Now, this one was just awarded the Aim company of the year. Its a bit likeMears but it has a large GAS SERVICE section and the profits from this outfit would appear to be less healthy than from its Public Service arm. Does anyone have any knowledge of this company which is not cheap BUT could be on its way to making a lot more mazuma.

Although Connaught has been included in the Investor's Chronicle SUPER stocks, it COULD be coming time to sell

I am sorry to see that CNT attracts so little interest. I have held these for a few years, paying the equivilent of 55p (There was a 5 for 1 split a couple of years ago) and they have been very pleasing. Now around 4, give me 'boring' every time.

i shall merely bring this company to everyone's attention without further comment, other than to say i bought some the other day at 294

Because of this perhaps?
"Shares in support services group Connaught (CNT.L) extend Wednesday's gains, climbing as much as 4 percent on speculation of a possible bid from private-equity firm 3i Group (III.L).

Market rumours circulated on Wednesday, leading to Connaught's shares gaining 11 pence, from a near-record low of 291 pence.

"If someone admired this business...this share price could be a trigger (to make a bid)," says Paul Checketts at Oriel Securities.
Shares in Connaught have lost nearly a fifth of their value since it announced the resignation of its long-standing chief executive Mark Davies in January. [ID:nLDE60S0JV]

A tie-up between 3i-owned Enterprise, which provides infrastructure, maintenance and support services to councils and central government, and Connaught, which repairs and maintains social housing, is seen as a good match, say analysts.

"I could very feasibly see it as a joined up business," says Mark Fleetwood at Brewin Dolphin.

Reuters Messaging rm://lorraine.turner.reuters.com@reuters.net"

Broker note from Arbuthnot:
"We believe the 27% fall in Connaughts share price has been overdone. In our view, the factors which have prompted a reversal in the markets view of Connaught, are transient and do not alter the business underlying growth prospects. We are confident that the groups market positioning, in resilient growth sectors, will ensure continued delivery of double-digit growth. We also expect cash conversion to improve and these factors together should facilitate a re-rating of the shares. We believe the current price offers a good entry level. Buy."

Note from Collins Stewart:
"Connaught's bid for the Norwich social housing maintenance contract was
17.5Mpa, 5.5Mpa below the incumbent. A High Court judge imposed an
injunction to stop the transfer of work on the grounds that there was a
seriously arguable case that the Council had accepted an abnormally low
bid. Subsequently Connaught has signed a temporary contract which means
it will carry out work in Norwich until the injunction is resolved.
Due to a higher working capital assumption, our Quest Modeller derived
price target has reduced to 431p. Accordingly we cut our target price 7% to
425p, 12.0x CY2011 PE. Despite the fact this represents 40% upside we
retain a HOLD awaiting resolution on Norwich."

300p support broken

only 2 days late to mention that ..... well done sherlock!

One I was watching, but thankfully avoided. What the hell happened?
Some contract was presumably lost??? I also presume a knock-on effect with Speedyhire stock?
Or maybe takeover approach dead in the water?

sell note out from a big broker

You still in cynic?

Seem to remember this is always being recommended by the Telegraph which based on its recent record is bound to doom it.

i still hold some as assuredly there is a bottom to them somewhere, but if i want to free up funds, these would probably be the first to get the axe

Been through the news items for the past year and can see nothing to justify the fall. In fact, directors were buying up at around 315p after the first drop.

Umm .. the name of Worthington Nichols springs to mind when the CEO snapped-up shares at 110p which pushed-up the sp temporarily.

... and we all know what happened to them (and him for that matter!)

try this from 30 March.....

Shares in Connaught drop 6 percent, the biggest faller on the FTSE 250, after Charles Stanley Securities cuts its recommendation on the support services firm to Sell from Buy and reduces its 2011 earnings forecast by 20 percent.

"The CEO has departed, the shares have fallen sharply, a major contract is under an injunction, the outlook for public spending has deteriorated further, and we have reconsidered our view on the group's amortisation policy," writes analyst Matthew Earl in a note.

He says he sees more attractive opportunities elsewhere within the sector, notably Mears and May Gurney .

Yes I was just reading it on Selftrades site. In fact, from 310p the drop has been 20% which does look overdone.

Looks another example of where accounting practices can massage profit figures. I don't hold either, but it is much harder to massage the cash numbers and a quick look at the Cash Flow Statements for CNT and Mears for their last year's accounts shows big difference in cash generation. No prizes for which is stronger.

Broker note from Brewin Dolphin:
"Connaught has confirmed that a settlement has been reached which has allowed
it to begin work on a 5 year, 125m integrated services contract with Norwich
County Council. Work has begun under a short term contract with the permanent
contract due to begin on 8th April.
The settlement comes following an injunction brought by the incumbent provider and this news should draw a line under any ongoing uncertainty in this regard (and the distraction it has caused).
The statement also comments that trading continues to be in line with expectations. In this context, in our view, the recent share price weakness looks overdone and we expect upbeat Interims from Connaught (27th April) which should help rebuild confidence in the long term story."

It looked oversold to me so I took the gamble before Easter which fortunately has paid off.

I'm now out.

one day i'll actually manage to buy at the bottom instead of the top, but at least i am now pretty much b/e again, and i guess there's potentially quite a lot of upside

lol... your human after all cynic....join the club..