Quindell Share Discussion Threads

[nicky name] 26/11/2015 23:47

what you fail to understand is that all claims for negligence resulting in personal injury are not going to cease because the government is trying to make legal services savings, appease the insurance lobby and the general public. Everybody hates ambulance chasers and insurance fraud!

this is only the latest skirmish. Whiplash claims are already not very profitable for lawyers, and it is only the big factory firms where it is worth bothering with. This is why QPP swerved away from whiplash, and went after hearing loss.

The government has to get this through consultation, and there seem to be some major snags to overcome in its proposals. Opposition to these reforms will be substantial, and will have to get past the select committee, The Lords etc. I imagine.

If they do go through, R.T.A. claimants under £5,000 might have to pay the fees out of their compensation. The lawyers will always get paid.

Your chum might be preparing his c.v., but he probably works for a small firm.
These factory firms will take all the work due to their scale and efficiencies.

This is why Slaters bought PSD.

there is no way these are going to 0p any more than QPP did

your problem mate, is always over egging the pudding

are you going to get all your followers to spreadbet short this one too now, and then pay the margin? lol

[ionlypostafterbbms] 26/11/2015 22:59

They're under starter's orders in Oz. You ready Numb Nuts?

Gonna do some more fantasy trading at the bottom price tonight?

[henchard] 26/11/2015 22:39

Hard to believe Quindell is changing its name to Watchtower - anyone would think it's trying to attract a bunch of zealot nutters. Is there a new thread?

[nicky name] 26/11/2015 18:15

good thing QPP shareholder extra payments from SGH will come from the NIHL claims, which are not effected by Osborne's statement

[nicky name] 26/11/2015 17:57

TimeOff I politely answered ELcap's question

believe my answer or not, I really don't care

V8Vantage

whiplash claims had already been reined in, which is why QPP went after hearing loss

Slaters may not have expected the rhetoric yesterday at an autumn statement, but they will not have been surprised, they knew which way the wind was blowing

in any case, Osborne made the statement for reasons of political popularity, and to appease the powerful insurance lobby

whether it gets through next year's consultation, The Lords etc. remains to be seen

[sweet karolina] 26/11/2015 17:48

V8vantage,

Why had SGH price gone from over $8 to under $2 before the announcement?

Timeoff,

Nicky is a proven fantasy trader. I proved it conclusively with his fantasy spread bet which he has had a massive fantasy margin call on.

[elcapital] 26/11/2015 17:00

He often lies, time off. He started buying over six dollars, then three dollars....

[timeoff] 26/11/2015 16:53

Nicky Name 26 Nov'15 - 15:21 - 37673 of 37676 0 0

ELcap

yep!

bought some more last night at 90.7 aussie cents thanks

bargain

Interesting, the price dipped below 90c for about 45 seconds, normally spread bet companies wouldn't place trades during such volatility nor do they execute limit orders in my experience, if you can get a trade placed the spread would also normally be blown out really wide, much wider than 1-2%. What size did you manage to get away at that price?

[v8vantage] 26/11/2015 16:31

Sweet Karolina - what on earth are you on about? SGH's price has tanked because of an announcement made in yesterday's Autumn Statement which could severely impact on SGH's future income. Are you suggesting that QPP's board should have magically anticipated almost a year ago that the Chancellor would crack down on whiplash claims, and that not doing so provides grounds for SGH to claw money back? Where does your bitterness come from?

[elcapital] 26/11/2015 15:49

Wow, you wouldnt know a train was coming in a tunnel.

[nicky name] 26/11/2015 15:21

ELcap

yep!

bought some more last night at 90.7 aussie cents thanks

bargain

there is no money to be made in whiplash

that is why QPP piled into hearing loss

a further attack on whiplash claims was widely anticipated by most commentators

it may have been unexpected in an autumn statement, but I am sure that it will not have come as a surprise, in itself

a lot of small firms will go bust, and it is the big consolidated factory firms that will thrive

[elcapital] 26/11/2015 13:54

I wonder if their creditors might enforce legal action?

[elcapital] 26/11/2015 13:32

Have you averaged down again yet? Mr red flag

[nicky name] 26/11/2015 13:28

" But, it is possible that Slater and Gordon could soon be at the centre of a class action again — this time as the defendant. "

I would be interested to know what this claim might be based on!

what a load of cobblers, cobber

[elcapital] 26/11/2015 12:59

So, according to TW, although it seems unlikely any legal action would be successful, Slaters might try as they have nothing to lose. Another reason the special dividend might not be paid

[soul limbo] 26/11/2015 12:53

Slater and Gordon: Uncertainty over law firm's future, or survival, as share price dives
By Stephen Long

Updated 54 minutes ago

Is one of Australia's oldest and most famous law firms — and the first in the world to list on a stock exchange — going broke?

Slater and Gordon's share price fell precipitously today, its shares closing at 94 cents — a fall of more than 50 per cent and a monumental tumble from its highs of close to $8.00.

The fall put the company's market value at just over $300 million, about a quarter of what it paid the British professional services firm Quindell in an ill-fated purchase just eight months ago.

The catalyst was regulatory change in the UK on traffic accident compensation, but the underlying issues go deeper.

Slater and Gordon's market capitalisation has now been eclipsed by its debt of more than $700 million and rising.

The firm raised nearly $900 million, mainly from institutional investors, to fund the purchase of Quindell, and also borrowed more than $350 million from a syndicate of banks.

The bankers might be poring over the books now.

Implications of collapse would be dire

If Slater and Gordon were to go broke, the implications would be dire. It is one of the largest plaintiff law firms in the world.

A collapse would place thousands of clients in limbo, and potentially create havoc for the legal systems of Australia and the United Kingdom, where Slater & Gordon has expanded aggressively in recent times.

It would also be an ignominious and ironic end to a law firm with a proud labour movement history.

It has been more than 80 years since Hugh Gordon and William Slater founded the firm.

Operating from a small room in the Australian Railway Union's building on Bourke Street in Melbourne, the firm was a champion of workers' rights from the outset, pioneering claims on workers' entitlements and workplace injury.

Slater and Gordon gained public notoriety and acclaim when it took on the asbestos industry, first CSR over its deadly blue asbestos mines in WA, then James Hardie, acting pro-bono for the ACTU and asbestos support groups in the James Hardie Commission of Inquiry.

Social justice mission waning

But the emphasis on social justice has waned since the law firm took what it described as the "bold" step of publicly listing.

Lawyers who have left speak of being pressured to settle cases, against the interests of clients, to bring cash in the door.

Quindell, which it so disastrously acquired, has been under investigation in the UK for accounting fraud.

Slater and Gordon's own accounts have also been under scrutiny by ASIC and analysts amid concerns a constant stream of acquisitions have hidden problems in the business.

On the face of it, Slater and Gordon's debt is well covered by its current assets, until you drill down and look at the nature of those assets.

Less than $100 million of its reported $1.3 billion in current assets is cash or equivalents.

A total of $620 million is receivables and much of it — $553 million — is work in progress, or "WIP".

There have long been doubts about Slater and Gordon's estimates of how much work in progress will convert into hard earnings and cold cash.

As the "WIP" has expanded via acquisitions of other law firms, Slater and Gordon has been able to state rising accounting profits, but cash profit has been thin on the ground.

The collapse in the share price will have shareholders looking for answers.

In recent times, the class actions the firm was once famous for have become few and far between.

But, it is possible that Slater and Gordon could soon be at the centre of a class action again — this time as the defendant.

[funkmasterp12] 26/11/2015 11:15

"SGH have stated several times that they are happy with the due dilligence performed by their legal and accounting experts (70 taking months)."

Which is exactly why the business is completely uninvestable.

[tonybaloni] 26/11/2015 11:02

SGH have stated several times that they are happy with the due dilligence performed by their legal and accounting experts (70 taking months). A willing buyer bought from a willing seller - end of.

[squire007] 26/11/2015 10:55

Sue ... on what grounds ... pmsl.

[elcapital] 26/11/2015 10:41

I wonder if SGH shareholders will try and sue formerly quindell too?

[elcapital] 26/11/2015 10:40

LMAO. Yes, changing the name will change everything! Are these mug punters from a different planet? For years to come it will be known as "formerly Quindell"