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.

just announced results to end sept 2006 out on Jan 17th.

am

Juzzle do you have the Times article?.

Excelent start to the day by the way.

Glad your aboard AM.

Results should come with an acquisition or two. P/E is looking topy but new business would lower that.

Still think its a BUY.

FROM THE TIMES......

Worthington Nicholls

In what was a poor year for AIM floats, Worthington Nicholls stood out. The installer of air conditioning systems has risen 137 per cent since listing last June, taking the value of the Manchester company, started with a 5,000 investment in 1973, to 86 million. It ticked higher again yesterday on unveiling its first contract in continental Europe: a deal with Grand City Hotels & Resorts to fit out a hotel in Amsterdam.

Although the initial value is small, Worthington, through clients such as InterContinental Hotels and Hilton, has shown that it can extend its reach. Its work in Amsterdam will also serve as reference to other continental operators considering using its fixed-price per room model. At around 3 billion a year, spending on air conditioning in Germany and the low countries is more than four times that in Britain.

Worthington should also benefit from the continued replacement of cooling systems that use gases banned under Kyoto, while 5 million of cash gives it scope to consolidate further its home market. At 120p, it sits at


19.8 times 2007 earnings, not unreasonable for a support services stock with such prospects. Buy.

...

Nice one Jimmy.

Higher, higher.

Good finish ,up 6.5p ..

Yes a very good day and hoping it continues up to results.

Well the buys are still coming in , on what appears to be a muted day so far due to inflation worries yesterday evening across the pond.

Another Broker note.....

Worthington Nicholls "buy"

Wednesday, January 03, 2007 7:48:02 AM ET
Fyshe Horton Finney

LONDON, January 3 (newratings.com) - Analysts at Fyshe Horton Finney maintain their "buy" rating on Worthington Nicholls Group (ticker: W3L). The target price is set to 150p.

In a research note published this morning, the analysts mention that the company is well positioned to become a potential consolidation candidate in the industry due to its combination of size, national coverage and depth of expertise, backed by its recent long-term contract wins. The EU legislation ban on R22 gas has led to the creation of a large market for replacement systems and upgrades, the analysts says.

Note from RHPS tip sheet.

WORTHINGTON NICHOLLS (WNG): Worthington Nicholls
has signed another new contract, this time for
the Park Hotel in Amsterdam. This is on behalf
of Grand City Hotels & Resorts, a European hotel
management group, and WN is hopeful that this
initial contract will be the first of many. I
will adjust my target price when I see their
results on 17 January. Until then, HOLD.

It may be easier to list the newspapers, analysts, brokers, tipsheets and newsletters that HAVEN'T been impressed by WNG and declared it a 'buy'. (Are there any?)

Nice one GF.....

Juzzle i was thinking the same thing myself .. :-)

Cant think of any Juzzle........... LOL.

Goldfinger - if you are watching the RHPS tip sheet, can you please post the revised target price after the 17th. I do not currently hold this stock, but am seriously considering buying in, but as with all AIM stocks, there is an element of risk. I saw a recent post on this BB which quoted a target of 150p, which is modest based on the current rate of growth. Hopefully the new target will be nearer the 200p mark.

HC as per your wish...

Note from RHPS tip sheet.

WORTHINGTON NICHOLLS (WNG): Worthington Nicholls
has signed another new contract, this time for
the Park Hotel in Amsterdam. This is on behalf
of Grand City Hotels & Resorts, a European hotel
management group, and WN is hopeful that this
initial contract will be the first of many. I
will adjust my target price when I see their
results on 17 January. Until then, HOLD.

Write up in shares this am:

Bull points:
upbeat on forecasts following string of contractr wins, may unveil aquisition news after recent placing
Good customer service resulting in repeat contracts
likely to update on widening of customer base
set to report a strong set of results

Bear points:

Recent purchase of Project air unlikely to make material contribution to results (maybe not this year)

Summary:
The air conditioning installation and maintenance company joined AIM in mid 06 but has quickly impressed with a string of decent contract wins and aqisitions. legislation is driveng its market and strong relationships with hotels and retailers underpins a rosy outlook for the future

projected p/e 20.2 against sector 16.7


In addition I have been told that Redmayne-Bentley are looking at it closely for their AIM portfolio

Onwards and upwards

Just tried to buy some of this stock.
The max I could buy online was 5000 shares so I phoned Selftrade & spoke to the trader to see if I could get a deal. The offer price is 125p & regardless of the quantity they wouldn't budge, saying that this was a very strong stock & the margins were very tight. As the bid / offer spread is currently 4p I am a bit surprised that they wouldn't offer me any deal, but at least I suppose that shows that the prospects for this stock are considered to be good.

tempted to sell something else for more of these, just cautious about how the market reacts to the results, as had a great run recently.....

just done it, on the move up again.

This stock is going to perform for the next 3 years at least

Good news from Shares Mag then.

O/T Sid Silverdell (thread set up) as a very similar business model to WNG driven by legislation. Might be well worth a luck.

Has anyone got a feel for the financials of WNG - this has been a great growth share, and there has been good news moving forward - I just cant seem to access anywhere that can give me a financial insight. Any help as ever greatly appreciated.

AM

AM with it being a fairly new listed company historical detail is hard to come by I gues we will start to see financials more available when results come out on the 17th.

I think this is the nearest we can get at the moment, from GCI...

Results for the year to September are slated for publication this month and analysts are looking for adjusted pre-tax profits of 3.6m from 25m sales, giving 4.6p of earnings and a lofty-looking prospective p/e of 26, with the shares having raced north since float. Nevertheless, we like the fact Worthington Nicholls is a full support services group, rather than a subcontractor (with all the implications this has for margins) and admire its acquisition strategy.

James Crux
Market cap: 79.14m
PE Forecast: 26
Share price: 119.5p