Time now for all us Wiggins watchers to move with the times and start using Planestation, the new company identity. The name Wiggins Group plc has now disappeared from the database at Companies House and Planestation is now listed on the LSE website.

So fellow travellers, forget Wiggins, the name of the game is now PLANESTATION. Lets hope it goes like an express train.

Fundamentalist,
I think a lot of us have thoughts about delays in announcments from companies, not just from PTG I might add. It seems to be common practise to let the shareholders know of developments after the event, this probably protects the shares of the companies from unnessary speculation until details of events are finalised.
It is interesting that so many internal events are happening here in PTG recently and I particularly note the appointment of the new advisor and broker and wonder if the new advisor has been involved in these recent decisions.
If this was the case I would not be critical, as looking back over the recent history of the company radical changes certainly needed to have been made to get PTG moving forward, and I am sure that I would be joined by many investors in wishing the present board all good wishes and support that is neccessary to this end.
Rgds
opto

optomistic
I suppose it all depends upon what the new adviser is to advise on!

Looks like they are getting a grip on the company so at least that should end the uncertainty.

there are good reasons for the recent events and it is testament to the abilities of mr. may that they are doing this at this time. he will sort out the chaff from the wheat and we will all be quite happy at the end result.
the mm`s know this as well and are picking up cheap stock at present.
I too wish the current board a successful future and that also includes us holders. very confident of outcome.

UP 6%

30% Acquisition of EUJet

See RNS

http://moneyam.uk-wire.com/cgi-bin/articles/200405190700108310Y.html

What is everyones opinion of this? As I see it :

Positive

Confirmation that the focus is going to be on Manston and its devlopment and a strategy is starting to develop

Negative

Is owning part of a low cut airline a good thing in the current environment
Did they choose to buy it or were they filling a gap in the EUJet financing

Be interesting to hear their more detailed plans for Manston tomorrow.

Fundamentalist

I see it as very Positive, I agree with you that the focus is going to be on Manston.

Nothing negative about it because they didn't pay very much for it.

Oil prices will crash down again once growth cools off so EUJet could turn out to be a bargain.

In fact 2million is a tiny amount compared to what the Liverpool land sale will bring in.

The focus on Manston is the important thing about it.

In the FT Today, it says that Lady Delves Broughton was kicked out because she didn't resign by the date she agreed to resign.

Hmmmmm, maybe she just wanted to go on getting paid 39,000/year of easy money.

She says that she wanted to look after shareholders interests.

Anyway, I think the 30% stake in EUJet is more likely to look after our interests.

approx 1.25 million shares bought in last half hour and ticker still shows down by 0.1p????
why so??

Anyone's guess. Probably being marked down as markets overall are taking a bashing ?

Nearly all BUYS this morning!

Bid price is UP!

Eujet site up and running for bookings. Good prices on Europe etc.
See you at Manston!!!!!

Nearly all BUYS again today, BID price UP to 4.9p

:-))

One buy for 3 mil @ 5p this morning. I like that!!

In the light of recent events predicting rail strikes, my wish that PTG should go like an express train could well be compromised.

Of course, the fact that there may be rail strikes could well push a few punters PTG's way. After all, 7 to Edinburgh in less than a couple of hours beats the hell out of driving or trying to negotiate an industrial action ridden rail line.

Don't you just love it when a plan(e) comes together!

Lots of blue today looks like plenty of buys in anticipation of next months
promised news on Liverpool. Hope the 7 to Edinburgh is only a temp Socs, that would certainly run away with funds.

Optomistic
Not PTG's funds though. Bums on seats, that's what counts. Did you notice parking charges? 5 per day or 20 per week. Should bring in a good income even if they are the cheapest airport in UK.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2004/05/23/ccjack23.xml

Edmond Jackson Telegraph 23rd May 2004

Don't fret too much. Don't try to be clever

It looks like a bumpy few weeks ahead as markets grope for values that take account of new

and different risks.

The easy profits of earlier this year are over. Of course, potential buying ideas still arise almost daily, but the question of what to sell to finance them constrains me.


Should I reduce my exposure to the oil industry to buy into hard-hit shares? Oil shares have done well and experts keep citing the risk of a further spike in oil prices upsetting the global economy.

During the 1991 Gulf War experts alerted us to a similar risk. As now, this was a possibility rather than a probability. But oil markets are inherently volatile and when you hear of such fears, it can mark a current high point.

Oil prices eased and stock markets rallied mid-week on talk that Opec would raise production.

For private investors, the risk with trying to trade on the basis of such news is that you end up on the wrong side of market shifts. Even hedge fund hotshots get some trades badly wrong.

As a long-term investor, I try to balance my portfolio roughly in line with the big picture, with occasional contrarian moves. I ignore what is just market noise. It is so easy to get tempted just when a short-term trend is about to reverse.

I am not "protecting" my portfolio with derivatives (such as contracts for difference).

Trying to outguess volatility seems a recipe to lose money; it's an inherently speculative activity.

On balance, I don't see oil prices above $40 a barrel as sustainable, but this uncertainty is damaging confidence in 2005 forecasts for companies generally. Shares may remain under

pressure this summer.

The prospect is not pleasant, but it's closer to economic reality than the market complacency earlier this year. Brokers are prone to lapse into a happy consensus of predicting earnings growth. After all, their role is to sell stock. Financial life, unfortunately, is rarely such a steady progression. Expect jolts to market confidence.

One problem with trying to hedge via oil shares is that they aren't rising commensurately as others fall. Oil companies have themselves hedged an element of production at lower levels, and the stock market expects oil prices to retreat eventually. So while I think a portfolio should be at least 20 per cent weighted in smaller oil and gas companies, one must be steeled for volatility.

Unless you have already increased your cash position, or anticipate trouble for particular shares, I would ride out the current swings. Don't fret or try to be clever.



A new chief executive in a recovery situation is among the most potent of factors that can drive change.

Thus, when shares in PlaneStation fell from about 5p to 4.25p, with the market,

I added to my stake.

Institutions that invested heavily in last December's 4p-a-share placing (and open offer) were reported to be impatient about the lack of news on property sales. So the chief executive was replaced. In situations like this, directors may sweat to line up progress; a new boss gets appointed and takes about six weeks to settle in, during which there is scant news. Then it starts to flow.

A first sign of PlaneStation opening up was the news last week (accompanied by a press conference) of the company taking a 30 per cent stake in EUjet, a start-up airline due to begin flights from Manston airport in Kent. This should help Manston market itself to other airlines, and if its business model can be made to work then surrounding land values will be enhanced.

I recognise risks but was encouraged that the new chief executive - a recovery specialist - judged that the prospects merited extending his commitment to run the company from nine months to two years. Implicitly, he recognised upside in the shares by negotiating a total of 25m share options exercisable at 4.47p. This was confirmed seven weeks after his appointment, ample time to assess PlaneStation. Any capable director also investigates a company before joining it.

As I continue to invest money in the shares, guessing the likely scenario, I don't like a situation where the chief executive is geared to the upside but none of the downside risks.

Furthermore, this is another example of where the exercise price of a major option deal is struck ahead of anticipated news.

A higher threshold, based on return to shareholders, will be set for the second tranche of 12.5m options. But as a shareholder one feels in a different boat to the boss, when corporate governance is meant to align interests.

The remuneration committee ought to clarify how this is being achieved when seeking shareholders' approval for the options.

The way various directors and managers are being cleared out has a flavour of autocracy.

For example, on Tuesday a non-executive director was sacked "after a loss of confidence by the executive board". But the initiative to hire and fire non-execs must not come from executive directors (even though in this case it was supported by the chairman). Non-execs sometimes need to be a thorn in the sides of management if they are to do a proper job.

Such are the niceties of corporate governance. A raw truth about autocratic chief executives is that they can make a lot of money, especially in turnaround situations.

My approach is to hold PlaneStation shares firmly and be vigilant.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2004/05/23/ccjack23.xml

Thanks for posting this apple - must have missed it; makes interesting reading.

To get some idea of how rapidly the Manston plans are advancing, look at the Planestation TravelStation offerings on the link below:

http://www.travelstation.co.uk/dynamic/manstonpackages.htm

You can see how quickly the passenger flights will build up. All we want now are the passengers to fill the aircraft. Fingers crossed that EUjet and PTG get the word out quickly. Clearly they will miss out on this years main holiday period but it will be very interesting watching how well supported the flights are.