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| Share Name | Share Symbol | Market | Stock Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patientline | PTL | London | Ordinary Share |
| Price Change | Price Change % | Share Price | Last Trade
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.00 | 0.00% | 0.50 | 01:00:00 |
| Open Price | Low Price | High Price | Close Price | Previous Close |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.50 | 0.50 |
| Top Posts |
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Posted at 27/7/2008 17:06 by scribbler101 The TimesJuly 26, 2008Shareholders left for dead as rival snaps up UK assets of PatientlineCatherine Boyle Patientline, the hospital communications provider, was taken private yesterday in a deal that rendered shareholders' investments worthless. The company has sold its subsidiary Patientline UK to Hospedia, a newly incorporated company that includes Patientline's main competitor, Premier Telesolutions. Following the sale, shares in Patientline are expected to be cancelled from July 28, leaving 120 institutional investors out of pocket. The company's shares had sunk from their January 2002 high of 228½p to ¼p yesterday. Hospedia will be run by Tim Weil, chief executive of Premier, with Tim Sherwood, a director of Redstone, the communications company, as chairman, subject to approval from the Office of Fair Trading. It is understood that although Patientline executives will be kept on, none will be on the board. Related Links Patientline shares plummet after company reveals leap in losses Patientline was previously run by Derek Lewis, former head of the Prison Service, who successfully sued Michael Howard, the Home Secretary of the day, for unfair dismissal. Mr Lewis was ousted by a shareholder revolt in 2006. Patientline said yesterday that after working with its lenders to find a resolution to its level of debt and carrying out a review of its options, it had decided to file for administration, appointing Deloitte & Touche as its administrators. Patientline's debt is being cut by more than £35 million through a debt-for-equity swap in which the banks Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC, Bank of Scotland, and IKB Deutsche Industriebank swap the debt for shares in Hospedia. Once the takeover is approved, Milestone Capital, which owns the majority of shares in Premier, will also become a shareholder in Hospedia, along with the management team led by Tim Weil. Hospedia will also receive more than £12 million of additional investment from Patientline's banks. The sale to Hospedia means that the company will continue to operate bedside console services in hospitals across Britain. Its handsets and monitors, fitted to 80,000 beds when Premier is included, can be used for telephone, TV, games, internet and radio. Patients or their families pay a fee to use them. Hospedia hopes to install a further 20,000 monitors. Nick Winks, chief executive of Patientline, who took over last November when the business was running £87 million of debt, said: "After . . . exploring many potential options, I am convinced that this transaction is in the best interests of our customers, staff and banks." Shares in the company plummeted in 2006 after it was the subject of an Ofcom investigation into overcharging for its services. It was exonerated, but the telecoms regulator recommended a review of its pricing structure and stopped it installing new terminals during the investigation. It has since suffered from management squabbles and posted losses each year. - Southern Cross, the stricken care homes operator, has secured a lifeline from its bankers and has managed to extend its loan facilities on a £46 million debt until October to allow the sale of property assets to reduce debts. The announcement last month that the company was in breach of its banking covenants, after the property market downturn, left it unable to sell some property assets and sent the price of its shares into freefall. Bedside manor 1993 Patientline founded Nov 1996 Raises £6.3 million from Mercury Private Equity Apr 1998 Derek Lewis, right, former head of the Prison Service, joins as chairman Jan 1999 Mr Lewis becomes chief executive as well as chairman Dec 1999 Patientline system given Millennium Product status by Tony Blair, then Prime Minister, and its products are displayed in the Millennium Dome Mar 2001 Lists on AIM and is valued at about £100 million May 2001 Jim Glover appointed chief executive. Mr Lewis stays on as chairman Apr 2004 Company criticised when it emerges that its television monitors cannot be switched off by patients and are being left on for up to 15 hours Jul 2005 An Ofcom investigation begins into the cost of calls to and from Patientline phones after it emerges that callers are paying up to 49p a minute to speak to patients Jan 2006 Ofcom investigation does not demand action from the company but registers concerns about the level of charges for incoming calls Apr 2006 Mr Lewis forced to step down after shareholders, led by Shore Capital, rebel Jun 14, 2006 Shares plunge more than a third after full-year losses at the company more than double to £24.7 million. The terminals cost about £1,400 a bed to install and Patientline is footing the bill for the work in return for an NHS contract Nov 2007 Nick Winks becomes chief executive |
Posted at 26/7/2008 12:53 by kenmill As a brief investor some time ago at well over £1, I would remind everyone that PTL's demise is not really their fault. The whole premise in the early days was that the equipment would be used for NHS medical records so that consultants, doctors etc, when going round a ward, could access individual patient's records on the machines. The figures never stacked up for the millions of pounds spent on equipment if it was only ever going to be used for tele phone/vision. The NHS did what most government run orgaisations do - they screwed up the implementation of a large computer software package which never worked. A few private hospitals used the PTL equipment for this purpose but it was never rolled out. From that moment, PTL was doomed. I am just surprised it lasted so long. A painful experience for everyone involved. |
Posted at 07/5/2008 10:09 by praipus The truth is its a good product which has a consumer/patient demand.Inspite of media, mistakes, growing pains and funding issues there are clearly many investors and stakeholders who believe it has a future. |
Posted at 31/3/2008 13:16 by praipus "unlikey" is admittedly not excellent. But investors and shareholders and bankers like Boards that are honest. "continuing 'constructive discussions'" |
Posted at 25/6/2007 21:14 by jockblue This has been such a bad news company, with so much going against it in a short space of time....think there are many lessons to be learned as investors here....Just running through some of them... 1) Allowing themselves to finance the manufacture and installation of the equipment without any payment from the NHS or HMG 2) Not seeing the implications of the work on the NHS and their target customers - fewer patients and beds 3) Watching the promises on usage of the system fall away 4) Public sentiment on phone prices change dramatically - 5 years ago, people were ok about paying 40p per minute for mobile calls, now they are not. 5) NHS sentiment on mobile usage in hospitals relaxed, ending market 6) NHS policy not to encourage charging for services to patients (from todays RNS) 7) Nasty anti-PTL press coverage, perpetuated in erudite comments like nathan2's above. 8) Being just able to meet financing costs, which allows the banks to gather a bit more revenue before the inevitable happens. People forget the situation in hospitals prior to PTL - one dusty black and white telly and a payphone that only took 10p coins in the day-room, replaced by tv, internet and phone by the bed. The bit that was wrong was not the equipment or the idea, but who should have paid for the thing in the first place....... PTL - allowed me to watch the footie whilst waiting for both of my sons to be born! I salute you as the ship sinks.... jb |
Posted at 25/6/2007 14:16 by robbie_3 Having paid extortionate sums feeding patientline phones, investors aside, this is one patient I'm glad to see terminal. |
Posted at 25/6/2007 12:02 by siwel100 Have rarely seen such a negative results commentary. It reads as an open letter to the banks, either go D4E or we wind up.Considering the need for further investment and seeming growing pressures on revenue, its a toss up. Either way, investor considerations are an irrelevance. |
Posted at 24/6/2007 15:36 by scribbler101 Patientline in survival fightSimon Fluendy, Mail on Sunday 24 June 2007 Patientline, the firm behind controversial hospital phone and entertainment services, is seeking crunch survival talks with its bankers. WANT TO KNOW MORE?MORE: Bedside robbery - the great hospital rip-off REPORT: Patients face £1 charge for headphones The company wants to reach a deal that will avoid corporate bankruptcy and allow price cuts for its hospitalised customers. Patientline has been lambasted after raising prices in April to 26p a minute for patients to make phone calls and £2.90 a day to watch TV. People calling relatives in hospital are charged up to 49p a minute. Alongside results for the year to the end of last March, chairman Geoff White will tell investors tomorrow that the financial position is unsustainable as the company is paying £8m a year in interest to creditors, mainly Royal Bank of Scotland, HBoS and HSBC Last year, Patientline lost £25m on turnover of £55m and revenues are likely to have plunged to £40m this time round. Financial Mail understands the company is close to breaching its banking covenants. White was put in place after 18% shareholder Shore Capital ousted his predecessor, former prisons boss Derek Lewis. White and chief executive Nick Winks are keen to avoid a direct swap of debt for new shares. 'There are other possibilities, including rescheduling,' said a City source. Finance chief Brent Marshall is understood to be closely involved with the plans. Marshall handled similar negotiations for dotcom boom victim Bookham Technology. The source said: 'If Patientline could strike a deal, it would free up millions to invest in new equipment that would be much cheaper. It would also make it possible to cut prices and drive demand.' |
Posted at 27/4/2007 10:01 by jonc I'm puzzled by the recent announcement regarding outgoing call charges.All the information that I can find indicates that outgoing call charges are capped at 10p. Have put in a question to investors relations (yesterday) but no response yet. |
Posted at 25/4/2007 12:04 by richardbees and so comes the beginning of the end.... the size of the trades indicates very small time investorsDevBod - who would even try to enforce a commercial contract at a hospital bedside? |
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