Mercia Asset Management Share Discussion Threads

[varies] 05/10/2020 12:23

An article in yesterday's Sunday Telegraph on Frontier Developments, now cap. at £1,000 million has prompted me to look at nDreams.
MERC holds 36% of nDreams and values this at £16m implying a value of £44m for the company. This is MERC's most highly valued direct investment in a portfolio valued at £91m.
The nDreams web-site contains no financial figures at all that I can see but does list these Virtual Reality titles : Shooty Fruity, Phantom Covert Ops, the Assembly, Danger Goat and Perfect.
I know nothing of computer games but I can find no mention of these on VR sales web-sites.
Does anyone subscribing to this thread understand such things ?
I would be very interested to learn more and whether nDreams is indeed as succesful as MERC suggests.

[columbarius] 25/9/2020 17:27

Ex-chairman and current non-exec Ray Chamberlain has backed the management by upping his beneficial interest to 15%. Hard cash investment means more to me than whinges about past decisions. As far as I'm concerned management are making good progress against the stated aims of making a profit from fund management, increasing assets under management to £1 billion and making the portfolio business self-sustaining (evergreen).

[pavey ark] 25/9/2020 12:03

The simple fact is that these guys didn't set up this business to make private investors rich.
I have noticed quite a lot of comments that were rather over the top and could never understand them.
I looked at the business model and the assets and thought "that'll do me" I have added since then and not seen anything to change my mind.
The share placing at 25p had everyone screaming but you could've bought any amounts after the placing at less than 25p and they certainly they knew what they wanted the money for.
Simon Thompson threw the toys out the pram but I didn't think he gave proper weighting to the fact that the business opportunity came up and they wanted to do the deal.
The placing wasn't handled well but it wasn't anything like as major an issue as Thompson and some here made out.
Those people with a very low opinion of this management must be very happy today for if they are as self serving as some believe then things must really be going well.

If I join the cynical group then perhaps they are getting close to a major cash realisation from their portfolio......just a thought.

[p1nkfish] 25/9/2020 10:32

The fact they have put their hands in pocket to buy some is a booster. Perhaps it will/has changed but until now the business model looked fine, the management less so.

Lets see going forward.

[columbarius] 25/9/2020 10:01

I've noticed some emotion on this thread and it's likely to have affected decision making. If you don't like a company it's best to sell and move on to something that interests you.

[pavey ark] 25/9/2020 09:27

Wan, sorry, I didn't see what should have been your farewell post..."I'm out". 24/9/2020.

I have no comment or judgement to make on your decision to sell...each to his own...however your comment today was silly and rather petty.

[pavey ark] 25/9/2020 09:12

OXGENE, based in Oxford, is a biotechnology company specialising in gene therapy, gene editing and antibody discovery that delivered a third consecutive year of 100%+ revenue growth, more than doubling revenues in its financial year ended 30 April 2020. This continued growth has been fuelled by a combination of strategic licensing agreements and service delivery projects, including a strategic partnership with Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies. The company's continued growth has been recognised recently by The Sunday Times' Fastest Growing Tech 100 at position 19.
18/9/2020

Hmmmmm ?....wan..."good luck all"

I for one think it's important to make your position clear and for the absence of doubt I hold quite a few of these.

Historical figures, correct or not, are hardly the main point when dealing with a company in the biotech sector.
Anyone buying Oxygen would look at the advantages they bring and the money that can be made from these advantages.

[p1nkfish] 25/9/2020 09:07

Good to see the buys. Onward.

[jane deer] 25/9/2020 09:06

I don’t think it is acceptable for Mercia to just state that all AGM items were duly passed. Shareholders should expect to see the numbers of votes for and against each item.

[pavey ark] 25/9/2020 08:57

Oxygen looks very good but ndreams could be even bigger.....either would double the share price if they were sold or floated.....as this would point up the potential in the rest of the portfolio.

The management here have come in for criticism but they have done/are doing everything they said they would do........including investing in the company.

As usual private investors have taken the share price as a reflection of management's effort/abilities and that is seldom the case.

[wan] 25/9/2020 08:48

Just to add that, whilst I am an enthusiastic supporter of British technology/business etc, Oxgene's last reported revenues were apparently £2m after an 100% increase, which cooled my enthusiasm somewhat.

I genuinely hope this all comes good for investors. Good luck all!

[columbarius] 25/9/2020 08:21

Agreed SEV. Mercia's life sciences holdings look very promising. I'm particularly interested in Oxgene.

[sev22] 25/9/2020 07:51

Good to see five Directors adding further share purchases to their personal stakes in Mercia yesterday, including one for 1,200,000 shares at 20p. Very positive news.

[robsy2] 24/9/2020 16:32

Ok . Good!

[columbarius] 24/9/2020 15:08

I think you're mistaken Robsy2. £658m is in long term funds. Including the balance sheet, they manage c.£800m as announced with the finals and re-iterated today.

[dennisbergkamp] 24/9/2020 12:05

I thought there had been a change of thought when they all bought in recently... gave me hope but looks to be a false dawn

D

[p1nkfish] 24/9/2020 08:49

I'm still in but have to agree about management and am considering options.

I hope I'm wrong, often am, but if not that something changes.

[wan] 24/9/2020 08:39

I'm out. Deciding, amongst other things, including past events, that the management are so far up their own backsides and those of the fund managers, that private investors, are at best, an irritant.

Should Mercia really be listed? Perhaps that creates opportunity, but I cannot wait any longer when decent opportunity is available elsewhere, opportunity with a degree of clarity that seems to escape Mercia (perhaps that's intentional?).

[weatherman] 24/9/2020 08:01

There is bound to be a fall in value of FUM along with the wider market - it should recover once gov.uk gets some sense.

[robsy2] 24/9/2020 07:18

At year end 31.03.20 they had 800m of funds under management now it is 658m. I suppose that reduces their fee income accordingly.

[srichardson8] 23/9/2020 13:00

Thanks for spotting those announcements and providing the links columbarius

[p1nkfish] 22/9/2020 21:16

Certainly will be dilution over time.

[redartbmud] 22/9/2020 20:27

I am afraid that Mercia is a pit that swallows money voraciously. There are no returns for the shareholders, who have been tapped more than once. The returns on these 'stellar investments' are less than mediocre, if and when they arise.
Directors on an ego trip, with stupid remuneration and a bottomless pit of expenses as they swan around in the pomp of their self importance.