Uls Technology Share Discussion Threads

[p1nkfish] 19/7/2020 11:31

Hard to know what to do and no one will be able to guarantee any one single approach will help shield you.

My take is - and I'm not saying I'm right.

1) Subscription based sales - good - especially if annual as more predictable, multi-year even better. Good visibiity, easier to plan.

2) SaaS for stuff people need to become more efficient (process optimisation) as there will be a need to eek out every penny from value chains. B2B. Gov wil need business to thrive. Consumer not so good as they become crimped by inflation.

3) Ideally able to price rise with inflation or cut costs to compensate.

4) Stuff that doesn't need high labour content as the price of it will rise as costs of goods and services bite labour.

5) Ideally low share float and tightly held with a good share register.

6) Not volume based revenue - or a small element - in other words if transactions crash the subscription income keeps flowing anyway off the platform.

7) Price of the product is a small % of the total transaction being handled - easier to increase prices as needed as the cost of it is noise in the great scheme of things. Buying houses one example.

8) Great if Gov on side - in other words they need your market to move to help get the economy going.

Outside of this sort of stuff then products that can rise with inflation without crimping volumes shipped & the inverse of paper currencies (products in limited supply) & some gold.

Good luck. This is not advice all imho and pretty basic really.

[red ninja] 19/7/2020 10:44

I was at primary school in the 1970's, but I remember there was high inflation.

That makes me want to invest in stocks as at least they should provide some protection against inflation. However, I'm wary about investing too much now before the recession/depression bites as share prices are liable to be under downward pressure.

[red ninja] 19/7/2020 08:44

Thanks.
It looks like there will be a recession ahead so share prices today may seem expensive in 4-5 months time when furloughed staff are being layed off and more seriously covid impacted company reports are being published.

[p1nkfish] 18/7/2020 09:36

They tend not to sell soon afterwards so its a few more off the market for a while.

Good luck, some turbulence ahead, hopefully of the better variety.

[red ninja] 18/7/2020 09:09

Director's buy yesterday boosted market. I was reading that directors buys are not really such a good indicator and the buy effect is short lived. We'll see, tempted to buy a few more, but only at a lower price closer to my average.

[p1nkfish] 16/7/2020 08:33

Stamp duty change won't hurt volume/demand.

[red ninja] 16/7/2020 08:18

Recent July comment from Artemis VCT fund on ULS :-

hxxps://www.artemisfunds.com/en/gbr/investor/funds/explorer/artemis-vct-plc/ordinary-shares

"ULS Technology has had a similarly challenging start to the year. As the UK went into lockdown, it suffered a 90% fall in instructions for conveyancing. Management sensibly undertook a number of forecasts looking at possible impacts on the housing market as a result of the pandemic. These were then stress-tested further to determine what it would take to run out of cash and when bank covenants would be breached. Extra facilities and temporary adjustments to the bank covenants were negotiated based on this work but have thankfully proven unnecessary: the housing market and ULS’ pipeline of work is recovering more quickly than expected."

Note, Artemis VCT fund is talking about winding up as cannot find good value Aim IPOs to invest in. Thus at some time towards the end of this year or beginning of next year they will be offloading their ULS Tech stake.

[p1nkfish] 13/7/2020 08:26

Also still exclusive and 3 Yr visibility. No bad thing. Sensible foundation.

[red ninja] 13/7/2020 08:11

It is good news, but it is the extension of an existing partnership :-

Paul Shearman, Mortgage Proposition Director, Openwork commented: "We are excited to extend our on-going, successful relationship with ULS. DigitalMove is already proving a winning solution for our advisers in an environment where they and their clients are increasingly demanding efficient digital solutions. We look forward to continuing to work together with ULS to drive the usage of DigitalMove and to develop and deploy new innovative propositions that add value to both our organisations."

Hopefully Uls will be signing some new partners.

[p1nkfish] 13/7/2020 06:42

Openwork news. 3 yrs.

[techno20] 25/6/2020 20:56

hxxps://bestadvice.co.uk/hodge-improves-conveyancing-options/

[p1nkfish] 24/6/2020 07:34

Margins up, sales will head higher too.

Inc margin x inc sales = good things tend to happen.

[red ninja] 24/6/2020 07:29

I agree, but will it be enough to make up for the effect of sale market decline ?

I am unsure. I am a holder and on a 2-3 year timescale I hope I will do well.

[qs99] 24/6/2020 07:27

As a disruptor in the market providing efficiencies in a cost conscious world, I think they will continue to take market share and grow....DYOR

[red ninja] 24/6/2020 07:17

The results are pretty decent given the Covid-19 affect, but then again we had already seen the trading update.

They are nursing cash ie no dividend. There will not be a payment for CAL this year, but increased spending on Digitalmove.

The big ongoing effect will be Covid-19 with housing sales estimated to be down by 38% for the coming year :-

"Our view at the beginning of 2020 was that the volume of UK residential transactions for 2020-21 would be around 5% higher than the five-year average - around 1.26 million compared with the 1.18 million seen in 2019-20 but the lockdown will obviously have a dramatic impact. Sales will continue to recover in the second half of the year and I believe will total around 735,000 for the full year, around a 38% decline from the level seen in 2019-20. We do expect the revival in activity to continue, with volumes in the following year expected to be above the level seen in 2020-21 but this expansion may not fully offset the drop in 2020-21 as the economy and the housing market takes a while to recover from the shock of the pandemic. The pandemic has accelerated a push to digital solutions that has substantiated our view that to outperform our competitors we cannot rely on the market alone to deliver the business, we need to shape it ourselves"

Thus the hope is the tech advances/increased sales team can give them a much bigger share of a smaller market. or that the 38% decline in sales estimate is overly negative.

[qs99] 24/6/2020 06:58

decent update IMO. for hi tec enabled firm, rating looks too low. Let's see. Good update re June vs June 2019....DYOR

[red ninja] 22/6/2020 08:19

Similar from Mortgage Introducer :-

hxxps://www.mortgageintroducer.com/uls-technology-unveils-digital-rapid-remortgage/


Mmm share price on a bit of a roll at the moment.

[red ninja] 22/6/2020 08:16

Article on Financial Reporter :-

hxxps://www.financialreporter.co.uk/mortgages/uls-technology-launches-digital-rapid-remortgage.html

from article :-

"Karen Rodrigues, sales director at ULS Technology, said: “Rapid Remortgage is a game changer. We have been working very closely with our top conveyancing firms to deliver this proposition that benefits everyone – the conveyancer, the client and, of course, the intermediary. We are offering clients the peace of mind that legally there is no reason why their remortgage cannot take place sooner than expected. We have had fabulous feedback from our conveyancing partners as well as the intermediary sector."

[p1nkfish] 21/6/2020 12:00

A good sign and see no reason why ULS shouldn't upset conveyancing and capture decent share. I'm biased because I hold and have been buying. Dyor etc.

Interesting to me too as HSBC also support another holding, PHD. A turn around story.

Not a recommendation to buy, just interesting, dyor. It's easy to lose money. Take care.

[reefseeker] 21/6/2020 09:21

Looking at the reviews for O'Neill Patient on TrustPilot I saw this;

"O'Neills were selected to complete the legal work for my remortgage by HSBC; though I didn't choose this firm, in future I would definitely look at using them again. Everything seemed to run smoothly, I didn't have to call at all to chase or provide information. All contact was through an online 'track my case' platform and email, this suited me as it is easier for me to respond to emails than take phone calls."

It's interesting that HSBC is steering at least part of it's re-mortgaging business onto solicitors using the ULS platform.

[red ninja] 20/6/2020 13:53

I have high hopes for Uls in the medium term.

[p1nkfish] 20/6/2020 11:13

One to hold to see what it plays out like. Have bought.

[red ninja] 19/6/2020 15:03

Late flurry before next weeks results.

From the trading update we know they should be reasonable although dented a bit by Covid-19 so you'd think buyers could take their time.