Adsure Services: stock to watch in Q4 2024?

Charles Archer
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Adsure Services: stock to watch in Q4 2024?

In a world where Nvidia is the most valuable AI company globally, a plethora of smaller AI companies are starting to gather steam with early-stage investors — keep an eye out for developments in the coming quarter — but one to watch right now has to be Adsure Services.

Adsure is the parent holding company for TIAA Ltd, a specialist in providing support to organisations struggling with the world of strategic risk, The company offers a portfolio of advisory and assurance services tailored to align with key economic risks impacting the business world. This covers internal audit, anti-crime, security management, IT audit, cyber assurance and advisory services.

The company began life in 1995 as an inhouse internal audit function for a consortium of regulated social housing providers — but by 2002 had become an independent private owned company backed by a small number of private investors. A decade later, TIAA expanded into healthcare by acquiring Parkhill and had also grown into the not-for-profit market by acquiring the South Coast Internal Audit Agency.

Between 2014 and 2019, TIAA then made a number of smaller acquisitions, before launching its IPO on AQUIS.

At a glance, Adsure:

  • listed on the AQUIS Exchange in 2023
  • generates recurring revenue from long-term contracts with government funded organisations with clear revenue projection going 2-5 years into the future
  • has a history of paying dividends which has continued after the AQUIS IPO
  • works with organisations including the NHS, emergency services and housing associations
  • has abundant organic growth opportunities and has identified new markets to enter
  • has a 25-year track record of growth prior to IPO
  • received an Innovate UK grant to develop AI Large Language Model (LLM)

Management

The team is led by CEO Kevin Limn, who has over 17 years of experience in internal audit, risk management and governance in a variety of sectors. He is responsible for the strategic configuration of TIAA’s Risk & Assurance and Risk & Advisory service, is FCCA qualified and has been a member of the ICAEW since 2010.

CFO is Victoria Davies, an FCCA qualified accountant who has worked at TIAA for over 20 years. Victoria heads TIAA’s Corporate Services Teams, ensuring that TIAA continues to provide pioneering and cutting-edge services to its customers.

Industry segments

TIAA now provides internal audit services covering two operational divisions: risk & assurance (internal audit, compliance, grant funding audits and scrutiny services) which generates 70% of total revenue, alongside risk & advisory (fraud, advisory, digital assurance, and security management), which together raise the remaining 30%.

It operates within four key industry categories — broken down by revenue generation:

  • Healthcare including trusts, integrated care boards and private providers (40.2%)
  • Housing, including social homes, supporting housing, and housing associations (19.75%)
  • Education, including universities, colleges, MATs and schools (23.95%)
  • Government, including all levels such as central government, local authorities and emergency services (16.28%)

It’s worth highlighting two key factors at this juncture. First, public sector contracts are difficult to get — but once you wedge a foot in the door, they tend to both get renewed and snowball. Second, the company enjoys diversified revenue streams that should protect it as the new government’s spending priorities shift.

For perspective, TIAA recently received an Innovate UK grant to assist in the development of a Generative AI Large Language Model — using open source artificial intelligence technology, Adsure Services is designing a proprietary AI tool to help government-funded organisations improve their efficiencies and reduce costs.

The focus for now is on the healthcare sector, though it will be expanded to the rest of the portfolio in time. Development is well underway and regular updates are expected.

Financially, Adsure has been delivering continued revenue, profit before tax and EBITDA growth in 2024, and entered the new financial year with a strong order book and in advanced discussions with new and existing clients to increase revenues further. The company paid a maiden interim dividend in April — and another is due by the end of the year.

Inaugural full-year results were released on 29 July, covering the financial year to 31 March 2024.

Adsure generated total revenue of £9.3 million, up from £8.9 million in FY23, driving profit before tax up some 72% to £471,000. As the encumbered asset charge has now been removed, cash balances remain strong, with £1,067,000 at hand as of the end of March.

Earnings before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 33% year-over-year to £876,000, with an EBITDA margin of 9.4%, up from 7.31% a year prior.

The company is now at that explosive growth stage — where current contracts cover all costs with profits left over — and scaling up offers significant margin improvements as new contracts constitute more profit.

CFO Vicky Davies enthused ‘I’m delighted to report another year of growth for Adsure Services and TIAA Ltd. Revenue for 2024 grew 3.4% to £9.3m and profit before taxation increased 72% to £471k. Demonstrating action in cost control, our EBITDA margin improved to 9.4%. We have started the year strongly and will maintain our prudent approach to managing costs.’

Operationally, the company successfully delivered its pre-set objectives set out in the corporate plan which runs to 2028. It restructured the corporate services functions which has improved efficiency in the back office, implemented a sector led approach to business development, and expanded its Advisory Practice with significant awareness raised of the brand.

The Innovate UK grant to develop the Artificial Intelligence capabilities will see Adsure further help current and prospective clients with improved service delivery — via maximising the use of big data.

The CEO notes that ‘As part of our drive to improve efficiencies across the business, we have deployed an Innovate UK grant to develop proprietary Generative AI Large Language Model (LLM) technology specifically designed to enhance outcomes for our customers across government-funded organisations, including housing associations, healthcare services, emergency services, local governments and education institutions.’

Adsure also outsourced ICT functions, removing the potential single point of failure and significantly enhancing its technological capabilities — while principal trading entity TIAA became a certified B-Corporation. This demonstrates both the inherent social value within the business model and that Adsure meet the highest levels of social and environmental performance.

To be eligible for this status, a company must not only demonstrate a very high social and environmental performance but must change the corporate governance structure to be accountable to all stakeholders, not just shareholders, in addition to exhibiting transparency by allowing information about their performance measured against B -Corporation’s standards to be publicly available.

CEO Kevin Limn notes that:

‘We saw growth across all of our four key industry groups driven by strong customer relationships and a growing range of services, enabling us to increasingly meet our client’s complex internal audit and business assurance demands. Our growth strategy is underpinned by three defined objectives; to achieve organic growth, enter new markets, and enhance our technological capabilities. Our outlook is promising, and we have excellent visibility over our revenue in the years to come due to the long-term nature of our contracts, which deliver us recurring revenues. We look forward to expanding our relationships with existing customers by providing them with additional services, while welcoming new customers. We are identifying new markets and expect to execute plans to enter these markets in the upcoming period.’

The CEO also had comments on the wider dividend strategy:

‘TIAA Ltd has a history of paying dividends, and Adsure Services was delighted to recognise our investors with the payment of our maiden 0.49p per share dividend as an AQUIS-listed company in April, and we will continue to recognise long-term shareholders through the proposed increased final dividend of 0.99p per share to be paid later this year, subject to approval at our AGM on 9 October 2024.’

The bottom line

Adsure Services is capitalised and growing. It boasts multiple public sector contracts across a wide sphere of interests, and as new contracts are won, should start to see both margins and profits continue to rise.

And the government is so positive, it’s handed out grant money to see the private-public partnerships develop further.

Ashtead shares gain as revenue gains

UK Investor Magazine
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Ashtead shares gain as revenue gains

Ashtead shares rose on Tuesday after the North American-focused plant hire group announced rising revenue, which bodes well for the company as the Fed cuts rates.

After a decade of bumper growth, Ashtead’s growth outlook has become increasingly unclear amid mixed US construction activity.

However, today results will be a source of encouragement for investors as revenues grew 2% in the group’s first quarter. The company attributed the tick higher in revenue to rising rental volumes and the amount they were able to charge for an average higher.

EBITDA rose 5% but operating profits slipped 2% as a result of higher interest costs. But with the Federal Reserve on the verge of cutting interest rates, this constraint on earnings may be about to ease. 

Ashtead shares were over 4% higher at the time of writing.

 “Equipment hire firm Ashtead has today announced a changing of the guard in terms of its CFO but perhaps more pertinently, a slip in profit in comparison to last year. Ashtead, which services construction, emergency response and events, has seen its numbers hurt by a comparative slowdown in the US, where the company does the lion’s share of its business,” said Adam Vettese, Market Analyst at investment platform eToro.

“Revenue is actually up year-on-year but this was not enough to offset increasing interest and depreciation costs, which we expect to ease as the Fed cuts rates. As such, the firm has maintained its guidance for the rest of the year.”

Although growth concerns may linger, one of the biggest considerations for investors is whether Ashtead remains a London-listed company or decides to follow other firms in switching its listing to the US in pursuit of a better valuation. 

“There is likely to be a fresh round of questions about whether Ashtead is looking to shift its listing to the US after news that the CFO role will be based in the US when Michael Pratt retires in September. Alex Pease will take up the role, and management has confirmed it will likely be based in the US,” said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.

Netcall – Achieving Business Goals Fast, That’s What It Is All About – £152m Capitalisation With £31m In Cash 

Mark Watson-Mitchell
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Netcall – Achieving Business Goals Fast, That’s What It Is All About – £152m Capitalisation With £31m In Cash 

Netcall (LON:NET), a leading provider of intelligent automation and customer engagement software, will announce its 2024 Final Results next month. 

They should be good and point to even better profitability in the current year. 

The Business 

The UK-based enterprise software company helps organisations achieve digital transformation. 

The group’s Liberty software platform, with its Intelligent Automation and Customer Engagement solutions, helps organisations to digitally transform their businesses faster and more efficiently, while empowering them to create a leaner, more customer-centric business. 

Its AI-driven tools enable users to transform at speed, it can automate processes and streamline workflows while making the managing of tasks and customer engagement easier, quicker and more productive. 

Netcall’s customers span the enterprise, healthcare and government sectors, including two-thirds of the NHS Acute Health Trusts and leading corporates including the BBC, Legal and General, NCP, Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide, Aon and Santander. 

Latest Trading Update 

On 18th July the company issued a Trading Update for the year to end-June, it confirmed strong trading, with results expected to be in-line with market expectations.  

Revenue is anticipated to increase by 9% to £39.1m (£36.0m), including revenue from Cloud customers up 19%, with group adjusted EBITDA growth of 5% to £8.4m (£8.0m). 

The company reported that its Cloud momentum remained strong, including robust demand from new customers, with Cloud annual contract value growing 23% to £22.3m, contributing to total ACV growth of 15% to £32.2m. 

Ahead of expectations, the group generated strong cash flow in the last trading year, resulting in an improved year-end cash position of £34.0m (£24.8m). 

CEO James Ormondroyd stated that: 

“This year has been another period of strong trading for the Group.  

The increasing demand for our Cloud offerings has resulted in double-digit growth in both underlying revenues and ACV.  

Our growing base of subscription revenues and strong cash generation enable us to continue driving growth through innovation, with several new developments in our product roadmap. 

The successful integration of the recent acquisition of Skore Labs has expanded our market opportunity and provided increased cross-sell potential, which are pivotal to our growth strategy.  

Looking ahead, favourable market drivers, a growing customer base, and our strong balance sheet underpins the Board’s confidence in the Group’s continued success.” 

Analyst Views 

Netcall believes that consensus market expectations for the year ended 30 June 2024 are for revenue of £39.1m, with adjusted EBITDA of £8.1m and net cash of £28.9m. 

Analysts James Musker and Harold Evans at Singer Capital Markets rate the group’s shares as a Buy, with a 140p Price Objective. 

For the year to end-June they look for revenues to have risen to £39.1m (£36.0m) with adjusted pre-tax profits of £7.0m (£6.6m), lifting earnings up to 3.2p (3.1p) and the dividend to 0.84p (0.83p) per share. 

For the year now underway, they see £46.3m sales, £7.5m profits, 3.5p earnings and a 0.90p dividend. 

At Canaccord Genuity Capital Markets its analysts also rate the group’s shares as a Buy, with a 130p Price Objective. 

The broker also estimates the year to end-June 2024 could have seen £39.1m revenues, with £7.2m profits, 3.3p earnings and a 0.9p dividend per share. 

For the 2025 year, they have pencilled in £46.5m in revenues, £7.7m profits, 3.6p earnings and a 0.9p dividend. 

In My View 

Last year the group declared its Finals in early October, with its AGM held in late December, so we have a good newsflow over the next few months. 

Despite very high ratings for the group’s shares, some 25 times current year earnings, I believe that in the medium-term they will look cheap at the latest 92p market price. 

At that level, the company is capitalised at only £152m, of which some £31m is in cash – which helps it to expand by way of strategic acquisitions using both cash and shares. 

AIM reversal: Earnz makes first steps in energy services strategy

Andrew Hore
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3
AIM reversal: Earnz makes first steps in energy services strategy

Shell company Earnz has taken the first steps in becoming an energy efficiency services business. The management team headed by former Mears boss Bob Holt, has worked together on turning round other businesses.
The shell has been cleaned up and the first two acquisitions will provide a strong base for further acquisition activity. The two companies provide heating services to the public and private sector.
The share price has stayed at 7.35p both pre and post readmission – the share price was suspended at 8.25p before the admission document was published. There were nearly 432,000 shares trade...

FTSE 100 dips on China concerns, Rightmove flys

UK Investor Magazine
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FTSE 100 dips on China concerns, Rightmove flys

The FTSE 100 slipped again on Monday after poor Chinese data hit London’s many China-leaning shares, including financials and miners.

The weight of declines from stocks such as Rio Tinto, Burberry, Antofagasta, and Prudential more than offset any positivity from a 20% jump in Rightmove after the property portal received a bid from Rupert Murdoch’s

“There’s no September spark for the FTSE 100, with the index trading flat and losing more ground early in the session,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“After a disappointingly lower close on Friday, the footsie remains elusively below its record highs, with mining stocks sinking lower amid China’s ongoing economic troubles.”

China released mixed manufacturing data over the weekend, which pointed to stuttering economic growth at a time when investors are growing increasingly nervous about the country failing to hit its 5% growth target.

Traditionally, the country has been seen as a beacon of hope for global growth, but this simply hasn’t been the case since the pandemic.

More worrying for investors, Chinese authorities seem to be happy to let the troubles with the property market and slowing manufacturing sector run their course.

Market participants have long been accustomed to intervention in the form of stimulus measures. However, the lack of interest by China in supporting its economy is becoming a major headwind for many sectors reliant on the country.

“The world’s second largest economy may be trying to wean itself off its reliance on export demand by stoking domestic consumption,” explained AJ Bell investment director, Russ Mould.

“But this is proving a tricky process and exports were down for the first time in eight months amid weak consumer demand outside of China. This chimes with recent poor numbers from Temu-owner PDD.”

Rightmove

Another high-quality London-listed company could be on the verge of being taken private by an overseas player who clearly sees more value in the company than the UK’s public markets are prepared to attribute it.

Rightmove shares soared on Monday following news that REA Group was considering a bid to acquire the company and add it to its portfolio of Australian property portals.

“The standout name on the FTSE 100’s risers list was Rightmove which moved around 20% higher after Australian group REA confirmed it was considering a takeover of the property portal,” Russ Mould said.

“This news breathed some life into the share price after a static period but don’t expect the company to be snapped up without a fight. Shareholders will be pushing for a generous deal and other potential bidders may throw their hat into the ring with rival proposals.”

AIM movers: Early launch for Futura Medical’s Eroxon, but delays for Jersey Oil & Gas

Andrew Hore
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AIM movers: Early launch for Futura Medical’s Eroxon, but delays for Jersey Oil & Gas

Futura Medical (LON: FUM) says that its Eroxon erectile dysfunction treatment is available for pre-order in the US. This is part of Haleon’s launch strategy and deliveries will be in October, the same month that it will be available in US stores. The launch was expected by February next year. A launch this year was not included in forecasts for Futura Medical, which was expected to generate £10m in revenues in 2024. Initial income from the launch will probably be small this year, but there will be an earlier launch milestone payment. That could mean a 2024 profit instead of a loss. The share price jumped 18.7% to 39.75p.

Timber company Woodbois (LON: WBI) says that it believes that CHCH Ventures FZ has reduced its stake below 3%. The shareholder has not informed the company, though. The stake was as large as 20% in the past. The latest buyer of the shares has sold them, and this will eliminate a share overhang. The share price recovered 14.6% to 0.47p.

Oncimmune (LON: ONC) has won a $700,000 order from a top ten global pharma company, where it was already a preferred supplier. It involves work on identifying biomarkers of disease in a rare auto-immune disorder using the ImmunoINSIGHTS auto anti-body profiling system. This will help Oncimmune to move into profit in the year to August 2025. The share price is 8.8% higher at 19.1p.

SRT Marine Systems (LON: SRT) has signed two follow-on system support contracts with clients in Asia worth a total of $4.6m. This should be recognised over the next 12 months. The share price improved 11.8% to 28.5p.

FALLERS

A new UK government consultation on environmental guidance will delay the Buchan project in the North Sea, where Jersey Oil & Gas (LON: JOG) owns 20%. The consultation is expected to conclude next spring. The Buchan project was expected to produce oil in late 2027, but it will be later than that. Jersey Oil & Gas had £13m at the end of June 2024 and has no further cash exposure to the Buchan project. The share price slumped 19.1% to 59.5p.

Ashtead Technology (LON: AT.) increased interim revenues by 61% to £80.5m and underlying pre-tax profit by 39% to £19.6m. Organic growth was 16%, which was better than the market figure. The subsea equipment rental company has increased net debt to £72m as it invests in its rental fleet and makes acquisitions. Expectations for the full year are unchanged with pre-tax profit of £39.5m forecast. The share price has risen strongly since joining AIM, but it declined 11.7% to 689p – that is still 12% higher than at the beginning of the year.

Tern (LON: TERN) investee company Wyld Networks is planning a rights issue. Tern has a 19.9% stake and is considering its position. The Tern share price fell 10.5% to 1.7p.

Data processing technology supplier Ethernity Networks (LON: ENET) says the $1.05m contract with a tier 1 aerospace company is still contingent on government approval, which has been delayed. Some of the milestones have been achieved. Once approved, there will be a payment of 40% of the contract value. The share price slipped 9.52% to 0.475p.

Chariot Limited – Near-Term Production, Long-Term Scalability – Analysts Value At Seven Times Current Price 

Mark Watson-Mitchell
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Chariot Limited – Near-Term Production, Long-Term Scalability – Analysts Value At Seven Times Current Price 

On Friday 19th July, Chariot Limited (LON:CHAR), the African-focused transitional energy company, announced a Placing, Subscription and Open Offer for new shares at 6.5p in a $9m plus fundraising. 

The net proceeds of the issue are to be used to strengthen the balance sheet to continue to progress and deliver value from Chariot’s portfolio of projects, to secure a material new venture opportunity with multi-billion-barrel potential, and to progress onshore gas commercialisation plans in Morocco to build a gas-to-industry supply. 

The shares were instantly Placed, as well as Directors taking up the $1m Subscription stock, while the $2m Open Offer was almost twice oversubscribed – which was very positive. 

There were 106,704,899 new shares issued by way of the fundraising. 

On Monday 12th August, CFO Julian Maurice-Williams stated that: 

“We are grateful to our shareholders for their considerable support, which has enabled Chariot to deliver a further $2m via this significantly oversubscribed Open Offer, bringing the total fundraise to $9m gross.  

This is an exciting period for the Company, and we look forward to updating all our stakeholders on the imminent drilling campaign at Anchois, alongside progress across the wider Group, over the coming months.” 

The Business 

Chariot is an Africa-focused transitional energy group with three business streams: Transitional Gas, Transitional Power and Green Hydrogen. 

Chariot Transitional Gas is focused on high value, low risk gas development projects in Morocco, a fast-growing emerging economy, with a clear route to early monetisation, delivery of free cash flow and material exploration upside. 

Chariot Transitional Power is focused on providing competitive, sustainable and reliable energy and water solutions across the continent through building, generating and trading renewable power. 

Chariot Green Hydrogen is partnering with TEH2 (80% owned by TotalEnergies, 20% by the EREN Group) and the Government of Mauritania on the potential development of a 10GW green hydrogen project, Project Nour in Mauritania, and is progressing pilot projects in Morocco. 

Anchois Drilling 

On Tuesday 20th August, the group announced that the Stena Forth drillship had arrived on location and that drilling operations had commenced on the Anchois East well (now named “Anchois-3”) at the Anchois gas project in the Lixus Offshore licence, offshore Morocco (Energean 45%, Operator, Chariot 30%, ONHYM 25%). 

The Anchois-3 drilling and flow testing operations should take around two months, with Chariot expected to be fully carried for the anticipated costs of the drilling campaign. 

CEO Adonis Pouroulis stated that: 

“We are very pleased to commence this highly anticipated well at the Anchois gas field. 

We see significant upside potential and value from the prospective resources in the pilot hole and main hole targets which could increase the resource base to over 1Tcf and we look forward, on success, to moving towards a Final Investment Decision as quickly as possible.” 

Analyst Views 

James McCormack at Cavendish Capital Markets is extremely bullish about the prospects for the group – having fixed a Price Objective of 47.9p on its shares.  

He notes that the overriding objective of the Anchois campaign is to unlock a Final Investment Decision on an expanded gas development project. 

His estimates for the current year to end-December see the group reduce by a third its annual adjusted pre-tax loss to $10.2m ($15.6m). 

David Mirzai at SP Angel notes that Chariot’s shares remain just above the level of last month’s capital raise as investors await the outcome of key catalysts coming up over the next few months that have the potential to transform the growth profile of the business.  

He states that the appraisal well will undertake a drill stem test and target relatively low risk upside in the Anchois Footwall and Anchois North Flank prospects, which would likely lead to a scaling of the development project to 1Tcf on success.   

Chariot is fully carried for the upcoming well and has provisional capex financing to first gas from Energean, which is a high-profile partner with a proven track record in delivering this kind of offshore development.  

“We think that moving the Company’s proposed Anchois gas project offshore Morocco towards a final investment decision remains the key value driver for investors in 2024.” 

At Auctus Advisors, analyst Stephane Foucaud considers that the Anchois project is one of the most material wells to be drilled by a company in his coverage universe.  

He reckons that the total unrisked NAV of the well represents 7.5x the current share price and has re-iterated that the Auctus Price Objective of 45p a share is in line with the ReNAV.   

In My View 

The group, which is due to hold its AGM on Tuesday 10th September, saw its shares trading at 17.48p this time last year. 

It will only take a couple of positive news items to help to get its shares returning rapidly to trade around the 2024 peak of 10.40p and then edging higher. 

They are now bang on the 6.5p recent issue price – with a lot of upside on offer. 

Vertu Motors’ strength in used cars offsets soft new car market

UK Investor Magazine
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Vertu Motors’ strength in used cars offsets soft new car market

Vertu Motors, which operates 192 car sales and aftersales outlets across the country, has released a trading update for the five-month period ending 31 July 2024, revealing a mixed performance across its various business segments.

The group’s used vehicle division has emerged as a bright spot, with like-for-like volume growth of 5.0% and an improved gross margin of 7.2%.

This strong performance is attributed to stable used vehicle values in the UK, underpinned by increasingly constrained supply. The robustness of the used car market is expected to contribute to an improved performance in the second half of the financial year.

In contrast, new retail vehicle sales volumes for the group declined by 5.8% during the period. However, this figure represents a significant outperformance of the broader UK market, which experienced a more substantial 12.1% decline as customers hold off on new vehicle purchases amid confusion around electric vehicle policies.

The new vehicle market has seen a shift towards the fleet channel, including Motability sales, which grew by 19.3% in the UK.

Aftersales operations have delivered a robust performance, with revenue and gross profit growth, as customers chose Vertu for services, not just sales.

Vertu Motors anticipates that its first-half profits will be lower than the previous year’s levels, as expected, and full-year FY25 adjusted profit before tax will be broadly in line with current market consensus.

Performance is expected to improve in the second half of the year.

”I am pleased with the Group’s performance against a fast-shifting market backdrop. Our high margin, resilient aftersales business continues to thrive aided by higher technician numbers and strong execution of the Group’s vehicle health check process,” said Robert Forrester, Chief Executive of Vertu Motors.

“The retail new car market remains weaker as the Government’s regulation to transition to battery electric vehicles causes market volatility and negative impacts. 

“The current dislocation in the market presents opportunities for Vertu Motors to capitalise on, assessed using strict investment return metrics, with our strong balance sheet providing financial flexibility, an excellent portfolio of strong brands, robust and scalable systems, and a strong and experienced leadership team with motivated colleagues.”

Rightmove’s Moat recognised by takeover interest from Australian peer

UK Investor Magazine
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0
Rightmove’s Moat recognised by takeover interest from Australian peer

Rupert Murdoch’s REA Group is interested in bidding for Rightmove, the UK’s leading property portal.

In a move that would be a real kick in the teeth for London’s equity market and the British property landscape, Australian real estate media giant REA Group has announced it is considering a takeover bid for Rightmove.

REA Group, owned by Rupert Murdoch, has confirmed it is weighing up a possible cash and share offer for the entire issued and to-be-issued share capital of Rightmove. However, it notes that no formal discussions have taken place between the two companies, and REA Group has not yet approached Rightmove regarding any potential offer.

Nonetheless, Rightmove shares were over 23% higher in very early trade on Monday.

If Rightmove were to leave London’s stock market, it would follow in the footsteps of peer OnTheMarket, who accepted a £100m bid from US property information company CoStar in 2023.

Used by millions, Rightmove has built a deep moat and is one of the UK’s most widely visited websites and the leading property portal. Searching on Rightmove is synonymous with entering and moving up the UK property ladder.

REA Group views this potential merger as a transformational opportunity to create a global and diversified digital property company with market-leading positions in both Australia and the UK.

The potential takeover bid taps into the British public’s long-standing obsession with property. For decades, homeownership has been a cornerstone of British culture, with property often seen as both a home and an investment.

If London’s equity markets cannot support companies so deeply entrenched in the UK’s obsession with property by providing the right environment to fend off overseas bids, we are truly in dire straits.

REA Group believes that the enlarged group would represent an attractive investment opportunity for shareholders of both companies.

We will have to wait and see if Rightmove’s board and shareholders agree.

As per UK takeover rules, REA Group must announce a firm intention to make an offer or declare it does not intend to make an offer by 5.00 p.m. on 30 September 2024. This deadline may only be extended with the consent of the Takeover Panel.

Director deals: ECO Animal Health boss continues buying

Andrew Hore
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2
Director deals: ECO Animal Health boss continues buying

ECO Animal Health (LON: EAH) chief executive David Hallas has bought 18,181 shares at 110p each. The total stake is 109,334 shares.
Last November, he acquired 37,759 shares at 106p each and one year earlier he bought 20,394 shares at 98p each. His original purchase of 33,000 shares was at 117p each in May 2022.
David Hallas was appointed chief executive in April 2022. He previously ran Merck subsidiary Sure Petcare.
Business
ECO Animal Health switched from rule 4.2 trading to AIM in September 1995, making it one of the companies that has traded on AIM for the longest time.
The company’s main d...

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