overgrowth
- 09 Feb 2005 20:52
Dowgate Capital (DGT) are sitting
in the middle of a goldmine!
This company through
their sole trading arm City Financial Associates are looking to take full
advantage of the "booming" AIM market this year.
Dowgate provide NOMAD (NOMinated ADvisor) services to AIM companies
and also have full Corporate Broker status which means that they can fund
placements on behalf of the companies they represent.
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On first sight, the
fact that Dowgate exist in the often veiled financial services sector
makes you think twice about investing in company such as this because
it would be impossible to understand what they were doing - however, think
again!
DGT bring new companies
to the AIM (Alternative Investment Market). For each new company "floated"
on AIM, they take arrangement fees when acting as NOMAD. After the company
is launched then for a nice steady earner DGT get another healthy chunk
of cash every year for looking after them (note that all AIM companies
must have a nominated adviser - thereby securing a ready source of recurring
income).
Because DGT also act
as a Corporate broker they can get a very healthy percentage for arranging
placement of shares with insititutions before a new company floats. In
addition, because placements come outside the sphere of yearly NOMAD work,
they can also gain healthy percentages of placements which companies may
need to make throughout the year when they need a quick injection of cash
to speed growth.
Current NOMADships:
28 companies represented (gives recurring income of approx 480,000
per year)
Current on-going Brokerage
agreements: 19 companies (income depends on placements)
For flotations, depending
on the size of a company, fees charged will be anything from 50,000
to 100,000+
For placements (the real earner), DGT get anything from 3% to around 12%
of the TOTAL AMOUNT RAISED - For example a new company raising 3M
though a placement will earn DGT anything from 90,000 to 360,000
!
These figures are indicative as actual deals all differ due to circumstances
and DGT sometimes take payment in shares - they still have a tasty chunk
of Setstone shares and when this Russian exploration company comes back
to AIM, predictions are that the share price will rocket.
Note that the amount that this little company can earn in fees is huge
and every new deal that comes through we know will contribute another
healthy chunk into the bottom line. The good news with every new floatation
means that it's another chunk of recurring revenue which could go on for
years, with DGT having to do very little.
New clients gained in 2005 are:
Mediazest
(NOMAD & broker) Elite Strategies (NOMAD) Process Handling (NOMAD) Poland Investment Fund (NOMAD) Nanotech Energy (NOMAD & broker) Archimedia Ventures (NOMAD & broker) Red Leopard Holdings (NOMAD) Alba Mineral Resources (NOMAD & broker) Intandem Films (NOMAD & broker) Motive Television (NOMAD) IncaGold (NOMAD) Sportswinbet (NOMAD & Broker) Infoscreen Networks (NOMAD & Broker) Mark Kingsley (NOMAD & Broker) Croatia Ventures (NOMAD & Broker) Pantheon Leisure (NOMAD) Firenze Ventures (Ofex Advisor) FlightStore Group (NOMAD & Broker) Euro Capital Projects (NOMAD) Pearl Street Holdings (NOMAD) Worldwide Natural Resources (Ofex Advisor) Dovedale Ventures (Ofex Advisor) Other 2005 work completed:Neptune-Calculus VCT offer for subs of up to 12 million
Advisory work for TGM on London Bus disposal for 20.4M
Advisory work for Creightons on property disposal
Advisory work for Hampton Trust on company restructuring
Advisory work for Interbulk Investments on acquisition of
Inbulk Advisory work for Fundamental-e
Investments on two disposals Advisory work for Designer
Vision re: Design Rights against Centurion Electronics
Click Here for fundamentals and profit projections.
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butane
- 25 May 2005 16:12
- 616 of 2787
This from jedd clampitt on the Ample site.....
Went to the AGM this morning. Was interesting and most of the staff were there.
They have a bullish demeanour and I am very confident that they can deliver exellent results. They are very busy and equally seem to have a grip on expenses
All resolutions were passed without fuss
Met a guy who posts on ADVFN under name of Dr Jeckyll. Very nice man, would definitely listen to him when he posts. Didn't meet many others so it does scare the hell out of me when you get people who don't even attend meetings but will make all sorts of claims...
Not much else, directors are very aware that they have delivered nothing to existing shareholders and can confirm that they intend to change this!!
Bring on the change!! Best of luck to the board. Nice meeting you Dr Jeckyl
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ptholden
- 25 May 2005 18:03
- 617 of 2787
sd
Good post and many thanks for taking the trouble to attend. However, I just wish CFA would take these opportunities to give the company a more positive nudge.
PTH
stockdog
- 25 May 2005 18:53
- 618 of 2787
pth - I know what you mean, but consider this:-
Why do you want the price of something you are considering buying more of to rise in the immediate future?
I think I met Dr Jeckyll, but not Jedd Clampitt, although I think I may have heard him talking.
sd
ptholden
- 25 May 2005 18:56
- 619 of 2787
sd
If I buy any more I'll have a seat on the board!!
Well, just a few more!!!!!!!!!
PTH
EWRobson
- 25 May 2005 21:11
- 620 of 2787
Thanks, sd, for attending the AGM and reporting back. A good general comfort factor!
Having said that, I feel strongly that the company are paying scant attention to their shareholders. So what is the performance of the company year-to-date? Nothing said! They change the name of the holding company but our investments are in the subsiduary company. If the holding company acquires another company where do the shareholders in CFP stand? I put forward that we should, morally if not legally, know the answers to these questions. Butane, I beleive you have a good line into the company. I don't mind writing myself. It may be OK by the company to play these issues long but the interests of shareholders are to see the market value of the company increase sooner rather than later. I suspect we should take a more aggressive stance. Do others agree?
Eric
Sequestor
- 25 May 2005 21:30
- 621 of 2787
THE BOOMING AIM MARKET???
ROFLMFAO!!!!!!!!!!
stockdog
- 25 May 2005 22:10
- 622 of 2787
Eric
Our shares are in the parent company changing its name to Dowgate plc, not in the subsidiary which keeps its name City Financial Asocaites Ltd. So Dowgate acquiring more subsidiaries will benefit us too. CFP epic will change now that the AGM has approved the name change to, who knows, DOG??!!
My impression of TR is that he is just rather unaware of shareholders needs, not dismissive of them. Comments and responses today did start to get through to him I think. The Chairman I would say was not much more than chairing meetings, not totally representing shareholders' interests to the 3 man board. Perhaps he needs to focus a little more on this issue, but he only gets paid 15k per annum. Do you want to spend the companies money on a share-ramping chairman? It won't help the profitability and growth of the business.
But let's not overburden them. They are a 5 executive plus 2 assistants company with a miniscule turnover of 1.8m p.a. which may make a 33% net profit - not bad. Why do we need to realise SP value now, except to generate a warm fuzzy feeling when we look at our portfolios. I agree with TR, let him get the business onto a sound footing with solid earnnings, then we will develop our other main strand, broking, then we will start turning a reliably profitable business into shareholder value - a 2-3 year strategy.
From a disastrous first couple of years setting off on the wrong foot, TR has managed to increase net asset value per share from 0.096p to 0.098p a 1.7% increase from December 2003 to December 2004 - nothing, you say, except it could so easily have been a big write down in value. Assuming all this year's profits (671k, I estimate) are retained at December 2005, net asset value per share will increase to 0.21p, a 110% increase over this year. Assuming 750k (??) profits in 2006, this becomes 0.33p per share, a further 58% increase in net asset per share, of which 94% is CASH.
If this cash can be put to good use - e.g. acquire a broking division - then profits can increase exponentially.
At the very least they become a dangerously attractive profitable cash shell which could be a takeover target.
I don't think chastisement at this stage is constructive to our mid to long term benefit. A trading statement/half year results are going to look pretty damn good, I suspect. Then we'll see. Until then I advocate patient support for a man who is doing what he does best.
IMHO DYOR BSM (buy some more!)
sd
EWRobson
- 25 May 2005 22:16
- 623 of 2787
Thanks, sd; Perfectly happy with DOG; great canine fan and you haven't done so badly your self! Good to know that shareholdings in holding company. Still feel that communciation should improve. maybe because I am not really a good 'investor' but a trader/investor mix who likes to move on; otherwise it ties up funds too long. Accept that is not relevant to company but still feel that investor should be taken into account and kept abreast of news. Would like to know other views, including pth, butane and og.
Eric
stockdog
- 25 May 2005 22:28
- 624 of 2787
And I had you down as a value man, Eric! So, take your money out for now and guess when to put it back in just before lift off! Difficult sport, that. Double SP over 9 months to a year may be dull, but I suspect more certainly profitable mid to long term than 30% here and there short term.
Has SEO moved much faster when all said and done. Granted it is moving now, but there were times when it trailed a very long low tail indeed. Similarly NML. ASC even went backwards and we're still in!
I dunno, you youngsters just want all the action now. In my day you had to wait for it, build up a head of steam, and then it was only Friday nights!
woof woof, must get home to dinner, cats for pudding tonight
sd
butane
- 25 May 2005 22:56
- 625 of 2787
Below is a C/P from Dr Jekyll (ADVFN board) who attended todays agm .....
Dr Jekyll - 25 May'05
Here is the feedback from my discussions at the a.g.m. Some of this info. will be known by some of you and some is stated already on the web site much more effectively. Some has also been posted earlier today. However, I'll report what was said to me but please remember these are my words and my understanding of what was said.
CFA Strategy
Concentrate on increasing amount of "retained" work as nomad, building up no. of fees paid per year to the point where they will cover normal ongoing costs such as salaries.
Decrease running costs. Helped significantly by departure of Barclay and Shaw.
Develop and grow broker side of business.
N.B. They do have a relationship with Seymour Pierce (SP) whereby SP might, for example, offer them the nomadship to a company whilst SP act as broker to that company. This is not a formal arrangement. I mention this because there has been some debate on here on whether or not there was a formal link up with SP
Work
They gain clients through their developing reputation, through word of mouth, personal recommendation, etc. They believe they give a good service and provide good value. Web site much better on all of this.
They say they have been very busy
Management
Came across as very competent, on the ball and sympathetic to shareholders. All that I spoke to were very friendly, good listeners, happy to answer questions and I'd say happy in their work. Can't be certain of the last of course. Several staff attended the a.g.m. which is a good sign imo.
Website
This is now being kept up to date with regular input of business for investors and others to see. Previous Chairman Mr. Barclay had blocked this.
Future Prospects.
AIM is becoming widely recognised as a means for cos. to raise money. Millions of pounds is apparently waiting to be invested in VCT's, etc. The admission of a number of larger cos to AIM recently has helped build it's reputation. The helpful inheritance tax regs. on AIM encourage family run businesses to float on AIM.
CFA hope to take advantage of all these factors to grow their business.
Other Useful/Interesting Info.
The Griffin Situation...Shares were (probably) sold by Barclay to Griffin (Stephen Dean?) who were intending to acquire CFA. Griffen then sold the shares having changed their minds (don't know why). Many on here will remember they sold at a small loss soon after the purchase.
There is no present intention to issue shares for acquisition purposes. Consolidation was not mentioned. It was clearly stated by TR that they are trying to grow the business first before any acquisitions are considered..
For Ptholden...The fees for the two AIM floats in Dec. should be in last years accounts/figures. This was not formally confirmed by TR or his staff but was thought to be the case by a non exec director. This is normal apparently as fees paid at time of admission.
Tony Rawlinson (TR) does not read this thread.
Conclusion
The Interim Report will tell us a lot more. This will be available from July onwards but I believe it wasn't out last year until Sept. Correct me if I'm wrong. I suspect TR might be a lot more efficient than previous management. I was informed it would prob. be middle of July by one of the team. IMHO the shares are a buy because the company has made significant progress with acquiring new clients and the prospects appear to be very good. The shares currently look cheap to me but please note I am not suggesting anyone follows my advice. Please dyor.
I hope this has been of some help particularly for those long suffering investors who have been posting and reading this thread for a long time.
Dr J
EWRobson
- 25 May 2005 23:46
- 626 of 2787
butane: Thanks for posting the DR J report; generally comforting but nothing to really impact sp. Would be grateful if you would comment on my somewhat impatient respone to the AGM above.
Eric
ptholden
- 26 May 2005 09:00
- 628 of 2787
Eric et all
Some very good posts and views following the AGM.
I think sd/og and yourself make valid points and I have some empathy with both. However, I have been very frustrated in the past that CFA have been dreadful at promoting the company for the benefit of Private Investors, but perhaps last year they knew there was going to be a shake up and that customers would be in short supply for the second half. I do think that TR missed an opportunity yesterday to issue a Trading Update of some sort, but as OG points out he has only been in the job a short while and would probably want to be somewhat cautious. At the same time I believe that Companies do have a moral obligation to keep the markets and their 'owners' informed and I will be looking for a more proactive stance from TR in the future. For the time being though, I shall sit back and look forward to the Interims and just wait and see. If after the Interims there is little improvement in the PR side, I will contact TR, offer my support (for what that is worth!!) and gently remind him that we also need the support of CFA to justify our faith in the Company.
Regards
PTH
butane
- 26 May 2005 09:07
- 629 of 2787
Eric,
I concur with the views of SD and OG, theirs, and others, detailed analysis of CFA leave me with little or nothing to add. I am now more confident than ever that my investment in CFA is solid and i very recently added another 500k to my already large holding.
Patience is all that is now required, i must have plenty of that as i have been in CFA from the days when they were known as 'Abinger' (i paid 1.5p!), approx four years ago!.
corehard
- 26 May 2005 09:40
- 630 of 2787
Hi to all!
Always believed we would be in for the long haul... and did not expect too much from yesterday anyway. Actually thought we might have had a slightly more negative consensus.
Considering what has happened over the past 6-8 months TR has maintained an even keel post appointment; OK! he may not have attended to private investors as much as we would like, but his actions seem to suggest he's at least dedicated to the cause.
Perhaps an odd email or telephone call wouldn't go astray just to remind him of his "quiet" supporters in the background.
IMHO still think this is on track, and gradual but steady improvement is all we can hope for in the short term.
ptholden
- 26 May 2005 16:05
- 631 of 2787
Not very good news for Shelton, but possibly additional fees for CFA if a buyer can be found.
Martin Shelton calls in administrators
AFX
LONDON (AFX) - Martin Shelton Group PLC, the Leeds-based promotional gifts provider, said it appointed two partners at Kroll's Corporate Advisory Restructuring Group as joint administrators of the group.
The company said while it is set to make a profit by the year end, the seasonal nature of the work means it has recently been making losses. It also pointed out it has already received expressions of interest in buying the business as a whole.
Commenting, Peter Holder, one of the Kroll administrators, said: 'The Martin Shelton Group has been trading for over 20 years and has a strong customer base. Although at an early stage, we are hopeful that we will be able to find a buyer for the business.'
He added that while options for the business are being investigated, it continues to trade and no redundancies have been made at this stage.
stockdog
- 26 May 2005 16:19
- 632 of 2787
I have a transaction valued at 15k for CFP to raise more capital for Sheltons in late April this year as NOMAD/Broker.
Seems like they must have failed to achieve this fund-raising, so Sheltons goes into administrastion and CFP loses 15k plus broker's commission (which I had not yet allowed for in my model, so down only 15k).
sd
EWRobson
- 26 May 2005 23:54
- 635 of 2787
og, butane and others: good dialogue. I accept the concensus. I do have my investment hat on with CFP, DGT from 8 a.m., tomorrow, or rather the Mrs hat as its her money I'm investing. Had people on SEO thread puzzled when I said that I was a trader/investor: invest her money, trade mine.
sd will be disappointed that its DGT, not DOG. Never mind, Dog's Grub Time, Dog Gorges Toad-in-the-hole, Dog Gouges Trousers. Opportunties are endless for fertile doggy brains.
Hope we can find you tomorrow, og!
Eric