United Carpets Share Discussion Threads

[meijiman] 16/3/2018 12:43

As the ceo stares out of the window wondering what to do. Maybe a profile piece in a newspaper with a cheesy grin photo would do the trick?

[my retirement fund] 07/3/2018 11:08

Life ! Couple large buys there.

[loganair] 04/3/2018 22:21

The problem many of the retailers are facing including Carpetright is they have high debts and long expensive leases whereas as UCG is debt free and a few years ago managed to get their leases reduced by 1/3rd.

If Carpetright does go bust, will be positive news for UCG as it will take their biggest competitor out of the market and maybe also the possibility that UCG could pick up a few of the well performing and profitable Carpitright outlets for a real snip.

[loganair] 01/3/2018 19:40

Carpetright shares down around 20%. A hoped for turnaround in the group's fortunes has failed to materialise even after a programme of reinvestment into its suite of stores.

Management had previously cut profit expectations to a range of between £13.8million and £16.7million in December, but slashed the figures to between £2million and £6million just one month later.

Now it expects to end the year with a loss after posting a 3.6 per cent decline in like-for-like sales over the crucial Christmas trading period.

The group recorded net debt of £22.8 million at the end of October, an increase of £13 million compared with the end of the last financial year in April. Problem here is that if potential customers get wind that something's wrong, even more could decide to shop elsewhere.

The company, which had 600 shops in 2010, now has 416 shops in Britain, could cut its portfolio by as much as 100 stores.

Some of them make money. But as with many retailers right now, too many don’t. There is a long tail of under performers that need sorting out.

The company has also had to fend off competition from rival Tapi, set up in 2015 by Martin Harris, the son of Carpetright’s founder.

Carpetright's recovery race will be hard one, and the fences it faces tough to clear. It’s no wonder investors were pushing through sell orders in response to the news.


Neil Wilson, analyst at ETX Capital, says today's update for the carpet store signals 'quite a climb down' and that previous profit estimates even after warnings seemed 'wishful thinking.

Wilson says: 'Weaker consumer sentiment for big ticket items is a factor, as well tougher competition from a more diverse marketplace.

'Meanwhile the slowdown in the property market means people are moving less often and therefore upgrading soft furnishings less often. The less often people move, the less often they purchase a new carpet.

'Carpetright is also a business that probably hasn’t quite adapted to the changing retail landscape quite as fast as it might – out of town retail parks just aren’t the place to be these days.

'The question is whether Carpetright is just on the wrong end of a cyclical slowdown, or whether there is a deeper structural problem facing this business: the answer is probably some of both.'

[spob] 01/3/2018 16:21

Can't believe how cheap this stock is to be honest

[loganair] 01/3/2018 15:31

UCG is basically debt free and a few years ago went through their own Voluntary CVA to be able to dump the worse preforming stores and get a 1/3rd reduction in the rents and leases of the other stores.

The management then bought the company out for £1 and gave the original shares holders 1 share in the new company for every share they held in the old UCG.

[my retirement fund] 01/3/2018 15:14

Looms to me from todays update Carpet rights days are numbered. No one is going to support a rights issue there when you consider its debt and the cost of existing a shed load of expensive leases.

[my retirement fund] 24/2/2018 16:36

Defiantly a Warren Buffet stock though. Not sure its time for them to expand again though unless say Carpet Right go bust.I tried to order some carpet fir the stairs. I got a sample of some cheap berber loop style synthetic for about 5.50 sqm which was better value than onlinecarpets. They kindly sent me a free sample a while ago and so did onlinecarpets. Thing was they didn't send me any courtesy email so I had to look it up again on the web site rather than find it from my email archive.Anyway I went through the online ordering process and wasn't sure how the free fitting with the underlay worked online. So I phoned their central number and couldn't get through. The phone was engaged all afternoon on their web site number.In the end I phoned a local company and got a quote for a little bit more. I said okay pencil me in and well take a look at the colours today.Anyway blow me down I'm getting a far superior woollen berber loop for twenty quid more.So United have lost a sale. Im sure they would have had it if I had a courtesy email from the sample order and the picked the bloody phone up.

[loganair] 24/2/2018 11:41

MRF - Because UCG hasn't gone any where for years.

When I first invested in UCG they had 68 stores and announce that with in three years they'll have 100, sadly however they have less stores now then they did 10 years ago, having 58 stores today.

Because of what UCG were saying at this time analysts were giving a price target of 30p.

I have kept UCG and increased my holding simply due to the dividend income they provide.

As well as the dividend they pay, importantly UCG is virtually debt free.

I have done very well out of UCG, the day they came out of bankruptcy I doubled my holding and in the time I've held my UCG shares dividend received are over double what I've paid for my shares.

The shares I bought the day UCG came out of bankruptcy I am getting around a 30% dividend yield on.

[my retirement fund] 24/2/2018 11:22

I can understand why its shunned by everyman and his dog. FULLY.

[my retirement fund] 24/2/2018 11:15

Just to let you know that there is now a public emergency defibrillator located in Fenton – Right outside the United Carpets and Beds, in Victoria Road.This is handy for anyone having a heart attack and also allows anyone dispensing emergency first aid to spend time browsing carpets flooring ir beds and such afterwards.

[lbo] 21/1/2018 14:35

Carpetrights problem has been well flagged.http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-5173319/Carpetright-floored-family-ran-75-years.htmlhttps://www.iol.co.za/business-report/companies/uk-flooring-giant-carpetright-taking-a-beating-from-its-founders-son-12412258https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/tapi-carpets-counts-the-cost-of-expansion-with-10m-loss-pgqxmkr7v

[norbert colon] 19/1/2018 11:37

My divi arrived today via AJ Bell

[my retirement fund] 19/1/2018 10:56

Don't think Carpetright mugs get dividends do they, thanks Carpetright LOL. All we need now is for them to go bust and the future should be ours for the taking.

[my retirement fund] 19/1/2018 10:54

Very handy knock on panic here today as by my reckoning the dividend should be landing in my account today for auto reinvestment.

[my retirement fund] 19/1/2018 10:40

United happen to be sitting in the only areas of the country where house prices are still climbing.

[oriental oracle] 19/1/2018 08:19

Boonkoh: agreed in part, but there is overlap (all of November, when UCG noted an increase).

UCG period: 29 September 2017 - 7 December 2017
CPR period: 27 October 2017 - 11 January 2017

[boonkoh] 19/1/2018 08:11

Oriental Oracle : you're comparing two different trading periods between carpet right and ucg! One is pre Christmas and the other post Christmas.

[oriental oracle] 19/1/2018 08:08

I hope so too, I bought in yesterday!

[redrumtum] 19/1/2018 08:06

Headlam posted a solid update this week so hopefully CPR woes don't reflect wider market.

[oriental oracle] 19/1/2018 07:56

Interesting news today. CarpetRight post trading update:

"· Trading in the important post-Christmas period has been significantly behind expectations
· Total Group sales down 2.3%
· Sharp deterioration in UK trade has had a significant impact on profitability and our outlook for the reminder of the year
· Revised full year profit guidance in the range of £2.0m to £6.0m" [from £14m]


To contrast, UCG extract from the Half year financials:

"Trading in October was similar to the first half before improving strongly in November. Like for like sales for the 10 weeks since the period end to 7 December 2017 show further improvement on the first half performance."


A sign of a wider impact to the market, or a failing competitor leaving UCG with a situation to take advantage of?



Link to the trading update here:

[walbrock82] 18/1/2018 19:07

To those who want a more stable company to invest in than UCG, then look no further than Headlam Group, which is a distributor of floorcovering and most of their business derives from the UK. Like UCG, it pays a high dividend yield of 5%.
The best thing about Headlam is less competition for distributing floorcovering.
For further details on Headlam, click

[my retirement fund] 15/12/2017 16:14

Hopefully going back to 12 pence + as peeps wake up