives of the Group.""

[rivaldo] 28/9/2010 08:21

Good coverage in the Daily Mail too: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/markets/article.html?in_article_id=515318&in_page_id=3 "Mears in green British Gas deal Daily Mail Social housing group Mears has landed a contract with British Gas that could see green energy systems installed in tens of thousands of council homes. The company (up 9.5p at 290p) is aiming to tap into the government's £350m Community Energy Savings Programme (CESP) to provide insulation, energy saving boilers and solar panelling to the 500,000 social homes it maintains. Under the scheme, tenants and landlords can apply for government grants to help them make their homes more fuel efficient."

[beerbandit] 27/9/2010 23:13

Ho Ho Ho sede

[rivaldo] 27/9/2010 18:26

Closed above 300p - hopefully a meaningful sign which will be built upon this week back up to 320p or more.

[rivaldo] 27/9/2010 10:27

Continuing to edge upwards nicely.

[rivaldo] 22/9/2010 14:24

Coverage here - and note that the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target is estimated by the Government to stimulate about £3.2bn of investment by energy suppliers: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/markets/article.html?in_article_id=515318&in_page_id=3&position=moretopstories "Mears in green British Gas deal Daily Mail 22 September 2010, 9:43am Social housing group Mears has landed a contract with British Gas that could see green energy systems installed in tens of thousands of council homes. The company (up 9.5p at 290p) is aiming to tap into the government's £350m Community Energy Savings Programme (CESP) to provide insulation, energy saving boilers and solar panelling to the 500,000 social homes it maintains. Under the scheme, tenants and landlords can apply for government grants to help them make their homes more fuel efficient."

[rivaldo] 22/9/2010 09:00

Investec have been reading my posts :o)) http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/marketforceslive/2010/sep/21/wellstream-bid-federal-reserve "Mears added 9.5p to 290p as it agreed a deal with Centrica's British Gas division to install energy saving technology such as solar panels and biomass boilers for 500,000 homes. The move would allow it to tap government funding under carbon-cutting schemes. Investec said: "We view this as an innovative move that should open up new growth prospects for Mears and set the group apart from the competition."

[rivaldo] 21/9/2010 08:34

As I said, the market likes it - this is a whole new market for MER, across their 500,000 homes and more.... Combined with the £100m of new business picked up from CNT for nothing, MER have lots to look forward to.

[tom.b] 21/9/2010 07:34

Thanks Rivaldo... and today's RNS will also help but IMO it will be another while before the share price price moves to £3 and beyond as I predict.. Investors are concerned that the planned Government Cuts will have an adverse affect - even though it is the opposite for Mears so far. This partnership with British Gas is just one of the many deals that are being done to limit the effects of these 'cutbacks' and will have positive results.

[dnfa1975] 21/9/2010 07:31

the government comprehensive spending review and welfare cuts will knacker this in due course imho

[rivaldo] 21/9/2010 07:18

Excellent RNS today which I imagine the market will like - bidding in tandem with British Gas must give MER a huge leg up for new business - and of course this is a whole new area of "green" contracts to be won: http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201009210700180051T "Strategic Partnership with British Gas Trading Limited ("British Gas") Mears announces that it has today entered into a Strategic Partnership ("Partnership") with British Gas to jointly address the challenges of energy efficiency within the social housing sector. Mears in partnership with British Gas will target funding opportunities under the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) and the Community Energy Savings Programme (CESP) within our existing and growing Social Housing client base. Our aim is to increase Mears' clients' share of British Gas's obligation funding streams, including CERT and CESP, enabling Social Housing Landlords to leverage more value from their capital budgets. The Partnership will offer a full range of microgeneration installation and maintenance services across the 500,000 Social Homes we currently work with. These include whole house solutions which may include air and ground source heat pumps, bio-mass boilers and solar panels. Also from today, Mears and British Gas will jointly bid on repair and maintenance contracts in social housing, with British Gas providing energy services and funding to subsidise energy efficiency, renewable and low carbon technology. By combining the capability and resources of these two industry-leading organisations, the Partnership will create efficiency opportunities for Local Authorities and Registered Social Landlords during a time of budget constraint. Social housing tenants should benefit from lower energy bills, warmer homes and better service as a result of better co-ordination which combines existing maintenance services with energy management. Tenants will also receive direct advice and help from Mears staff to ensure the value of these investments is maximised within the home. British Gas has the highest levels of CESP and CERT obligation of the major energy companies, and brings significant expertise on a full range of microgeneration systems, geared to leveraging funding through Feed-In Tariffs and the Renewable Heat Incentive, when available. Mears were chosen by British Gas because of its innovative leadership position within the Social Housing sector and its proven tenant centric approach. Bob Holt, Chairman of Mears, said: "I am delighted to announce our Partnership with British Gas. This is the first partnership of its kind in the UK, demonstrating Mears' targeted and innovative approach to leadership within the Social Housing space. "Our close working relationship with British Gas will strengthen our existing relationships with our key customers, as they seek to find cost effective methods of ensuring environmental compliance. "We believe that this partnership demonstrates our ongoing commitment, clearly stated in our strategy 'to constantly search for new and better ways to support clients and help tenants' and our 'Getting Greener' Campaign. We will work with British Gas to ensure that the Social Housing Sector generates significant savings and continues to create opportunities for the future.""

[rivaldo] 20/9/2010 14:10

Informative coverage here today (TomB, lots of press coverage in the regionals, but not particularly adding anything AFAICS): http://www.southwestbusiness.co.uk/gloucestershire/Gloucestershire-firm-confirms-Connaught-takeover/article-2663234-detail/article.html "Gloucestershire firm confirms Connaught 'takeover' Monday, September 20, 2010, 09:51Comment on this story Brockworth-based social housing and maintenance supplier the Mears Group has taken on 10 local authority contracts across the UK following the collapse of rival firm Connaughts on September 8. The contracts are expected to be worth over £100m in total revenue. Mears used local law firm BPE Solicitors to complete the deal in just one day, ensuring there was continuous support provided to tenants of local authorities across the UK, including ones in London, and the North East. "We needed to work quickly to ensure the deal was completed, and there was no gap in service to tenants," said Tim Ward, corporate partner at BPE. "We are used to clients wanting to close deals in a hurry, but this is the first time we have completed a deal in such a short timescale. "The work was further complicated by the various elements making up each contract, which had to be identified before we could proceed." Mears Group's acquisition of the 10 contracts will see them become possibly the largest social housing maintenance provider in the UK and safeguards the jobs of at least 600 ex-Connaught employees. "Given the nature of the work we undertake, any gap in the provisions of service to our customers is unacceptable," said Andrew Smith, finance director at Mears Group. "With BPE's help, we completed the deal less than 48 hours after Connaught went into administration, minimising delays and the build-up of a backlog of repairs.""

[tom.b] 19/9/2010 22:56

Any Press articles?...

[melody9999] 15/9/2010 22:37

on tonights local East news - Norwich CC handing out short term contracts (only) to carry out emergency repairs. A few Connaught people picking up work from local contractors. Must be stop-gap measure - whilst Norwich decide what to do - I guess we may be still be in there negotiating.

[tom.b] 15/9/2010 10:12

too good to miss out on at these prices.. don't know why it's in the doldrums

[rivaldo] 15/9/2010 08:09

dnfa75 has been wasting time on his one-liner negativity ever since the share price went down to 230p - let's hope he continues :o))

[dnfa1975] 14/9/2010 21:18

The problem is Holt is no longer hungry. He took £18m off the table when he sold all his mears shares.

[yoyoy] 14/9/2010 17:59

Rivaldo, I'm glad someone else has the take on the RNS,

[rivaldo] 14/9/2010 14:10

A very promising RNS - and thx to copyright for the Telegraph heads up, which confirms MER are in talks to buy around £100m of contracts for a nominal sum. It seems to me that Morgan Sindall may regret rushing in to be first to pick up contracts without doing enough due diligence, whereas MER are taking their time to unravel CNT's mess and are being careful to only take on suitably profitable deals.

[yoyoy] 14/9/2010 12:58

"14 September 2010 Mears Group PLC ("Mears" or "the Company" or "the Group") Update Re: KPMG/Connaught The Board of Mears notes the recent press coverage of the Connaught situation and the KPMG administration and confirms that the Company has acquired contracts for a nominal sum that provides an opportunity to deliver services to a small number of customers. Discussions with these customers are still ongoing so the Mears Board is not yet in a position to provide clarity on the future revenues which may arise as a result. A further announcement will be made as and when it is appropriate to do so. Commenting, Bob Holt, chairman of Mears Group, said: "This is a sad situation not only for employees but also for subcontractors and the communities that depend on these services. We are pleased to be able to offer our services to those local authorities who found themselves at risk of not providing their tenants with a repairs service." ends. "

[copyright] 14/9/2010 10:46

According to today's Telegraph...the 8 contracts which Mears has agreed to take on are the BIGGEST of Connaught's customers (with the exception of Norwich Council) with annual revenue of £100 million. All acquired for a nominal sum, sounds like an exceptionally good deal by Bob Holt for Mears.

[tom.b] 14/9/2010 08:57

Nothing will happen to share price until an RNS gives more detail on just what is being taken over from CNT ... but anything they get is a windfall to an aleady succesful company - they won't take on loss making liabilities... and the cuts will have little effect - except to widen the profit margin...no harm to add a few at this level..IMO

[rivaldo] 14/9/2010 08:25

MER to take Yorkshire off of CNT's hands: http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/Connaught-Yorkshire-jobloss-toll-hits.6529534.jp "THE number of Yorkshire redundancies at collapsed social housing group Connaught rose to 300 yesterday, but there are hopes some will keep their jobs after Mears Group said it will take over eight housing contracts. Mears, a social housing repairs provider, will take over a contract with Yorkshire Metropolitan Housing Association as well as seven other contracts around the country. The total number of redundancies at Connaught rose to 1,100 yesterday after administrator KPMG announced a further 400 job losses on top of last week's 700 redundancies. But Mears said it hopes to re-employ some 600 of the 1,100 staff who have been made redundant. It is not yet clear how many of the 300 Yorkshire job losses will be saved."

[rivaldo] 13/9/2010 22:42

More tonight: http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Business/Connaught-Collapse-Claims-A-Further-400-Jobs/Article/201009215726629?lpos=Business_First_Buisness_Article_Teaser_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15726629_Connaught_Collapse_Claims_A_Further_400_Jobs "Connaught Collapse To Cost Another 400 Jobs Share Share Comments (1) 6:09pm UK, Monday September 13, 2010 Tim Hewage, Sky News Online The collapsed social housing company Connaught will lose a further 400 jobs, administrator KPMG has announced. 1,100 of Connaught's 4,200 former staff have now been made redundant This means a total of 1,100 will have lost their jobs since the West Country firm collapsed last week. KPMG went on to say that up to 600 staff jobs could be saved, however, in a re-employment deal with rival company Mears. Set up in 1988, Mears employs 8,000 people and provides maintenance and repairs services to some 500,000 homes in England. The Mears group, based in Gloucester, also specialises in social housing and is understood to be taking on eight of Connaught's contracts."