Stanley Gibbons Share Discussion Threads

[greekfire] 16/12/2017 10:19

I'm a complete newbie to share trading, so I wonder if anyone could please explain to me what happened yesterday afternoon.
At 13:24 500,000 shares were bought @3.45p.
Over the next 3 hours share price rose to bid 4p / sell 4.25p.
Then at close of play (16:30.26) 500,000 shares were sold @3.25p.
All seems very odd to me.

[jasdan] 16/12/2017 07:50

I hear that a very positive update is [for once] coming through on 29th. About time, although like many on here, I won't believe it until I see it.

Still, it would make a nice change. Perhaps this is where Gibbons will at last advise that they have turned that corner that they keep on alluding to.

Also, perhaps confirmation of progress on a new or renewed banking facility?

And also, confirmation that debt is now coming down and is expected to fall much faster now that Guernsey has been successfully put into administration.

If there is stable trading, the only problem then arising is that Gibbons' independence is going to be limited as I reckon we will get takeover offers early next year. It will be shame - but hopefully management will extract a good price. Anyone who can tie up an administration so efficiently can certainly get a good offer out of bidders.

[ragewarrior] 15/12/2017 19:28

That's better... +++

[ltcm1] 13/12/2017 12:17

She's listing - it's akin to watching the Titanic go down.

Doubtless there will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth when the gates are locked.

Does Mike Ashley collect stamps???

[ltcm1] 12/12/2017 10:58

Yes but a different company methinks.

What will happen here is the price will go to 2p and then they will announce an MBO, giving the bank back some of their money (doubtless they will make more arranging and financing the MBO) and the jolly old shareholder will be left high and dry with diddly squat.

[superiorshares] 11/12/2017 19:07

yes 2018 and beyond .

[ltcm1] 11/12/2017 17:52

It's not the future of Stanley Gibbons or stamps that is in doubt, it's the shareholders who are being stamped on.

Stanley Gibbons2018 anyone???

[diku] 09/12/2017 20:05

Is this yesterday's collection?...have they all moved over to Bitcoin now?..

[ltcm1] 09/12/2017 18:04

Perhaps the bank debt will get converted to shares. The level of profits the group can make will barely cover the interest payments and they have no saleable assets. RBS pretty well own the company now. An MBO of some sort comes to mind.

[superiorshares] 07/12/2017 17:55

IT compiles the stamp pricing and catalogues this The auctions are additional I would imagine the staff are very motivated in philately. Now in general you don't sell 250,000 grand stamps in auction. Take a look at their website all of the top quality stuff ( and their is a lot of it ) is retail. As they said in their results sales of investment grade stamps is slowing. This could be a problem with the next results and negotiations with the banks ?

[superiorshares] 07/12/2017 17:47

The remainder of the group isn't catalogues and auctions Its retail ! and always has been.

[jasdan] 07/12/2017 13:52

Here's a recent posting on the LSE chat boards for Stanley Gibbons that sums things up well by a poster named Ringworm:

It all depends on how you see the function of the current board, put in place by the institutional investors, which it would appear to be experts in administration, so SGI was bust, the entire board were removed, auditors resigned and replaced.

So all the action over the last 18 months has been to try to salvage some of their (and our) investment.

Now that SGI has been pruned, investments put into formal administration, the remainder of the group namely catalogues and auctions can now be either sold as a going concern, or operations staff appointed.

I think its still viable as a business given the strength of the collectibles market, but staff need to be accountable, and motivated.

[superiorshares] 07/12/2017 05:56

Jim diGriz . agree with you on all of that , unfortunately I cant write like you It is a good business and has been for decades and decades The problem for it at the minute I think is time They reported that high end stuff- sales were slow , which may mean they cant return to profit as quick as the banks would like ?. Gives an increased risk I think that the banks might pull the rug ?

[jim digriz] 07/12/2017 00:03

If you look up A H Baldwin & Sons Limited online ( there does appear to be a perfectly decent company there that makes a perfectly useful profit and can support a fair chunk of the debt. Presumably at least some of that business now being run through this JV:

Then there are some perfectly good aspects of SG's business model. Auctions, sales, selling their catalogues, valuations at an hourly rate, their name, their stock, 399 the Strand.

Hopefully that lot will support the debt and other bits of less useful business. Even if they don't trade out of this which would be best for shareholders you really would think someone would buy this now the risk is capped. The amount of bank debt they are carrying (I think about £16m) is less than a private equity firm would have them loaded up with when they resold.

IMHO DYOR

Jim

[jasdan] 06/12/2017 21:08

They remain a going concern whilst RBS continues to support them.
Now that the Investment Division liabilities are ringfenced, that is no longer an issue for shareholders, although it is a shame there is a £6.5m hit over it.
The other liabilities arising from the Interiors and Marketplace are now accounted for and part of the past, so December's update should evidence that the Company is now turning round.

[ltcm1] 06/12/2017 11:45

Perhaps they are not a going concern??? There doesn't seem to be much left in the way of assets or ability to make money in the future.

As abergele was hinting, the payments to directors etc seem far in excess of the company's ability to make profit. They are paying themselves Sotherbys money while running a very small company.

[superiorshares] 05/12/2017 18:13

Its now in my gambling territory. The problem for me now is , should they report a chunky loss in the next results, without positive banking news ?.. The share price will quickly drop to fractional levels !

[abergele] 03/12/2017 17:25

How expert do you have to be?
I purchase stamps from a gathering of persons who have a lifetime of stamp experience.
So these so called overpaid chavs who have taken high salaries from SGI, are of no better at executing a diagnostic position than a dealer with over 40yrs at selling via a shop or catalogue dealer.gla

[superiorshares] 03/12/2017 16:29

itcm1 but if they are you have missed the jump up

[ltcm1] 03/12/2017 13:18

Good luck you two.

I like the idea of Stanley Gibbons and Baldwins but I think the ceiling on their profit is quite low, maybe too low to be on the AIM even.

Think I will wait until the stock moves up before buying, a total wipeout is likely if the banks are not supportive.

[superiorshares] 03/12/2017 06:35

jasdan you would have thought most shorters would have cashed in by now There is not a lot left too short . Like I said I will be in for the gamble at below 3p

[jasdan] 02/12/2017 12:12

Itcm, you exactly hit the nail on the head. All of us investors want to buy shares that do not have liabilities to them.
With SG, it now seems to be the case. They have got rid of the Interiors and the Marketplace, and last month put the Guernsey branch into administration with all the liabilities arising from the Investment Division's guarantees all ring fenced and separated from SG.

That now means that there can only be very limited liabilities left. So we must be nearer to trading in the black particularly as the wage roll has been halved, and all the old directors turfed out. Employee costs per month must be sharply lower.

Liquidity for the Group must now be improving at last as they have cut their fixed costs [wageroll] and now no longer have to spend millions guaranteeing the investment funds. Together, those must count.
Yes, the stock is bombed out, yes, it is clearly oversold, and yes, it looks awful. But there is another side to this, which should become a lot clearer as the rest of the financial year unfolds. I see we are due another update from SG later on this month - time for them to demonstrate that a corner has been turned.
Let's face it, if they do, there are going to be a lot of shorters who get burnt....

[ltcm1] 01/12/2017 15:42

Well worth repeating gs!!!

Or are parties jsut waiting to purchase assets without attached liabilities?

Perhaps a situation where the banks get partly repaid but the shareholders are wiped out.

[goldenshare888] 01/12/2017 15:36

Epic value destruction here.............!

What an "investment" ???

[goldenshare888] 01/12/2017 15:36

Epic value destruction here.............!

What an "investment" ???