Polar Capital Share Discussion Threads

[its the oxman] 26/2/2007 11:57

come back a bit now - looks a good buying opportuity to me so may top up c.240p

[vwrich] 09/2/2007 22:55

will top up on monday, the more i research this company the more i like, seem to be doing well on new issues.

[vwrich] 07/2/2007 11:58

sound company , should hit over the 3.00p mark soon.

[lbo] 07/2/2007 10:39

Polar Capital


Our view: Buy

Share price: 238.5p

Polar Capital became the latest specialist asset manager to list on AIM yesterday. What does it mean by specialist, you may ask? Well, a little less than half of the $3.3bn it manages is in hedge funds which aim to make money for investors irrespective of how the wider stock market performs. The rest is invested in traditional long-only funds run by Polar - they make money only when the market is going up.

Polar has decided to float for three reasons. First, the stock-market listing provides it with a great way to incentivise its workforce. There are few better ways to get the most out of employees than to given them a stake in the company, the value of which they can be seen to increase as the business grows. This type of arrangement also makes Polar a desirable place to work, helping the group attract the best people.

Second, the float will help raise Polar's profile and make it more transparent for would be investors interested in its funds. Finally, it has allowed it to raise some fresh cash. The group raised £6m of new money at 190p which will be used as seed capital for new investment funds. Once these have built up a strong enough track record, Polar will be able to market them to investors.

Polar makes money by charging a management fee to those who put cash into its funds, along with a cut of any profit it makes for them. Therefore, the more it makes for its clients, the more profit it makes for its shareholders.

Key to growing the business is increasing its funds under management. In the past nine months alone this figure has risen 34 per cent to $3.3bn, and analysts are convinced this positive trend will continue for the foreseeable future. Pre-tax profits at Polar are tipped to come in at £6.7m in the year to 31 March 2007 and rise to £9.2m in 2008.

Even after yesterday's strong debut, the stock trades at a substantial discount to recently listed peers like Bluebay and Ashmore, which is unjustified and makes it well worth buying.

[Abuse team] 07/2/2007 09:06

Post removed by ADVFN

[its the oxman] 07/2/2007 08:37

pretty positive start 250p offered now - will be interesting to see the first broker comments/targets

[cagr] 06/2/2007 22:03

Smart guys this Polar lot with a nice array of fund offerings and savvy fund managers at the helm. Clear appetite for the stock in the market following this storming day. Best of luck all

[rmainee] 06/2/2007 20:13

Ticker Symbol LSE.POLR
ISIN Code GB00B1GCLT25
Industry Sector Speciality and Other Finance
Listing ExchangeAIM
Trading Status Trading
Amount raised £4,600,000
Raising method Placing
Float Price £1.90
First Trading Day 6th February 2007

FULL NAMES AND FUNCTIONS OF DIRECTORS AND PROPOSED DIRECTORS:

Charles Hale, Non-Executive Chairman
Mark Kary, Chief Executive Officer
John Mansell, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer
Brian Ashford-Russell, Director
Tim Woolley, Director
Peter Buckley, Non-Executive Director
Jamie Cayzer-Colvin, Non-Executive Director
Sarah Street, Non-Executive Director

BEFORE AND AFTER ADMISSION:

Before Admission:

Brian Ashford-Russell - 20.09%
Tim Woolley - 18.30%
Caledonia Investments plc - 17.72%
XL Re Limited - 13.29%
Charles Hale - 3.99%
Mark Kary - 3.69%
James Salter - 3.54%

After Admission:

Caledonia Investments plc - 16.82%
Brian Ashford-Russell - 15.76%
Tim Woolley - 13.87%
XL Re Limited - 12.61%
Artemis Investment Management - 3.55%
Mark Kary - 3.50%
Charles Hale - 3.41%

Broker & Advisor

Bridgewell Securities Limited
Old Change House
123 Queen Victoria Street
London
EC4V 4BJ
United Kingdom
Telephone: [phone]
Website:

Just the facts...

[its the oxman] 06/2/2007 08:16

Floated on aim at 190p - started trading c.235p

Brian Ashford Russel owns c.18% and co founder Tim Woolley 17% - other staff own c.30%. Ten staff and Mr Russell are selling about 10% of the share capital so holdings should be slightly lower after the float and directors will be prevented from selling further shares for 12 months after the float. Polar will raise £6m to seed fund new funds or for small acquisitions.
The group made operating profits of £12.3m in the year to March 2006, almost treble that of the previous year.

All views and broker info much appreciated.