Sports Direct makes an offer for Goals Soccer Centres
Sports Direct International plc (LON:SPD) said on Monday that it had made an offer for Goals Soccer Centres.
Shares in Sports Direct were up during trading on Monday morning.
Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct said in a statement that it had made a possible cash offer of 5 pence per share “for the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Goals, not already held by Sports Direct”.
Sports Direct already holds a significant stake in the soccer centre operator.
Shares in the soccer centre operator were suspended back in March.
Goals Soccer Centres was put up for sale at the end of August following accounting issues.
Earlier in August, it was revealed that the accounting issues were much deeper than expected – a £12 million tax accounting scandal that stems back at least a decade.
“Sports Direct is the largest shareholder in Goals, with an 18.93% shareholding. Goals has had some well-publicised difficulties and its shares are currently suspended from trading on AIM,” Mike Ashley’s retail company said in a statement.
Sports Direct said that if its offer is progressed, then it would “provide shareholders with an exit and allow them to determine what is fair value and in their best interests”.
According to Sky News, Goals Soccer Centres employs roughly 700 people and had a market value of £20 million when shares were suspended.
Earlier in July of this year, Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct faced some problems with the publication of its preliminary results, sending shares down. It blamed the complexities surrounding the integration of House of Fraser, which it had purchased the year prior, for the delay in the publication of the results.
One analyst called the delay of the results “an utter shambles,” according to the BBC.
Shares in Sports Direct International plc (LON:SPD) were trading at +0.072 as of 10:09 BST Monday.
Impact Healthcare REIT continues investment with care home acquisition
Healthcare-focused real estate investment trust Impact Healthcare REIT PLC (LON: IHR) announced on Monday morning that it had acquired a property asset outside of Bristol.
The exchange of contracts for the Argentum Lodge Care Home facility was undertaken for a consideration of £6.95 million, with initial rental income of £0.467 million.
Speaking on the acquisition, the Impact Healthcare REIT statement read,
“Argentum Lodge is a purpose-built nursing home located in the affluent village of Nailsea, approximately 10 miles to the south west of Bristol.”
“The Group has agreed to appoint one of its existing tenants, Welford, as the new tenant of Argentum Lodge, which will leave Welford operating five homes for Impact with a total of 230 beds. The terms of the new 25-year full repairing and insuring lease with Welford for the home are the same as the Group’s existing leases with Welford.”
“The acquisition further enhances the Group’s geographic and tenant diversification and is in line with its investment criteria and returns profile.”
“The Group continues to pursue a number of further acquisitions with a number in exclusivity and has a strong pipeline of potential investment opportunities.”
Following the news, the Company’s shares rallied modestly, by 0.54% or 0.60p, to 111.60p per share 23/09/19 09:37 BST. The Group’s p/e ratio stands at 12.95, their dividend yield is 5.41%. Elsewhere in property development and estate agency news, there have been updates from; Berkeley Group Holdings Ltd (LON: BKG), Redrow plc (LON: RDW), U+I Group PLC (LON: UAI), Hunters Property PLC (LON: HUNT), GCP Student Living plc (LON: DIGS), Barratt Development Plc (LON: BDEV) and Belvoir Group PLC (LON: BLV).Thomas Cook collapses
Thomas Cook (LON:TCG), the British global travel group, has collapsed leaving thousands of British holidaymakers stranded abroad.
With all flights cancelled as the company has ceased trading, the UK Civil Aviation Authority has warned that customers in the UK yet to travel must not go to the airport.
The government has requested that the UK Civil Aviation Authority launch a repatriation programme over the course of the next two weeks in order to bring Thomas Cook customers back home.
The UK Civil Aviation Authority is set to launch the biggest ever peacetime repatriation to bring home over 150,000 British holiday makers.
“News of Thomas Cook’s collapse is deeply saddening for the company’s employees and customers, and we appreciate that more than 150,000 people currently abroad will be anxious about how they will now return to the UK,” Richard Moriarty, Chief Executive of the UK Civil Aviation Authority, commented in a statement.
Customers abroad are being urged to check thomascook.caa.co.uk for advice on what to do next.
Chief Executive of Thomas Cook Peter Fankhauser said that the matter is “of profound regret” to himself and the rest of the board.
“We have worked exhaustively in the past few days to resolve the outstanding issues on an agreement to secure Thomas Cook’s future for its employees, customers and suppliers,” Thomas Cook’s Chief Executive said.
“Although a deal had been largely agreed, an additional facility requested in the last few days of negotiations presented a challenge that ultimately proved insurmountable,” the Chief Executive continued.
“I would like to apologise to our millions of customers, and thousands of employees, suppliers and partners who have supported us for many years. Despite huge uncertainty over recent weeks, our teams continued to put customers first, showing why Thomas Cook is one of the best-loved brands in travel.”
Earlier this year, the travel operator said that it was set to close 21 stores, placing 300 jobs at risk.
It had been under pressure recently with falling profits – in May the travel group reported a £1.5 billion loss for the first-half of the year.
Billington lays strong full-year foundations with first half profit growth
UK structural steel and construction safety solutions specialists Billington Holdings PLC (LON: BILN) saw its shares rally on Monday morning, on the back of impressive progress illustrated in its first half fundamentals.
The Company accrued revenues of £47.15 million, up 19.7% year-on-year for the period. This led its 39.8% EBITDA spike, up to £3.55 million, and a 38.1% jump in profit before tax, to £2.68 million. Additionally, the Group’s cash and cash equivalents rose 32.4% to £10.01 million.
Billington Holdings shareholders saw similar progress, with EPS hiking 39.1% to 17.80p.
The Company went on to add that it continued investment in its safety solutions businesses, delivered a ‘large’ European project and won two contracts worth a combined £30 million, in June 2019.
Billington Holdings comments
Company Chief Executive, Mark Smith, commented on the results,“I am very pleased with the Group performance in the first half of the year, continuing the strong momentum from 2018. We started the year with a record order book and consequently the first half has been a very busy period for the Group across all our businesses. We have continued to build our order book with further significant contracts secured.”
“Whilst the overall market continues to be uncertain, the outlook for Billington remains positive, particularly given the Group’s ability to target a diverse range of projects insulating us, in part, from any temporary slowdowns in the market. I look forward to the remainder of the year and beyond with cautious optimism.”
Investor notes
The Company’s shares have rallied 5.35% or 17.00p, to 335.00p per share 23/09/19 09:21 BST. The Group’s p/e ratio is 9.46, their dividend yield stands at 3.82%. Elsewhere in construction and development news, there have been updates from; Epwin Group PLC (LON: EPWIN), Ashtead Group plc (LON: AHT), SIG plc (LON: SHI), Alumasc Group plc (LON: ALU), Somero Enterprises Inc (LON: SOM), Barratt Developments Plc (LON: BDEV) and Wincanton plc (LON: WIN).Deltex Medical shares dip as revenues narrow
Global leader in oesophageal Doppler monitoring Deltex Medical Group plc (LON: DEMG) booked an improved margin and improved cost-effectiveness on a year-on-year comparison of the first half, but its narrowed revenues weighed on its share price as trading began on Monday morning.
The Company’s revenues narrowed from £2.3 million to £2.0 million on-year for the first half. The Group maintained a loss of £0.3 million, though this narrowed from £1.2 million.
Largely though, the Company showed consistent progress across its fundamentals. Alongside a gross margin widening by 12% to 76%, Deltex Medical reduced its sales and distribution expenses by 55% and overhead costs by 35%. Further, the Group swung to a £0.2 million profit, from a loss of £1.0 million on-year.
The Company also noted that it increased the average sale price of its TrueVue Doppler products in the US and terminated a third-party distribution contract in the UK. The Group was also awarded a contract with Vizient and four product development grants by Innovate UK.
Deltex Medical Group comments
Speaking on the results, Company Chairman Nigel Keen said, “The significantly improved underlying financial performance of the Group can clearly be seen with positive adjusted EBITDA in the first half.” “We are delighted with the number of new technology grants that Deltex Medical has been awarded so far in 2019. As well as providing non-dilutive capital for our development programmes, these grant awards provide independent validation of the potential for the Group’s technology with the increasing focus on patient safety.” “Deltex Medical is well placed to provide clinicians around the world with advanced haemodynamic monitoring which is becoming increasingly recognised as an important factor associated with improved patient safety as well as the reduction of avoidable complications during and after surgery.”Investor notes
The Company’s shares dipped 1.89% or 0.025p to 1.30p per share 23/09/19 08:05 BST. Neither a dividend yield nor a p/e ratio are available for the Group, their market cap is £6.97 million. Elsewhere in health and medical news, there have been updates from; Curetis NC (AMS: CURE), Integumen PLC (LON: SKIN), Medica Group PLC (LON: MGP), EMIS Group (LON: EMIS), OptiBiotix Health PLC (LON: OPTI) NMC Health (LON: NMC) and Astrazeneca plc (LON: AZN).
UK property market seasonal trends, GetAgent.co.uk study
New data revealed on Friday that the average price for property transactions last year was at its highest during the summer months.
The research from GetAgent.co.uk, the estate agent comparison website, shows that the average price for property transactions last year was at its highest over the summer at £265,546. This figure is 20.5% higher than the spring average of £220,366, the data shows.
The chaos surrounding Brexit has seen property prices stumble for the nation, but the new data by GetAgent.co.uk suggests that more woe is to come as the winter months approach.
According to the data, the average sold price dropped 7.7% last year between the summer and autumn months, down to £244,984, with sold prices falling 17.4% over the winter months.
GetAgent.co.uk said that transactions also declined 1.8% between summer and autumn and then dropped by 1.1% between autumn and winter.
“While the dark clouds of political uncertainty continue to overshadow the health of the UK property market, seasonal trends show that prices and transactions are due to dip even further,” Founder and CEO of GetAgent.co.uk, Colby Short, commented on the data in a statement.
“Seasonal swings are a factor that influences many different areas of business, not just property, however, when coupled with an already uncertain landscape, they can make mediocre market conditions seem a lot worse than they really are,” the Founder and CEO continued.
“While home sellers won’t welcome an even tougher time to sell and for the price that they would like, those with the Brexit silver bullet of a winter of autumn related road name should be able to defy the doom and gloom to secure a good price for their home.”
With the extended Halloween Brexit deadline approaching, the only thing certain is additional uncertainty. Will the UK secure a deal and prevent a chaotic departure from the European Union?