This one as a market cap around 20 million and floated only a few months back but looks to have been overlooked by the small investor and could be a sound play as a defensive in these docile markets.

We all know about the number of people in debt and over burden with credit and also the huge increase in bankrupts. I picked out Debt Free Direct about 18 months ago as I could forsee the present market conditions taking place. Accuma is cheaper than Debt Free Direct after its large rise, and as far as I can see as larger number of areas it covers.

Heres a top fund manager commentating on it.................

Allsopp told Citywire: "Accuma is a perfect play on consumer debt and the softness of the high street. It will exhibit enormous growth going forward and is cheaper than bigger rivals like Debt Free Direct."

Heres what the company does..........................

The Group is a provider of tailored financial solutions and advice to
individuals who are experiencing debt problems. The Group's principal aim is to
help individuals regain control of their financial affairs by advising them on
the most appropriate course of action based on their individual circumstances.
The Group is highly regulated as its key product, an IVA, is a legally binding,
court-approved agreement and can only be administered by Insolvency
Practitioners (IPs) - individuals licensed under the Insolvency Act 1986 to
undertake insolvency appointments.

The Group's operations comprise a personal insolvency practice specialising in
IVAs, general debt advice and the referral of individuals to other solution
providers where appropriate. The Group does not lend money, nor does it take
clients' debt on to the balance sheet, thereby limiting its business risk. The
solutions offered to individuals depend upon personal circumstances and
principally comprise the following:

Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA)

IVAs were introduced as part of the Insolvency Act of 1986 as an alternative to
bankruptcy, enabling individuals who were struggling with unsecured debt
payments to reach a legally binding compromise with their creditors. Penetration
of IVAs has historically been low due to the limited number of providers, cost
to the consumer and perceived complexity.

The Directors believe that this gives the Group an opportunity to build critical
mass and create barriers to entry in a relatively short timescale.

An IVA is a legally binding, court-approved agreement between the individual and
his/her creditors, under which the individual agrees to make fixed monthly
payments, generally over a five-year period.

IVAs must be supervised by an IP and have many advantages for both the debtor
and creditors. The debtor avoids bankruptcy which can be of particular
importance for home owners or those employed in occupations where bankruptcy
would be highly disadvantageous. The IVA conveys a legal obligation on the
creditors to freeze all interest and charges and, subject to adherence of the
terms by the debtor, to write off any outstanding debts after expiration of the
fixed period. An IVA therefore provides both certainty to and reduced pressure
on the individual.

From the creditors' side, the attractiveness of an IVA is the ability to
forecast a higher return than in bankruptcy combined with lower administrative
costs compared to traditional debt collection. This is driven by a legal
obligation on the part of the debtor to make fixed monthly payments, or to
introduce other funds, which have been assessed by Accuma Insolvency
Practitioners (AIP), one of the Group's trading subsidiaries, as being
affordable and sustainable.

AIP does not directly charge the debtor a fee for its services; these are
received as a priority from the contributions made by the debtor into the IVA
and are agreed and funded by the creditors. AIP charges the creditor an initial
fee of 2,500 - 3,000 as well as an average 78 monthly supervisory fee which
over the five-year period gives good cash-flow visibility. Where AIP believes an
IVA is inappropriate the following solutions will be recommended:

Informal Arrangement

AIP advises on two types of informal arrangement, managed and self-managed,
under which creditors agree to extend the repayment period for the individual.
This is not a legally binding agreement and often interest and charges continue
to be applied until the individual has repaid the amount in full. Under the
managed scheme, AIP refers individuals to a non-connected company which manages
the scheme between individual and creditor.

Re-mortgage

This solution is usually suitable for homeowners with positive equity in their
property. This has until recently been a particularly strong area of activity in
the UK with individuals re-mortgaging to consolidate high interest credit,
taking advantage of lower mortgage interest rates and the high perceived value
of their property. AIP refers such individuals to professional finance brokers
and receives a percentage of any commission payable to the finance broker.

Consolidation Loans

This is a highly competitive area of the market where individuals take out a new
loan to repay existing unsecured debts. AIP recommends professional finance
brokers and would usually receive a percentage of any commission generated.

Bankruptcy

If an individual is made bankrupt, a trustee is appointed to manage their
financial affairs and to sell any assets that may exist in order to repay their
debts. Accuma does not directly advertise or promote bankruptcy as a solution.
However, as the Group aims to provide a full range of solutions, if bankruptcy
is deemed the most appropriate option, the individual is provided with free
information detailing the actions to be undertaken. ENDS.

Well worth a punt in these markets as a defensive play.

DYOR.

cheers GF.

Moving up nicely again. Shouldnt be long before we reach highs for the year again.

Back to form.

Looks promising....

Accuma buys Thomas Charles for up to 12.5 mln stg; sees earnings enhancement
AFX


LONDON (AFX) - Personal finance advisors Accuma Group PLC said it has bought London-based consumer debt advice company Thomas Charles & Co Ltd for an initial payment of 1.5 mln cash and 0.5 mln in shares and up to a further 10.5 mln in cash and shares depending on the company's performance over the next three years.

The company expects the acquisition to be immediately earnings enhancing, it said in a statement.

Charles Howson, chief executive of Accuma, said: 'This acquisition complements our core offering, will be immediately earnings enhancing and will of course increase our monthly run rate and market share. The experience of the founders will further strengthen our management team as the group continues to grow.'

He added: 'Not only will this enhance our best advice offering to clients, moreover it will have a significant impact on efficiencies, client acquisition costs and therefore earnings growth.'



newsdesk@afxnews.com

Moving back to 300p..... NICE.

Not in this but i have found this GF - very good prospects any views????


Cleardebt Group (CLEA)


Will try post more later, bit busy with work the now.

Regards

Critch - see CLEA thread - interesting but IMHO not as reliable in its choice of market sector and stage of growth as DFD, DEBT and ACCUMA. I'm in DEBT, having made good money in DFD (although sold far too early - still, a profit's a profit) which just today has gone back above my purchase price and looks set for a good further year's multi10% growth with no debt.

sd

I have no views on CLEA but SD knows his stuff.

Thanks stockdog, DEBT looks the best prospect for growth? from simply looking at market capital and prospects, as i have as yet to research all this and do my sums;)!!!


Tooo many choices here !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This ones starting to come back to life......... NICE.

07/33am accuma says half year H1 profits up fourfold. 1.17 min stg upfrom 304'000.

I've just dipped my toe. I hope that I'm calling the bottom but you never know!

Accuma warns on FY profits UPDATE
AFX


(Adds analyst reaction)

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Debt management company Accuma Group PLC warned that its full-year profits will fall short of analysts' forecasts, blaming 'difficult' conditions in the market for Individual Voluntary Agreements.

'Profits for the current financial year to July 31 2007 will be materially below market expectations,' the company said in a statement.

Accuma specialises in arranging IVAs, a less onerous form of personal bankruptcy under which lenders agree to write off part of the outstanding debt. The company has been hit by a downturn in business volumes as lending banks, which blame rising IVA numbers for a jump in bad debts, increasingly withdraw their cooperation.

Accuma, which last month predicted an upturn in IVA numbers later this year, today said it no longer expected an imminent recovery.

'With approval rates remaining low as a result of creditor pressure, we do not expect our run rate to recover in the way we had anticipated,' the company said.

Analysts at Teather & Greenwood suspended their ratings and forecasts on the group.

'Another profit warning from Accuma just three weeks after its interim results is deeply unwelcome,' they wrote in a note to clients.

The group also blamed 'disappointing' results from a revamped marketing strategy, and said its marketing director had left just six months after being appointed in November.

Accuma arranged an average of 199 IVAs per month in the third quarter, down from 221 in the three months to Jan 31.

The number of IVAs in England and Wales in the first quarter of 2007 rose 4.7 pct compared with the previous three months, and by 47.6 pct on the same period last year, according to official statistics published today.

Accuma shares closed 42 pct lower at 40 pence.

I've never timed an entry into a share so poorly.......!

double posted sorry.

Take care on this one, there are a lot of burnt fingers out there trying to boost the situation into looking good and it ain't!

There were enough warnings along the line please bear this one in mind.

By the way the number of AIM listed companies going through the hoop is on the increase!

Queen1 - ouch!

Sorry to see you getting caught there queen1.

You have my sympathy too, queen1

Many thanks all.

The timing was so poor that I actually found myself laughing. Seriously. I figure that it's a lesson in that no matter how smart you think you are, how much research you do or how right you think your judgement is, the market can, and will, trip you up. Obviously the SP plummeted through the stop loss I had in my mind so I'm going to sit tight and see what happens over the next few months. It could come good. Stranger things have happened.

it may be an emotionally tough decision, but why sit and hope for miracles? ..... that is what, as a good example, the holders of SEO have done for ages ..... cut your losses, have a little cry in the corner, and start rebuilding elsewhere .... i know if i had not taken the knife to some badly performing stocks (CHP and PCI to name just two) i would not have had funds available for a fortuitous entry into RTR, and indeed some other profitable investments over the past year or so.