I have started a new thread with a more formal thread title for ease so that everyone gets a chance to get in on this one.

I have copied the last few day's postings from the 'no hobby mags' thread.

If Kelvin MacKenzie is going to make a killing so am I! It's about time I did.


FONTY - 28 Aug 2005 22:33 - 22 of 35
We don't want McKenzie going in through the back door - we want him to make a take over please!
lizard - 29 Aug 2005 09:13 - 23 of 35
only a matter of time imo!- i am sure he has the necessary people around him to make this happen.
FONTY - 30 Aug 2005 08:27 - 24 of 35
I think this is going to be my 2005 Iomart and I am going to enjoy Christmas - fingers crossed anyway. I am surprised this thread is so quiet. But then Kelvin McK has been clever acquiring stock at the most quiet time of year - the week before August Bank Holiday when every man and their dog Spot and kids are in the South of France. Clever stuff.

I spent the weekend with a publisher friend and we went through the mags that HHO have - they have a few which can be really built up and sold for a fortune and the rest are dogs which need to be binned.

We can see what Kelvin is going to do and it is not difficult. HHO's websites are terrible and their subscriptions website is a disgrace - you have to work really hard to part with your money.

Look forward to this and wonder when others will join us Lizard and John50.
belisce6 - 30 Aug 2005 17:00 - 25 of 35
Fonty......i have been trying to work out their market cap, but can't find much on their website.......any idea what it is ?? (post restructure).

I assume that the final part of the current restructuring is the Board changes which are supposed to take effect at end of next month....
WOODIE - 30 Aug 2005 18:05 - 26 of 35
fonty what will you think he will do ,a full take over or a place on the board?
NielsJensen - 30 Aug 2005 18:11 - 27 of 35
Belisce6: I calculate they have around 317,330,979 shares so you can work it out from that.
FONTY - 31 Aug 2005 00:53 - 28 of 35
Woodie - I think he will really develop the lad mag Front and develop some of the prosperous titles - anything to do with boats etc and dump non lucrative titles like Old Steam Engines!

If I was him and I had the opportunity I would take the whole sad affair over completely and make a killing. Get a brilliant team together, marketing team, attractive leggy blonds with brains on board to develop the 'sexy and powerful' mags and hand it over to my friend. He would turn it around in a couple of years and make a few million.

Alternatively, he could try and get a place on the board but let's face it - a man like Kelvin McKenzie - would he really settle for that? If I was him I would want to get rid of the existing board and be the Chairman and create my own Board. I can't see him playing 2nd fiddle - he's not the sort.


FONTY - 31 Aug 2005 09:11 - 29 of 35
B6 - Market Cap is 9 mil - all the best
WOODIE - 31 Aug 2005 10:48 - 30 of 35
fonty what do you think the take out price would be as the last rns has not moved the s/price much.
FONTY - 31 Aug 2005 13:11 - 31 of 35
I wouldn't like to say but I bought in yesterday and I would like to see myself doubling my money at least but wouldn't we all.
FONTY - 31 Aug 2005 16:23 - 32 of 35
17% up from this morning - just made 1K so hope this is just the beginning.
Snip - 31 Aug 2005 16:28 - 33 of 35
I bought this morning on the basis of this chart. The p+f target is so high that it is off my screen


lizard - 31 Aug 2005 19:10 - 34 of 35
didn't they recently reject a 10pps offer?- the company is now better positioned with game win.
ateeq180 - 31 Aug 2005 20:48 - 35 of 35
If thats the case we might hit 5p tomorrow,or not.
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Probably not the RNS expected, but just added to the cash value of the company.

Highbury House Communications PLC
05 September 2005

Highbury House Communications PLC
('Highbury' or 'the Company')


Disposal of South African contract publishing operations



Further to the Circular to shareholders dated 31 May 2005, Highbury House
Communications PLC today announces the disposal of its South African business,
Highbury Monarch Communications Pty Limited, to Corvest 4 Pty Limited, a
subsidiary of RMB Corvest, for a total cash consideration of Rand 24 million
(approximately 2.06 million).



The business generated a divisional profit before group overhead allocation of
0.8 million in the financial year ended 31 December 2004 and had a net book
value of 1.4 million at 31 July 2005. Although profitable, the South African
contract publishing operation faced very difficult commercial challenges that
the board believes would have begun to erode shareholder value and distract
management from Highbury's core operations.



The transaction is in line with the Board's stated strategy of disposing of
non-core assets and focusing Highbury's operations on its core entertainment
titles. The proceeds will be used in the normal course of business and to reduce
group net indebtedness.

2.06 million not a lot to put in the bank for KM.

however small it is, it still does chip away at their massive debts....

Couldn't resist a nibble at 4.00p this morning as I am intrigued by that massive deal at 4.15 after hours on friday.

;o)

Rumour on advfn, someone elce is building a stake and there in good terms with existing management, so come on KM make your move.

supermono13 - yes i have had another chew too.

John50 - very interesting if it is someone else who bought the 8.5 mil on Friday evening - look forward to finding out who it was.

HHO and Thor Mining - it's going to be an exciting month.

Hold onto your seats.

Toped up with 50k yoo at 9.38 just before the it moved up, what luck

with the 8.5 mill you might never know if it is not declered by tues it was not km,with the regard to the advfn rumeors take it with a pinch of salt ie someone on there last week was saying there would be a bid of 10p he had contacts with top city broker!

I'll leave this one to those brave enough for what could be a very profitable ride.
I have too many doubts about what KM would be prepared to pay for a company riddled with debt, there you go, up 50% tomorrow as KM or two bidders build up stakes!! I am too busy with my job to keep a close eye on this and today was distracted by the performance of JLP which I've patiently held for a while.
Good Luck to folk braver than me, from <3p, nice one, from here ??

andy unless rns tues it wont be up 50%

Insiderboy on advfn, has it on good authority that tomorrow is d-day, he or she is the same person that quoted bid of 10p.

john we will see might be a ramp.

It's always tomorrow - never today! All interesting as it is dropping today - let's see how it goes and good luck to all us brave soldiers on this one.

one thing is clear if no rns today re large buy it was not km

HHO management have had their day and a good thing ill be when they get kicked out. (although some of the new management has not had much of a chance to create any recovery). Without KM and the "bid" situation this tiddler would be belly-up (or pretty close).
However, if they took an on-line view of publishing, their low-circulation mags would benefit greatly IMHO. WHSmith is trying to cut costs and has culled many mag titles - a new CEO at Highbury is unlikely to reverse the economics of this, although he might be tempted to put all effort into a few titles and dump the rest (as suggested here) but I think that is dangerous. HHO has many fewer titles than of late (thanks to Future) but there were titles remaining that are too close to Future's - so they were left out of the deal. HHO does have some good titles I believe, but trying to get any sense out of the current management is difficult. KM may yet create a wirlwind , to the benefit of shareholders.
They have an annual exhibition of world-renoun organised by their Model Engineer title - a respected fortnightly mag devoted to precision engineers who devote too much time to recreating (typically) steam engines of yesteryear. The workmanship is usually breathtaking and sometimes includes miniature models of industrial lathes.
The point is that they CAN do things well, but then wreck the show by having little of interest for the wives and therefore missing a subscription trick. If hubby has just spent 500 on a set of rusty castings, he's unlikely to object in his other half having a Weekly at 35pa and maybe a multi-part workcosting a further 50. Multiply this by the few thousand visitors and the titles fortune would be assured.
It would be easy enough to have a separate Hall where manufacturers of specialist sewing machines, food processors and other things I can't describe would vie for the female Pound.
If I was in charge I'd be looking for synergy, so it would be possible to have maybe four exhibitions each year with cross-selling between them covering a wide geographical area of the UK.
I suspect we may see this as a ground-floor opportunity if KM is willing to give this business a chance at addressing new technology. The sp might visit earlier highs in a couple of years - once income is seen to be positive and rising. All IMHO of course; but recently we've seen Hope alone making a big improvement (from the abys).

Finances need addressing.
Debt- yes I understand it is still quite substantial, even after the cash from the sale is accounted - but DYOR.
- Unfortunately Banks only look at cash and they wanted "theirs" back.
What next? ......If I was KM I'd have an EGM, let folk see new ideas and appointments, along with severe targets for bonuses, based on debt reduction and sp (relative to the non-oil FTSE100, so about 95)........ I would see how investors reacted and tap them for cash.......at maybe half the bouyed-up sp......maybe 1 for every 2......this would get rid of the Bank Distraction and provide enough cash to keep the business going in the short term. From then on, new marketing would be crucial and everyone present at the EGM would become a salesman (woman) with the promise that they get an on-line sub for every five subs they achieve.
Being an electronic publishing (maybe for a few titles at the start), it is easy to create special editions (rather like Director's cut DVD's - the material is just lying about!) - and cross-reference CD ROMS as a bonus if you take more than one publication. Who knows they might do a finance (can I say that?) primer, so folk can get up-to-date insights into World events and technologies.
.........It could be so different to what we see now...........
This was my vision when I bought in 2000, but those hopes were dashed by management "buying turnover" with costly purchases. Rarely does this technique result in shareholder value. Time will tell if KM really is the savior - it would be a significant challenge for him and would earn him a significant position in the Cityhall of fame (etc)...................................obvious I am taking for granted that KM is positioning himself to be the next CEO, (if he is tempted to asset-strip then he'll leave nothing of value and I suspect will find very little that others would want.).
- However, a small voice tells me HHO has a Radio-station interest and KM wants to be back in Radio - let's hope he can enjoy his hobby and allow current subscribers to continue and grow with theirs.

I dont think the vision is get a few thousand to subscribe to housewife mags - we are looking at the multimillion advertising market in specialist magazines - potential huge revenue - not a few classified in Sewing Machine Monthly.
Whoever, if they do, takes this over it will be a major overhaul and a big change.

And the big growth area will be electronic publishing when Kelvin & Chums take over.....

....if that 8.5million buy was KM, a few days ago, it is possible that it was done thru someone else isn't it ?? in which case no RNS would come up as that one buy alone makes up less than 3%........i doubt that KM would be lifting his stake by completing his own private trades.....he'd have someone sorting it out for him......

perhaps he is building a consortium?.