Tribal Share Discussion Threads

[napoleon 14th] 19/9/2006 14:37

Needs a kick in the pants to wake up!
If next results don't prove to be that, I'll be out thru' sheer boredom...

[ards] 04/9/2006 20:31

very hard to tell. could be a bear raid to flush out weak hands.

[bletherer] 04/9/2006 15:58

Nasty break through support to end the day. Bad news on the way?

[redd] 03/7/2006 13:32

Pot of gold hiding in the public sector

Tribal Group is making millions by bidding for contracts to run projects in areas such as education and healthcare. Oliver Morgan investigates

Sunday July 2, 2006
The Observer


If you want a forward indicator of what Gordon Brown would be like as Prime Minister, you could do worse than ask Henry Pitman. He's not a pundit but a fresh-faced 42-year-old who dresses smartly, comes from a well-known family (of shorthand fame) and claims to have no political affiliation.
He also runs Tribal Group, the company he founded six years ago to take advantage of the increasing use of the private sector in public services. Unlike the goliaths with which he competes - Serco and Capita, PWC and Deloitte Touche - Tribal is focused entirely on the UK, with 94 per cent of its revenues coming from the public sector. So the attitude of a Brown premiership to the things it does - the private finance initiative, private diagnostic centres and private hit squad teachers in state schools - is crucial.

So, what if the Chancellor becomes PM? Will there be a limit to the private sector's involvement in schools and hospitals? Is Pitman scared of Brown?

'No, not really,' he says diffidently. 'Some people are concerned that he will slow down the pace of reform and the use of the private sector in delivering reform. I am not convinced that is right.'

Even if Brown did reduce the pace of change, he continues, Tribal is 'looking for a very small share of a very large slice' in the markets in which it works.

Tribal's turnover was £260m in 2005/2006, up 13 per cent from the year before. That's a lot more than the 2001 figure of £17m, but a lot less than the £250bn of government spending in health, local government, education and other areas in which it operates.

The parts of these budgets that are open to bidding from private companies are mere slivers, but for Tribal they mean a lot: for example, the £214m contract it won to build and operate five diagnostic treatment centres, privately run by its own staff of 22 doctors and 230 nursing and ancillary staff. That contract, signed in 2004, is the basis of a business that analysts believe could be spun off within the next year.

It is still tiny compared with Serco - 40,000 employees and £2.2bn turnover - or Capita at 25,000 and £1.4bn. But the model is to keep winning contracts. Tribal has swollen from a three-man band in 1999, via a 2001 flotation to a company employing 3,000 today.

Pitman won his first big contract - to administer the new written driving test - in 1995, when he was working for JHP Training. The contract, which JHP won in a 50-50 joint venture with Capita, was worth £70m over five years. Two years later, he sold out JHP's interest for £10m.

Then Pitman saw an opportunity that persuaded him to start his own business: 'Estelle Morris [then an education minister] made it clear the government was unhappy with the local education authorities. They wanted the private sector to come up with a framework to take over the running of failing LEAs.'

Tribal became involved with a number of schools, but needed more personnel and skills. It bought them. Between 2000 and 2003 it made some 45 acquisitions. It concentrated first on education, property and a schools inspection business (it now has 30 per cent of the market for providing Ofsted with inspectors).

Then it shifted focus. It bought a local government recruitment outfit, a search and selection business and a software company, followed by a health management consultancy and an architects' practice; by 2003, there were three divisions: consulting, education and health.

Tribal now employs 400 consultants offering advice to hospital trusts and local authorities. In education, it does school inspections, teacher training and operates software systems for schools, further education colleges and universities.

The most controversial aspect of its education business is what it calls its 'Pupil Champions!' (yes, with the exclamation mark). These are former public-sector teachers employed by Tribal to go into failing schools: 'There are 50 schools in inner-city areas where we send specialised teachers in to help improve the GCSEs of named pupils.' Most of these schools are in London, in boroughs such as Tower Hamlets.

In the health sector, the staff he uses cannot have worked in the NHS in the six months prior to him hiring them. This means, he claims, that he is adding capacity to the NHS rather than poaching it from elsewhere. Many of the surgeons and radiologists he employs come from eastern Europe.

In 2004, there was a profit warning, blamed on costs and the difficulties of handling integration. But the latest results showed pre-tax profits grew 6.7 per cent to £19m. Pitman believes that growth prospects are strong and that the company will grow to three-quarters of a billion pounds in turnover in the next 10 years - regardless of who is in 10 Downing Street.

[welsheagle] 26/4/2006 20:02

Panmure Gordon have reiterated their 'buy' recommendation, and raised their target price to 245p.

[gerd212] 25/4/2006 15:00

RNS Number:3445B
Tribal Group PLC
11 April 2006



Notification of Trading Update and Annual Investor Meeting

Tribal Group plc will announce its pre-close trading update on Wednesday, 26
April, 2006.

At 9am on that date, the Group will be hosting its annual presentation to
investors at the offices of ABN Amro, 250 Bishopsgate, London EC2M 4AA.

For further information, please contact Colin Browne/Charlotte Barker of
Maitland on 020 7379 5151.


This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

END
MSCIBMLTMMIBMLF

[rob the slob] 26/3/2006 22:31

Investor's Chronicle: BUY recommnedation!



Anyone out there seen the article?

[Abuse team] 20/3/2006 16:48

Post removed by ADVFN

[bletherer] 20/3/2006 16:47

Ouch, another support level goes. I sold on the last bounce, primarily because I was suspicious of the run of director sells going through. Now glad I did - this looks like it's heading straight for the next support level at around 168-70 in the absence of news. I continue to watch with interest as I think the field Tribal's in has long-term potential, but they may suffer short term if there are public spending cuts, and the latest public borrowing figures make that look more rather than less likely (presumably this is what's causing the renewed drop). Will reassess the situation once I see their next set of figures.

[rob the slob] 10/3/2006 23:24

PM praises private sector healthcare providers in meeting at No. 10
February 2006


Directors of Mercury Health, Tribal's independent health sector company, yesterday attended a round-table meeting of the new NHS Partners' Network at No. 10.

As a sign of the Government's ongoing commitment to private provision in the health service, Prime Minister Tony Blair and Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt met with the newly formed NHS Partners' Network. A coalition of independent providers involved in the diagnosis and treatment of NHS patients, the network aims to develop a better understanding of how new and traditional healthcare providers can work together to deliver high quality treatment.

Mr Blair praised the work and commitment of private firms brought in to treat NHS patients and confirmed the vital role of the private sector in future healthcare provision, estimating that by 2008, up to 40 per cent of private sector operations will be for NHS patients.

Mercury's Mark Smith, and Chairman of the Network said: "For us, the sterile debate between public and private healthcare provision is over. Wherever people are treated it is their receipt of tax-funded healthcare, according to need and not ability to pay, which makes them NHS patients."

Peter Martin, Chief Executive of Mercury Health and Patrick Beasley, the company's Medical Director were also present. All members of the network confirmed their full support for the NHS as a tax-funded entity, whilst also outlining their belief and commitment in the private sector's ability to undertake an even larger role in the future.

...IMHO...==> The 2nd phase of Independent sector procurements by the Dept of Health for the NHS for diagnostics (MRI scans ultrasounds etc) and treatment centres is due to be announced soon and in my opinion Tribal subsidiary Mercury Health will be well placed to take a share of these multi billion GBP contracts before the summer is out.

See their recent analyst presentation here...

[welsheagle] 30/1/2006 19:40

Tribal Group Plc Director/PDMR Shareholding
RNS Number:6590X
Tribal Group PLC
30 January 2006


30 January 2006


Tribal Group plc ("the Company")


On 27 January 2006, Abacus Corporate Trustee Limited, the trustees of Tribal
Group's Employee Share Ownership Trust ("the Trust") purchased 110,200 ordinary
5p shares on behalf of the Trust at 185p per share.

The total number of shares held by the Trust is 789,262, representing 0.98% of
the Company's issued share capital.

The shares were purchased by the Trust to satisfy in due course and, if
appropriate, grant awards under the Company's previously announced Share Option
Plans and Save As You Earn (SAYE) Plan. As the Trust's shares may ultimately
vest in executive directors and senior executives, all directors and Persons
Discharging Managerial Responsibilities (PDMR) in the Company are treated as
interested in transactions by the Trust.

[redd] 26/1/2006 11:02

Does not augur well that having only recently bought these at 193p she has now sold 51,323 @ 190p and now 50,000 @ 179p. Glad I sold on Monday for a small loss as would not want to be holding if some bad news suddenly comes out.

[sheik yerbouti] 26/1/2006 08:12

Surprised these are going up this morning. Harris sold another 50k yesterday - sneaky RNS after market closed. Directors buying and then selling at a loss a few weeks later doesn't give much confidence.

[sheik yerbouti] 25/1/2006 08:20

Don't think so mick, there were 25 sells in 30 mins.

Director sells may be worrying some. But Harris bought 393782 in December and then sold only 51323. Chambers bought 92552 and then sold 67142. Seems a bit strange but could be a good buying opportunity.

[mick33] 24/1/2006 16:55

Tree-shake frightening a few small holders out that is all in my view......

[sheik yerbouti] 24/1/2006 16:15

Going by the number of small sells from 2pm onwards, there must have been a sell recommendation from one of the website tipsters?

[napoleon 14th] 24/1/2006 16:12

A sign of what, muzzy?!

DN 4% on very light figures today & headed for 170p. MACD looking sick, but RSI says oversold.

If the profit f'cast is accurate this could be a nice opportunity to top up, or is there something we should know?

[muzzy123] 22/1/2006 12:48

hmmm interesting.
one of the investment institution upped their stake in this company.

a sign?

[bletherer] 22/1/2006 11:58

I see last week Karen Harris sold at 190p some of the shares she acquired in December at 193p. Admittedly she still retains the bulk of them but directors trading at a loss does not boost my confidence and the recent share-price move does not look too healthy either. Anyone know of more concrete grounds for concern?

[redd] 20/12/2005 09:58

The share sale is strange as he only just bought 92,552 @ 191.4p on the 6 December, whilst on this occasion he sold 17,272 @ 195p and his wife sold 49,870 @ 195p. On balance he still holds 25,410 more than he did.

[napoleon 14th] 20/12/2005 09:03

From The Times, 19.12.05.

"Tribal Group faded ½p to 195p as the chief executive of the support services group's technology division sold stock for £130,927. Jim Chambers and his spouse sold a combined 67,142 shares at 195p and retain 79,189 between them. ABN Amro moved the shares from "add" to "buy" last month after first-half pre-tax profits came in significantly ahead of forecasts. Revenues were stronger than expected, while costs and interest charges were lower. Last week Tribal's Mercury Health subsidiary opened its third treatment centre for day-case surgery."

I suggest this level is holding until the next move upwards.
Next R 220m then 300p: results will see to that

[welsheagle] 17/12/2005 20:56

From November's 'Company Refs', when price was 200p:-
a/ Prospective PE ratio of 12.5 (based on six broker forecasts, one recommending 'buy', two recommending 'add' two recommending 'hold',and one recommending 'neutral').
b/ Net asset value of 199p.
c/ Five directors recently buying.
d/ Price to sales ratio of 0.62.
e/ Turnover up from £17.5m to £229m in last five years.
f/ Cash flow of 4.12p per share.
g/ Gearing of 35.5%.

Overall fundamentals look good.