Watch out for this one floating in the next few days, it could turn out to be the float of the year. Theres not much available on the company yet but I have found the write up below which shows the fantastic potential of this one. Note just how cheap it is.

New Issue: here's one that's more than hot air

Published: 12:45 Monday 27 February 2006
By Cliff Feltham, Companies Correspondent

Owners of thousands of buildings in the UK are facing massive bills over the next few years to comply with new energy standards, which is good news for new AIM entrant Worthington Nicholls.

Air conditioning and ventilation units using ozone depletive gases have to be replaced by systems using more environmentally friendly gases.

The measures are creating a windfall for air conditioning installation companies like Manchester-based Worthington Nicholls which is to float on AIM with a price tag close to 35 million.

The firm, which has been around since the early 1970s, needs extra working capital to cope with the influx of orders which will see this year's turnover climb from 11.7 million to nearly 30 million.

The flotation, sponsored by broker Corporate Synergy, will also allow founder chairman Peter Worthington, who is nearing his 70th birthday, to sell shares worth around 7 million.

After years of steady progress, the firm has seen a huge jump in work triggered by new energy efficient legislation flowing from the Kyoto Agreement.

The deadline for owners of buildings to replace air conditioning, heating, ventilation and chilled water systems using banned gases is the end of 2009.

Chief executive Mark Worthington, son of John, believes there are at least 9,000 buildings in the UK which will have to comply with the new regulations. But the figure could be much higher. ' We are talking billions of pounds here,' he says.

Worthington Nicholls has concentrated on servicing hotel and retail clients which include Hilton, Holiday Inns, Debenhams, Arcadia and Boots.

A new, energy compliant air conditioning plant in a high street store can cost anywhere between 80,000 and 120,000. Re-fitting a Debenhams branch cost 670,000 while hotels can expect to pay around 3,500 a room for a new air conditioning unit.

Worthington Nicholls offers a complete service, designing the system, managing installation and providing regular maintenance. At present income from maintenance contracts is running at around 20% of total sales but that is expected to rise.

The flotation, which is raising a total of 15 million, will also provide a warchest for acquisitions. Two deals have already been lined up with will add another 20 million a year to turnover.

Mark Worthington says there is huge scope for acquisitions. The company claims to be market leader yet it only has a 3% share suggesting plenty of room for consolidation.

The company is making some confident assumptions about future growth. Profits are expected to rise from 3.7 million last year to 8.6 million in the current year to September. By 2008 it is projecting earnings of 12.6 million on sales of 45 million but this does not take into account any contribution from future acquisitions.

Says Worthington: 'Stringent environmental legislation has changed our business. Now the large international hotel and restaurant groups prefer to deal with a single supplier. We believe there is huge scope for expanding not just in the UK but across Europe.'

Price of the shares being placed will be fixed over the new few weeks following investor presentations with dealings due to start in about a month's time.

Please DYOR and do not use money on shares you cannot afford to lose.

cheers GF.

Bluelady,
The missus had her credit card nicked and I rang the bank.
They asked if I wanted to cancel it, but I said no, cos the thief was spending less than she did......................................;-)
Alan

Good one Alan, can't ever think that would apply to me, lol.

Must admit I am slightly peeved about the suspension but I don't have that much in WNG, probably less that the credit card bill for last month ;0)

I'm not in too deep (never am on anything), but it is somewhat annoying, the pausity of information.
You can bet that all the investment houses know exactly what the problem is.
Alan

A note of consolation. My understanding is that as WNG are on AIM you can offset any losses against income tax. Not exactly win win, more a case of win - inland rev lose.

I think only if trading is your main source of income. Not if you are trading as a top up to your bank balance.

You never know our luck.
It may be the 6mill they discovered missing earlier in the year has been found down the back of the chairmans settee.
:-(
Alan

I can't think the news is going to be good. Not really much point in speculating but I suppose now is a good time to vent all the bad news & then get on with recovery. Maybe they now need to raise more cash? Maybe they are going to sell off the brand new offices in Manchester & relocate to an offshore tax haven!

What a class peice of management suspending the shares....excellent stuff. The old board would not have given such a move.....a second thought.

Well done.

Not good for shareholders wanting to bail out before the bad news.

I was so lucky getting out of these at 85p .

EGM thursday. All should be revealed.

Sadly, no further forward:

"The Company announces that at the general meeting held earlier today, resolution
1 (to propose the removal of Alastair Stoddart as a director of the Company) was
not passed following a poll in accordance with the board of directors'
recommendation. The remaining resolutions (numbered 2 to 8) were not moved at
the meeting in accordance with section 303(5)(a) of the Companies Act 2006 on
account of being ineffective following the board changes announced on 22
November 2007."

2008 the hottest year ever. we hope. no hope.

Any Ideas about the news??

Excellent. A really good clearout, declare all debts & writedowns now so that there are no surprises when the next audit is done. Sp is going to suffer a little bit in the short term, but the following is how these guys go about their business, which is only good news for WNG, imo:

"The New Board intends to adjust rapidly the fixed cost base where appropriate,
generating immediate monthly cash savings. The changes to financial process and
management will take a period of time but these are challenges with which the
New Board is familiar.

The group remains robustly financed with substantial cash balances and the New
Board believes that the group is one of the larger and more experienced
competitors in its markets, with considerable engineering and technical skills.

The Board does not expect service levels or engineering skills to be adversely
affected as result of recent changes and the adjustment to the cost base. The
Group will, therefore, continue to manage existing business for customers and
continues to seek to win new business including bidding for at least two large
new contracts."

Thanks Harrycat. Do you hold?

I sure do! A whole range of prices from 17p to 124p.
I am confident that these guys will turn the company round, otherwise I would have bailed out ages ago. It may take a while but once the market is confident in the management & the strategy, then the sp should rise, imo.

I like what I see! The new board are just what the doctor ordered, no messing about, just the facts (let's hope they know everything there is to know now). A pity the board can't take up on half my other holdings! Feeling confident about WNG's future again now.

The only thing which I can't answer, which is where we need someone who is good with the figures, is how much of a difference a 15m writedown is going to make as opposed to a declared 6m writedown. Much of the sp decline was due to a lack of confidence in the management, but some was due to the surprising accounting. Monday should see an immediate adjustment to the sp, but then what?

9.4m is worth 10.4p per share. 15.9m = 17.63 per share.

So if someone said the NAV per share was 27p, then it should now be 10p - although I would expect a small premium to this in respect of the promises made by the New Board today which should build as they deliver on them.

Audited accounts to 30th September and then again to 31st March is a great opportunity for the New Board to demonstrably provide evidence that their new regime is working over a relatively short time period.

The RNS certainly had the ring of radical, but calmly considered, review, appraisal and action, which can only be a good thing in the medium to long term.