Palace Capital Share Discussion Threads

[baner] 21/7/2022 15:27

Surely mr Starr must be the next director to be shown the Exit door ?

[baner] 21/7/2022 14:17

The market´s positive reaction on the amended ”strategy̶1; confirm what a complete bunch of idiots the now ousted directors have been - they certainly have not looked after their fiduciary duties and should be held responsible for this.

[solarno lopez] 21/7/2022 08:46

Thanks HFH

[hedge fund harry] 21/7/2022 08:32

Tipped in the Investors Chronicle

[solarno lopez] 21/7/2022 08:06

Well at least the share price is enlivened today

[baner] 20/7/2022 12:46

Sinclair had no unique connections what so ever. He was utterly useless and it is a real scandal how the remuneration Committee transferred money from the shareholders to this incompetent clown - £4-5m in cash remuneration plus stock options. Horrible!

[nickrl] 20/7/2022 11:25

If it selling its best income producing assets its ability to support divi payments is going to become restricted anyhow so its only allure will be its ability to realise the assets at NAV. I would say or better but that boat is preparing to sale imv and valuers will be throwing caution to the wind again given economic headwinds.

On costs it doesn't need a merger to deal with them just bold leadership from a new board. The problem they had is Sinclair ruled the roost had all the connections for good or bad so will they become more dependent on outside advisers now?

[spectoacc] 20/7/2022 10:54

Does strike me as odd how many times I hear "They're going to be bid for", be it EPIC, PCA, RLE, CTPT... We've got massive NAV discounts everywhere, and next to no bids ever happen. CREI claimed to be looking but were all talk. RLE said they were in play but nothing happened (unsurprisingly). There's the occasional mild approach that leads nowhere. SIR and LXI merged, but neither traded at much of a discount.

Anyone looking for a merger/takeover has to think that the Hudson Qtr flats need to go out the door first, and anyone paying paper is going to be on a big discount too. What have you gained?

So I'm with @baner - by far the best outcome is a couple of years getting somewhere close to NAV back. And even that isn't a certainty - a REIT shrinking down to a few difficult-to-sell assets. Maybe at that point getting paper for them may be best.

[hpcg] 20/7/2022 10:52

solarno - I am completely open to a rapid trade sale and yes I think that is the better solution for shareholders, but I don't think it can happen whilst there are residential properties on the books.

nickrl - the reason I mention CRC is they are in run-off too. With boards having made that decision the lowest cost path is to combine the team overseeing that, central costs etc. So an at-NAV nil-premium merger would maximise returns for both sets of shareholders. The situation at PCA has changed completely, Sinclair was after scale to expand.

[baner] 20/7/2022 10:47

Following the sale of Industrials i guess not less than 100p/share can be distributed to shareholders, leaving ca 290p/share of net assets until further sales/distribution. What may well happen is that another REIT makes a paper bid once there is more focus in the portfolio and the excessive admin costs have been reduced. However for PC´s shareholders it is best if the liquidation continues and cash is handled back on a pro rata basis. This is the best way to ensure shareholders get a £ for the £ they indirectly own. Now that Sinclair is gone and the NEDs have been sacked, there is ”only” the market risk left in the company, which is very good news. Difficult to see any significant downside at 280p.

[nickrl] 20/7/2022 09:36

hpcg PCA had a stake in modest stake in CRC but they sold it sometime last year I recollect. Sinclair had said that they have approached CRC but they weren't interested well not at the price PCA wanted it for.

Whilst its pleasing to see one rotten apple in this sector finally get removed lets not forget that Sinclair stuffed his pockets full of free share options.

Not sure RLE will end up this way though although they would perfect partners for a takeover!

[makinbuks] 20/7/2022 08:44

Exactly, weighing the relative merits of multiple property sales versus one corporate transaction. Pointing out they have options and inviting proposals no doubt

[solarno lopez] 19/7/2022 14:07

This little nugget pops up in the RNS...


....whilst continuing to remain mindful of consolidation in the Real Estate sector as part of its considerations.

Consolidation in this instance means takeover !

[solarno lopez] 19/7/2022 10:58

A bid would bring out the underlying value much quicker and therefore a return to shareholders than property sales and the slow distribution thereof

[hpcg] 19/7/2022 09:49

Solano - I wonder about whether someone might come in with a mutually attractive offer for the whole lot. Personally I think that can only happen after the housing has been sold, and more likely is someone comes in for tranches of properties.

baner - I love a run down, especially where there is evidence the assets are conservatively valued. The valuation gap tends to get a bit volatile and in between distributions, whether capital or income there can be opportunities to reinvest returns at a decent discount. Meanwhile the income stream keeps coming. The cost reduction adds meaningful basis points to returns.

[spectoacc] 19/7/2022 09:16

Agreed @baner, but - how did the PCA Board get away with coming up with the ESG offices strategy in the first place? Even on this BB we could see it was a farce.

And how long to eg realise all the York apartments, been a very long time already.

A deserved rise in the share price this morning, but plenty of value on offer elsewhere IMO.

[solarno lopez] 19/7/2022 08:58

Wonder if RGL will come back with a bid or anyone wise for that matter

[spectoacc] 19/7/2022 08:54

@hpcg - they've pretty much said that in the RNS.

@Makinbuks- definitely, and how overdue was it - years, I reckon.

[makinbuks] 19/7/2022 08:52

Wow been some full and frank discussions going on there! Good to see. Clearly no confidence in the board to deliver but critically the non execs not standing up

[hpcg] 19/7/2022 08:21

Doesn't take a genius to see that this is being run down. Once the York properties are sold off it would perhaps be nice to merge into another company in a similar situation, by which I mean Circle. Anyway, I bought some more as the gap to NAV will surely close one way or another.

[spectoacc] 19/7/2022 07:53

Common sense has finally prevailed, and good to see the Board clear-out.

Going to be an interesting question in the future as to what happens to the rump. Several years away from that tho IMO.

[cwa1] 19/7/2022 07:42

Interesting:-

19 July 2022

Palace Capital plc

("Palace Capital" or the "Company")

Further Update on Strategy and Changes to the Board

Palace Capital (LSE:PCA), the Main Market property investment company that owns a diversified portfolio of UK commercial real estate in carefully selected locations outside of London , today provides an update on the Company's strategy following the announcement on 4 July 2022.

In its strategy update of 4 July 2022, the Board undertook to reposition the Company as an ESG driven regional office market specialist, reinvesting proceeds from the sale of the industrial portfolio into improving the existing regional office portfolio and also into new opportunities in the regional office market. In light of shareholder feedback following that update, it has been decided by the Board that such a strategy needs amending. The Board will therefore now focus on maximising cash returns to shareholders, whilst continuing to remain mindful of consolidation in the Real Estate sector as part of its considerations.

The Board will continue to pursue a sale of the Company's industrial portfolio of eight assets, which were independently valued as at 31 March 2022 at GBP46.5 million. Should a sale of the industrial portfolio be successful it is intended that the net proceeds of the sale, after repayment of debt relating to the industrial portfolio, will be distributed to shareholders by either a special dividend or buyback via a tender offer.

The Board will also continue its strategy of disposing of other non-core investments and seek to complete the remaining sales of the residential apartments at York. Funds from these disposals will be aggregated with those from the sale of the industrial portfolio and distributed to shareholders.

The share buyback programme to repurchase up to 2.3m ordinary shares, representing approximately 5% of the Company's ordinary shares, announced on 4 July 2022 was completed on 11 July 2022 at an average price of 260 pence which represents a 33% discount to the last reported EPRA NTA per share.

In light of the amended strategy, Mickola Wilson (Senior Independent Director), Kim Taylor-Smith (Non-Executive Director), and Paula Dillon (Non-Executive Director) consider that now is the right time to step down from the Board with immediate effect, and therefore will not be offering themselves for re-election at the Annual General Meeting on 29 July 2022. The Company will look to appoint a new Non-Executive Director in due course.

Commenting on today's announcement, Steven Owen, Interim Executive Chairman said: "I would like to thank Mickola, Kim and Paula for their dedication and commitment to Palace Capital, and we wish them all the best for the future."

[baner] 18/7/2022 08:17

If AXA want to sell the rest, PC should of course also buy these shares back - they make more than £1 per share from the discount to the NAV - to the benefit of all remaining shareholders. No doubt the most profitable thing PC can involve itself with today.

[cwa1] 15/7/2022 21:33

Yes. Big sellers right enough. I assume the rest is a shaky holding too, Hopefully the remainder can get placed without too much difficulty if that's what they want to do