Swallowfield Share Discussion Threads

[coolen] 15/4/2013 13:51

For those who fancy Joe Grimmond (ex Widney plc In Receivership) to run Swallowfield, his profit warning today at Coral Products (CRU) does not make good reading.

[countryman5] 15/4/2013 11:02

Hi Baner / Peter.
There is a very large article in the Daily Telegraph today about Axminster Carpets and Stephen Boyd (Together with photo). I assume that you can get the DT where you live or else view it on line.

[countryman5] 15/4/2013 09:15

hi Baner / Peter.
I am sure that we would all like to hear your thoughts on Stephen Boyd (assuming that they are printable! ) I guess that there will eventually be a meeting at Pittards or is Stephen Boyd's exit already being planned?
Imagine that you are thinking of applying for the job of chairman or CEO of Swallowfield, would the best people apply knowing that they can be shot at a moments notice by PG and WSE?
I would suggest that the stranglehold on the company by the two largest shareholders is holding this company back, but I doubt if PG and WSE can see this.
I hope our two exec directors don't walk, but if they do the rest of the shareholders will know who to blame.....not that that will do any good.

[markt] 14/4/2013 19:26

BTW
...let's not start being rude boys and girls !
...honest banter or exchange is fair enough
...but no need for swearing etc

[markt] 14/4/2013 19:21

If Mr Marshall were to become new Chairman

I wonder if SWL would then copy 2 listed investment companies that Mr Marshall controls

share option details would then be secret,
how many shares awarded subject to meeting perf. conditions would be secret

the perf. conditions for share options would be secret

and family member(s) would be employed at subsidiary and it would not be reported to shareholders. (ref. LFI and son employed as director at subsidiary City Group)

and share options awarded to family member(s) and kept secret from shareholders
(ref. LFI and options awarded to son)



imo if it does not break the regulations or Company Act 2006...then it definitely does break the spirit of the law or stk mkt. regulations.
ie. duty to report to shareholders and to be 'open and honest'

[markt] 14/4/2013 19:16

Coolen
for Mr Marshall you forgot 2 more to add to list of into admin.
Doctors Direct and Sanctuary

about 3 out 7 over last 20 years into admin. a worrying % imo
Sanctuary is perhaps excusable since due to CDs arriving and everyone copying instead of buying....but completely foreseeable....so it was imo completely NUTS for the bod to make massive acquisitions of CD catalogues, using debt...which then killed them

(were MWB and Sanctuary intentionally driven bust...and anyone making millions via shorting...I hope not...but its a dodgy world out there !)

(did MWB buy in 33% of shares at 3 pounds to intentionally drive the co. bust ??.....numerous complaints against the bod from Pyrrho investments, big investor at MWB and MBE, now legal cases I think....what's new, London markets have many proven cases of corruption/problems by directors...just visit the FSA website
....money, people like to get their own hands on it !!)


(while noting that failures happen, business has competition,....
if you dont try then you never fail, but companies need someone willing to be dirs....)

(on the plus side for DM at Sanctuary.....managed to leave and sell all shares before Sanct. hit the brick wall)

What happened at DD could be argued to have been disgraceful.
(Western brought it to market and was the biggest new investor....
strange that there was a legal case mentioned in the IPO.....about who was the rightful owner of the company being IPO'd !!
DM and chartered accountant from Western....sat on the board...and let the exec. dirs. and their friends burn through the IPO money in 12-18 months...and no resulting income....so...administration.

and IPO price was imo nuts.

...and noting that there is I think a listed business on AIM that successfully does the same sort of thing...Mobile Doctors I think it is called

(personally I would never invest in such a business idea....
barriers to entry ? zero (a website, a reception girl and a list of doctors willing to do home visits). .....imo not suitable business to be listed

[markt] 14/4/2013 19:00

a lady chairman....

now, that made me smile...very witty !!

[countryman5] 12/4/2013 18:28

It would be good to have a lady Chairman, any suggestions? The majority of SWL's customers are ladies, do men understand the cosmetics industry?

[coolen] 12/4/2013 15:17

we're not doing very well on potential candidates:

Mr Marshall: M W B plc (In Admin);
Mr Grimmond: Widney plc(In Admin);
Mr Gyllenhamer: Carbo plc (In Admin).

[markt] 12/4/2013 13:57

topvest
BTW DM past record

recent record is 3 operating cos. into administration from 7
(MWB, Doctors Direct (disgraceful bod performance there imo, the exec. dirs and their friends seemed to burn quickly thru the money raised by the IPO, then stuffed since no income, was David Marshall and E.Beale asleep while sitting on the bod as they watched the money fall and fall and no income result from it ??, Sanctuary Group ),

ie. 4 still going

almost 50:50 !!

and 2 of those had rescue share issues (MWB and CRE.....MWB still managed to then go into administration)

and a small pub/restaurant co. also had a rescue share issue


(7 not 8 since I will exclude one which has a subsidiary which was in administration recently.....so viability is not so clear at the moment)
----

My point is that a record of 3 out of 7 going into administration is not a good recommendation imo..and bad records over 20 years at the 2 listed investment cos he chairs/controls...and hence not advisable for SWL

Department managers inside a company get reviewed against their performance.
and with rewards or promotion or new challenges for good perf.
imo directors/chairmen should as well....including DM

and as I said, a Chairman that is resident in South Africa and almost 70
...makes no sense for SWL imo....
...especially since SWL needs participative chairman imo. as result of turnover fall and profit collapse and notable debt..

[markt] 12/4/2013 13:42

topvest
anyway...a difference of opinion and exchange of opinions ...is healthy....

(here's one, maybe get on the MOS bus !..if you want to try a bit of techno..but maybe see if falls to lower part of price range before getting on
but for things like divis and asset backing of the sp, which I think you like, ..there's not much of that !)
----

Widney in administration ?!....that's a shame
whether JG was the cause or was moved in to try to sort it out....I dont know...

(I only know that he's done well at Coral Products, an acquistion, widening of product range.....and profitability and share price have really moved up)
How's he's done at other cos. I dont know.

----

Axminster is close to SWL I think...
...another PG co. in same area is Petards I think...(upmarket leather products)

[coolen] 12/4/2013 11:49

Good spot Countryman !

[countryman5] 12/4/2013 09:03

I wonder if PG is one of the investors in Axminster carpets. I understand that he has a large fibre business in the North of England.

[coolen] 11/4/2013 22:31

Joe Grimmond ?

Surely not the same Joe Grimmond that captained Widney PLC (In Administration) ?

[topvest] 11/4/2013 20:45

Thought you might react to my suggestion markt...lol! I think Marshall is committed to sorting this out, so he would have my vote.

[markt] 11/4/2013 12:09

"a slow car crash"

je je !

----

WSE ..."invest now"

....personally I hope they dont !!
...SWL needs adjustments to sort out the turnover, profit and then debt subjects....
...and to have a good strategy (and how to avoid profits being nailled down by over powerful retail buyers)
...to have a good strategy for how to benefit from UK, Czech and Chinese operations


...not the buying of shares imo...

----

Western thought that SWL shares were a good buy at 80p....a price that they paid when they first invested I think...

now it is around same price area X years later....and the co. has 5M of debt. Not good.

Infers to me that Western made a bad investment decision.
(which I assume means Mr Marshall senior)

If they had a plan to develop SWL when they first invested.....why has it not happened or not worked ?

If they havent been able to develop SWL over last 5 years..(during which time they have received suggestions from Western and from PG) ..why do you think that Mr Marshall as chairman would suddenly change anything ??!!

---
how to avoid profits being nailled down by over powerful retail buyers

Any solutions to that topic....and win a prize !!
----

BTW
You realise that Mr Marshall is resident in South Africa ?
And hence does not see what is happening in high street shops for retailing/marketing of cosmetics/toiletries....or special advertising campaigns or see UK TV adverts every day for cosmetics/toiletries

is someone that does not have daily visibility of the sector and its changes a good person to have as chairman ??
----

I'm hoping that Peter G will be able to propose/supply/find a new MD and chairman.
someone as successful as Mr Grimmond at Coral Products....or C21 has also done well (PG is an investor there)
(while various of PG investee companies have not performed so far)

existing directors/chairmen for cosmetics companies....I guess there are not many around....and even less looking for work
---

Other item.....

----

Marshall
...on the bod that took Sanctuary, Doctors Direct and MWB into administration...

and under his guidance his 2 listed investment vehicles have....since 1990 proved to be a waste of time....imo similar NAV now as they had then

while the investing funds that invest in the same sector have multiplied their NAV by X3 or X4. (Black Rock Smaller cos, Artemis, Morningstar etc etc)

that can only be reported as FAILURE

the Lond. Fin. and Western Inv. strategy does NOT work.
Other listed cos. have tried the same strategy (investing in 3-5 companies long term and sitting on the bod and trying to produce good performance by being 'super skilled' !!)

and most of them have gone bust or wound themselves up and returned cash to investors or done very badly.

Such as
Arlington
Spark
Blackstar

and a list of others

[topvest] 10/4/2013 20:17

All looks a bit of a slow car crash - I think there has been an element of hoping that a miracle appears by the board and it hasn't appeared...surprise surprise! Personally, I'd like to see Marshall as Chairman. Have WSE got the balls to invest now rather than whilst everything was going well?

[markt] 10/4/2013 17:21

Prob. no divi

Topvest....you could charge them consultancy ! (you posted that weeks ago, although very obvious...with the debt...and profit collapsed)

Surprised that the share price fall to here has been so slow...although almost no shares traded over recent weeks I think...

[markt] 10/4/2013 17:08

je je !!....no !

[coolen] 09/4/2013 21:42

Don't know this Marshall guy.

If we're going to get a vote on a new Chairman, presumably Marshall has a classy track record ?

[topvest] 09/4/2013 21:02

Well no surprise today on the trading announcement in my view or the dividend. Year-end forecast was a nonsense in my view anyway, after such a bad H1. They should have managed that better as an idiot could have seen that making a full year profit this year, with such dramatic revenue loss would be something of a miracle. Boyd jumping ship is a bit of a disaster though. Surely this paves the way for Marshall to get on the Board and starting to turn this company before it gets any worse?

[coolen] 09/4/2013 16:00

My reading is that Western Selection are being used as a puppet in this affair by Mr Gyllenhamer, a Scandanavian of some repute.

[markt] 23/3/2013 19:49

imo completely normal if 2 big shareholders with close to 50% of the votes try to make changes if they are upset with progress or results.....so have 80%-90% probability imo of winning any EGM vote (since some PIs will not bother to vote, eg. shares in nominee accounts)

the shareholders own the co. after all

and completely normal to offer to dirs. to resign in advance of being pushed...
I could name some other companies where the dirs. have left....

if a dir. resigns it is I assume much easier for them to find new work, and also its face saving....so it is the normal result...

(maybe the new MD or bod may be interested in IM providing assistance/advice based on his experience noting that the new MD will have no operational experience of SWL and it is a lot of people to manage....)